How thin is this horse?

[Horse.BK]

I have purchased a horse from a dealer and he was very underweight when i brought him and generally unwell. He is a 17.3hh Dutch Warmblood his age is unknown but a equine dentist thinks he's from 5years-7years because of the way his teeth are. When i first brought him he had a awful scar down his side (from backbone down under his belly) and various other scars, scabs and large raised bumps, dull hair, muscle wastage,large nodules on the top of his back and sarcoids in various places. His ribs, hips, bones were all clearly visible and in general his needed a real boost. It has been a year and he is looking a great deal better with a nice shiny coat, no bumps/ scabs, and his ribs and covered etc but he is still generally thin in my opinion and i don't really no what else to do.
He gets fed twice daily and each feed contains:
300g Dengie Alfa-A Oil Chaff
2kg Topspec CoolCondition Cubes
300g Topspec superconditioning Flakes
350g Topspec Comprehensive Feed Balancer
This diet is what Topspec recommended me.
He is kept out all the time in his own field but has 3 other horses round him. He is currently in rest and light work due to weight dipping. He was incredibly moody/aggressive when i first got him and generally hated cantering would buck so we had his back checked several times and its fine. We brought him a brand new fitted saddle, had his teeth done (he has a low palate), had him wormed although but still struggles with weight.

I will post some images tonight.
Does any one have any advice for a big horse for more weight?

 

[spaniel]

Has he been blood tested? There may be some underlying damage that is preventing him thriving. Having said that a year is not a long time when correctly rehabbing an emaciated horse.

 

[Buds_mum]

has the vet looked him over? i would suggest maybe a check for ulcers?

 

[VioletStripe]

I'd get the vet personally. What's his forage like? If the grazing isn't great then could you put out some hay? Could you split his total feed into smaller portions, say 3 or 4 throughout the day so he's having the same total amount of feed, but more often and in a smaller portions? Splitting the feeds up into smaller portions throughout the day would be better, but I understand this isn't always doable. Is he stressy at all?

 

[Batgirl]

I would also recommend at least 3 feeds a day, that was all that really helped when my guy was at his worst. As others say, has the vet seen him and what are his stools like?

 

[Jenni_]

Brought? Where did you bring him from?

Sorry this is irrelevant but that bugs me!

As said above, maybe some blood tests.

Need a peek at pics too!

 

[cornbrodolly]

Did you have this horse vetted? And vet should still be part of his rehab- bad nutrition could well have severely damaged his health . Having bought a horse once very underweight and for it to die a yr later from previous redworm damage to heart I d never buy a badly done to horse again

 

[princessa81]

Brought? Where did you bring him from?

Sorry this is irrelevant but that bugs me!

As said above, maybe some blood tests.

Need a peek at pics too!

I didn't realise you had to have higher english/grammer to participate in these forums?

Were you not taught common courtesy/manners?!

Elizabeth

 

[freckles22uk]

Brought? Where did you bring him from?

Sorry this is irrelevant but that bugs me!

Yes and this also bugs me... no need to pick up on peoples grammar? I also get it mixed up, along with borrow and lend, BUT we dont need reminding of it...

 

[Pale Rider]

I get picked up regularly over spelling by one individual, funny thing is her spelling appears a lot worse than mine and her grammar is non existant. Lol.

 

[Pale Rider]

Sounds like this horse has radically improved since you bought him, pictures would help, especially if you have some early ones.

 

[princessa81]

Brought? Where did you bring him from?

Sorry this is irrelevant but that bugs me!

As said above, maybe some blood tests.

Need a peek at pics too!

No one thinks you are big. No one thinks you are funny. You have made yourself look like a bully. CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[Venevidivici]

Do u know what the big belly scar is from? Is it permanent scarring (like from an op) or is it improving (like from say a field injury)? Of you have him on that feed,twice a day without much improvement (&definitely if you tried him with it 3times a day like others said&still doesn't put weight on) I'd want more vet investigations asap.

 

[Rollin]

MY CB stallion, unusually for the breed is NOT a good doer and loses weight if I don't keep a close eye on him. We are fortunate to have good grazing at the moment (in France) and I find this is the best to keep his weight on.

We have a home on the edge of the Trossachs and I know that this year grass has been poor.
I am very old fashioned and still feed things like Linseed oil/ sugarbeet and cooked barley to put weight on. These things are also cheap.

I wish you luck.

Quite normal for Scots to say brought instead of bought in my experience and phrases like 'need fixed' in the same way Welsh will say 'where by is it'. All part of our regional culture.

 

[nixxyz]

My last horse which was also a dutch warmblood was a nightmare to get and keep weight on, the best thing we found was to put her on better grazing and feed haylage rather than hay. But do get him checked for ulcers and maybe do a worm count to make sure the wormers have worked. She also dropped weight rapidly when in work or if she was in the slightest bit stressed, but its all trial and error to see what your boy responds best to.

 

[tallyho!]

No one thinks you are big. No one thinks you are funny. You have made yourself look like a bully. CONGRATULATIONS!

That's a bit rude. No need for that.

 

[princessa81]

That's a bit rude. No need for that.

so, it is ok for someone to try and make others look small then? I wouldn't say stating the obvious is rude? You might accept people belittling others, but i don't.

 

[cptrayes]

Sorry, just read feed was double, twice a day! Deleted post

 

[Hoofprints in the Snow]

Brought? Where did you bring him from?

Sorry this is irrelevant but that bugs me!

As said above, maybe some blood tests.

Need a peek at pics too!

This kind of post puts me off participating in many threads. Not everyone can spell and use grammar correctly, I thought this was a forum not an English exam. Often by the time i pontificate on what I want to say and how to spell it I give up and don't post.

 

[princessa81]

This kind of post puts me off participating in many threads. Not everyone can spell and use grammar correctly, I thought this was a forum not an English exam. Often by the time i pontificate on what I want to say and how to spell it I give up and don't post.

Exactly : )

Elizabeth

x

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I get picked up regularly over spelling by one individual, funny thing is her spelling appears a lot worse than mine and her grammar is non existant. Lol.

If you are referring to me Pale Rider at least I have an excuse I am severely dyslexic whats yours??

 

[LollyDolly]

If you are referring to me Pale Rider at least I have an excuse I am severely dyslexic whats yours??

I'm not wanting to get involved here in particular but as a psychology student I am fascinated to know how you can correct others grammar/spelling if you are dyslexic?
Do you just read it thoroughly?

I'm not meaning that to sound nasty/belittling it's just that I am genuinely interested as I am a psychology geek

 

[Pidgeon]

Hi, how much of a stubbs feed scoop is the Alfa A and super conditioning flakes?
Pidge was on 3 feeds a day for a long time due to how underweight he was when I first had him and it did take a long while for him to gain weight and condition but worth it.
How long ago did TS give their feed advice as I altered his feed levels quite a lot to start with until he was at the ideal weight?

 

[Pale Rider]

Lol, priceless.

 

[tallyho!]

so, it is ok for someone to try and make others look small then? I wouldn't say stating the obvious is rude? You might accept people belittling others, but i don't.

Actually, I don't agree with it either, but I wouldn't be as rude as you were in pointing it out

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I'm not wanting to get involved here in particular but as a psychology student I am fascinated to know how you can correct others grammar/spelling if you are dyslexic?
Do you just read it thoroughly?

I'm not meaning that to sound nasty/belittling it's just that I am genuinely interested as I am a psychology geek

When I quote this member my computer highlights all the typing mistakes the quoted poster makes. It had loads on red highlighted words when this member was trashing me in previous posts.
So as they were dissing my treatment on my horse, I said well if you are so crash hot in the treatment with my horse maybe you should use some of this to check your spelling.

Just shows me what I have been told and seen is 100% correct.

 

[princessa81]

Actually, I don't agree with it either, but I wouldn't be as rude as you were in pointing it out

why do you think it is rude for me to point out bad manners? If so, I am VERY rude. That's me off to the bad fiery place! : )

 

[bubbilygum]

Only horse I've ever known to struggle with its weight this much has severe worm damage. I would get a vet out to run some tests - until you know what is causing him to struggle to keep the weight on you are going to be fighting an uphill battle I'm afraid.

Any other "symptoms" other than struggling to keep weight on?

Also would be good if you could post some pics - I am in the opposite position to you with a fatty fatty fat horse and I look at him and see a big blob but others tell me is looking about right. It helps to get some other opinions as you might be so convinced he is still really thin because of the condition he was in when you got him but it might not be as bad as you think! The healthy coat is a good sign!

 

[LollyDolly]

Ahh I see, how clever!

Sorry for sticking my nose in but I had to ask, and once again it wasn't mean to sound horrible! I was just genuinely interested!

 

[tallyho!]

why do you think it is rude for me to point out bad manners? If so, I am VERY rude. That's me off to the bad fiery place! : )

It came across as you were very shouty and to top it off, sprinkled it with a half accusation of bullying which is really serious.

Loads of people point out grammar on this forum. It happens. Get over it. Ignore it. You are as bad as that person if you start shouting about it.