Ideas on why my section A is not putting any weight on

honetpot

honetpot

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I puchased a 4 year old Welsh A colt last year direct from the breeder.He had been shown extensively with good results.
I had him castrated in March which was open as he had an undisended testicule. Whilist on box rest he started with impaction colic but it was avoided by turning him out and giving him sugar beet.
Since then dispite giving him up to 1kg conditioning cubes a day, hay,rugging in winter he never really puts any weight on.
At the moment he's out 24/7 on reasonable grass, 2 slices of hay which he eats, and half a stubbs scoop of conditioning cubes. He's only 11.2
The vet has looked at him,she thought he looked a bit under weight, he's had a worm count, normal. I know when he was showing he was fed like a bullock and in 231/2hrs a day but I've had him a year and he should be settled by now. His field companion who gets less food needs to go on a diet.
I was wondering if he has ulcers, so was looking to try some sort of Gastroguard can anyone recommend anything.
By the way his droppinngs look normal and he passes the normal amount.
Your thoughts please.....
 
honetpot said:
I puchased a 4 year old Welsh A colt last year direct from the breeder.He had been shown extensively with good results.
I had him castrated in March which was open as he had an undisended testicule. Whilist on box rest he started with impaction colic but it was avoided by turning him out and giving him sugar beet.
Since then dispite giving him up to 1kg conditioning cubes a day, hay,rugging in winter he never really puts any weight on.
At the moment he's out 24/7 on reasonable grass, 2 slices of hay which he eats, and half a stubbs scoop of conditioning cubes. He's only 11.2
The vet has looked at him,she thought he looked a bit under weight, he's had a worm count, normal. I know when he was showing he was fed like a bullock and in 231/2hrs a day but I've had him a year and he should be settled by now. His field companion who gets less food needs to go on a diet.
I was wondering if he has ulcers, so was looking to try some sort of Gastroguard can anyone recommend anything.
By the way his droppinngs look normal and he passes the normal amount.
Your thoughts please.....
Click to expand...
With horses the most common reasons for weight loss are malnutrition, dental problems and parasites.

Here are some ideas.

Have you had his teeth checked? Horses will not absorb the proper nutrients from food if they cannot digest the food correctly. This could be because it is not being chewed correctly due to sharp edges.

It could be that he has a condition called malabsorption syndrome.

It could be due to kidney or liver problems.

It could be that the hay you feed has been cut too late which can make it indigestible as it contains more of a chemical compound called lignin. Once plants have gone to seed (as in late cut) their digestibility and palatability plummet due to high lignin content. Early cut is lower in lignin and higher in digestible fibre.

It could also be that the horse still has a high worm burden, as I believe that worm counts are not that accurate as they don't test for tapeworms (if your horse carries these then they absorb nutrients straight away that your horse would otherwise absorb) nor do they take into account encysted stages of redworm.

It could be due to tumours/cancer although this would be more unusual in a younger horse.

It could be due to a hormone imbalance (interesting about the testicular tissue you mentioned)

Finally it could be that you are working him harder than the calories he is eating, i.e. he is burning off more than he is taking in.
 
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Regarding worm counts I had my mare worm counted beginning of February, and before I got the results off the vets I found the long white worms in her poo one morning (I hadnt wormed her) so I rang the vet and apparently the worm count had come back negative, which was obviously not the case, o and she had been reguarly wormed and didnt look in the least bit "wormy" .Just a thought .
 
pain? my TB lost alot of weight and after worming, teeth done, upping feed etc....even gastroscopy to check for ulcers and bloods, we had her back done...she put weight on after this! just an idea.
 
The pony is 5 and not backed yet so not in work.
Has been reguralary wormed for lung/tape worm.I poo pick and his dropping are normal and he does not have the pot bellied worm look. He has already had a general health check from the vet.
He has his teeth checked twice a year.
He was gelded a the Vet school so as part of the process the students would take part and so he would have been checked abdominaly and the testes disected.
I can not see that he could have renal or liver faiure he is not jaundiced a lethargic or appears unwell. A part from the fact he is underweight for the time of year/ amount of food he is given he is totally healthy.
He has been turned out with mares colts geldings and has normal behavour.
I thought that as he had spent most of his four years in a 12x12 stable that perhaps he had not learned field manners and anxiety was keeping the weight off. But he is now established in the herd and outwardly appears settled.
I know that I am going to ask the vet for another set of bloods but because its the vet school they do tend to look for the unlikely and I always think look at the simple stuff and work up.
If you saw him in the field you would think nice pony , but could do with some extra food.
As I have tried conditioning cubes with oil no effect I am trying just Alpha A oil in case hes intolerant to cereals.
 
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