Is she too thin?

Wagtail

Wagtail

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Personally I think she is just right, but a couple of people have remarked how ribby she is looking. She has Cushings, which is why she is hanging onto her winter woollies, but it is under control with prascend. She also has EMS which is controlled by metformin. She is still footy! :( She has very mild pulses some days and is slightly footy on stoney ground. This is not normal for her as she is normally rock crunching. So I can't exercise her at present, but don't want any more weight off her either. What you you think? (She is a 15.3hh WB and weight tapes at 482 kg)





 
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Certainly not too thin for me personally. I think they are better a touch light than a touch heavy IMHO - especially given her history.

I suspect people are just very used to seeing slightly too fat horses so aren't making a fair comparison.
 
I think she looks great, with those health issues she can't afford to carry too much weight.
Don't pay any attention to what others think, you're doing a brilliant job with her.
Hope the footiness settles soon :)
 
Polos Mum said:
Certainly not too thin for me personally. I think they are better a touch light than a touch heavy IMHO - especially given her history.

I suspect people are just very used to seeing slightly too fat horses so aren't making a fair comparison.
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Thanks. Even when she is overweight her ribs tend to show, because the EMS causes her to get cresty and have fat pads in strange places. I'm just a bit frustrated at not being able to exercise her at present. She was doing really well until two weeks ago when they spent a day back in the stables due to torrential rain and I must have given her a little too much hay as she went in the stable sound, and walked out footy.
 
I would not worry especially when you consider her health issues I hope you can settle the foot issues soon.
 
Sadly she won't find it easy to put on weight over her ribs, you'll just be increasing fat pads elsewhere. I think given her health issues she's just fine as she is. Such a pretty face:)
 
Wagtail she looks like my ems horse who is kept lean in agreement with vet as its easier to control the ems.

I think people are too used to to seeing over weight or 'well covered horses'
 
PonyIAmNotFood said:
My (incredibly inexpert) opinion is that she is just right. She looks to need muscle not weight. People are just too used to seeing chubby horses!
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Thank you. I was just starting to get her fit again when she went footy. Just can't seem to get any continuity with her.

hollybear said:
I think she looks great, with those health issues she can't afford to carry too much weight.
Don't pay any attention to what others think, you're doing a brilliant job with her.
Hope the footiness settles soon :)
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Thank you! I will have to grow a tough skin. She seems to be so super sensitive to the slightest bit of sugar. I used to think it was a weight thing with her, if she got above a certain weigh she would get lami. Now though, it seems she will get it regardless. I can only think it was a smigen too much hay that did it.
 
She looks good to me..I have IR and Lami horse and he is of similar weight wise to yours..I am hoping to keep him looking very slightly under..It is such a juggle of keeping them sound but fed enough to maintain them at the same time isn't it..

She is looking well..I wouldn't want to see anymore on her..
 
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Thanks for posting that pic because she looks the identical weight to my old man, and I too was wondering! The replies you have had have made me feel better! Oh, and your girl is lovely. :)
 
JFTD said:
Looks fine to me.
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slightlyconfused said:
Wagtail she looks like my ems horse who is kept lean in agreement with vet as its easier to control the ems.

I think people are too used to to seeing over weight or 'well covered horses'
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Good. That is what I thought. I thought I would put it past you guys though as people's comments can sometimes make you wonder. I have to explain to them why she is lean, and that it is life or death with her.
 
I think she looks lean but considering all the health issues probably right considering her history .

The only thing I would consider is maybe giving her some pink powder she lacks any shine in her coat.

please don't jump on me this is just my opinion.:o
 
My Cushings pony looks very similar. She has a bit more of a belly but is still ribby, she is on 2.5 prascend a day (she is 11.2), and this is the best she has looked in a while. I am very pleased with her but half expect someone to comment on her weight. I think your mare looks fine, hope the footiness improves.
 
rema said:
She looks good to me..I have IR and Lami horse and he is of similar weight wise to yours..I am hoping to keep him looking very slightly under..It is such a juggle of keeping them sound but fed enough to maintain them at the same time isn't it..

She is looking well..I wouldn't want to see anymore on her..
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Yes, it is a constant battle, and you feel so mean too! Thank you. :)

mytwofriends said:
Thanks for posting that pic because she looks the identical weight to my old man, and I too was wondering! The replies you have had have made me feel better! Oh, and your girl is lovely. :)
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Thank you. She is my darling. I'm pleased it has made you feel better about your boy.
 
Gryfiss said:
I think she looks lean but considering all the health issues probably right considering her history .

The only thing I would consider is maybe giving her some pink powder she lacks any shine in her coat.

please don't jump on me this is just my opinion.:o
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No, I thought that too. She was looking lush before she lost her winter coat. I think though it is a combination of it being dull and damp here, and what coat you see is dead and falling out. She is on Pure feeds Easy, micronized linseed and pro hoof balancer twice daily.

MurphysMinder said:
My Cushings pony looks very similar. She has a bit more of a belly but is still ribby, she is on 2.5 prascend a day (she is 11.2), and this is the best she has looked in a while. I am very pleased with her but half expect someone to comment on her weight. I think your mare looks fine, hope the footiness improves.
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Thank you. I think cushings horses and ponies tend to look like they have a bit of a belly. Sounds like you are doing really well with your girl.
 
I think your horse does not look well. It's not the fact that you can see her ribs - you can see ribs on the horses going round Badminton and running races - it's that she has very little muscle mass, poor coat and poverty lines. I also abhor fat, wobbly, blobs, but I feel this is too far the other direction. This is not good condition.
 
Cortez said:
I think your horse does not look well. It's not the fact that you can see her ribs - you can see ribs on the horses going round Badminton and running races - it's that she has very little muscle mass, poor coat and poverty lines. I also abhor fat, wobbly, blobs, but I feel this is too far the other direction. This is not good condition.
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These were my initial thoughts- the ribs don't bother me, but she has very sunken quarters and visible poverty lines which do. But I can appreciate how hard it must be to keep a horse with her problems well, especially when she can't be worked.
 
Cortez said:
I think your horse does not look well. It's not the fact that you can see her ribs - you can see ribs on the horses going round Badminton and running races - it's that she has very little muscle mass, poor coat and poverty lines. I also abhor fat, wobbly, blobs, but I feel this is too far the other direction. This is not good condition.
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Lolo said:
These were my initial thoughts- the ribs don't bother me, but she has very sunken quarters and visible poverty lines which do. But I can appreciate how hard it must be to keep a horse with her problems well, especially when she can't be worked.
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She has always had poverty lines, even when in her prime and competing at medium level dressage. I used to wonder about them. Her coat is poor because she is hanging on to it due to the cushings. I will post up some pics once she gets her summer coat for you to see. I completely agree that she looks poor in the photographs. But until very recently she still had fat pads all over.
 
I don't know your mares history but I wonder if it might be worth checking her bloods if this hasn't been done recently? It could be the footiness and general poor appearance (I don't think she needs more weight) may be due to progression of the disease and an increase in prascend may help her.
 
Wagtail said:
She has always had poverty lines, even when in her prime and competing at medium level dressage. I used to wonder about them. Her coat is poor because she is hanging on to it due to the cushings. I will post up some pics once she gets her summer coat for you to see. I completely agree that she looks poor in the photographs. But until very recently she still had fat pads all over.
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That's why I was wary of commenting- you know her and how to manage the disease. People like me, who've had no dealings with it, don't and so won't understand the issues you'll have with her. So I can see why people might say they think she's too thin, especially if they don't know much about her/ much about the EMS and cushings. But you know her well, and know what is her normal so that's all that matters, really...
 
rema said:
Muscle wastage is part of the disease...It is what happens when you have reduced protein metabolism..
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Yes. Also she has had three years of retirement before this year. She broke her shoulder in the field which is what ended her career. I have since started very basic work with her but as soon as we start to get going, she gets lami again.
:(
cm2581 said:
I don't know your mares history but I wonder if it might be worth checking her bloods if this hasn't been done recently? It could be the footiness and general poor appearance (I don't think she needs more weight) may be due to progression of the disease and an increase in prascend may help her.
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She was tested in November and was fine, but maybe she needs another test. Thank you.

Lolo said:
That's why I was wary of commenting- you know her and how to manage the disease. People like me, who've had no dealings with it, don't and so won't understand the issues you'll have with her. So I can see why people might say they think she's too thin, especially if they don't know much about her/ much about the EMS and cushings. But you know her well, and know what is her normal so that's all that matters, really...
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Thanks. It is really hard. But I will post some pics up in a few weeks so people can see her coat is not really as bad as it seems.
 
I think she looks fine considering her history. I do feel for you, it must be so hard trying to keep her weight on that fine line of not being footy and not being underweight. As soon as you can start working her again I'm sure it will help her muscle a little which will give her an overall better appearance. I wouldn't listen to others, you know what's best for her.
 
CobsGalore said:
I think she looks fine considering her history. I do feel for you, it must be so hard trying to keep her weight on that fine line of not being footy and not being underweight. As soon as you can start working her again I'm sure it will help her muscle a little which will give her an overall better appearance. I wouldn't listen to others, you know what's best for her.
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Thank you :)
 
she looks ok to me but i would also suggest getting bloods done again as she may need an increase of prascend. mine has cushings and she is on 2 1/2 prascend daily, her coat has completely shed and she is very shiny so if yours hasnt it may be a sign that all is not well in her system and this may be why she is footy as well. she is very pretty.....:D
 
Thanks. :)

I am not too worried about her not shedding her coat as it is much better than it was last year, when she didn't even start to shed until August :eek: Also, when a coat sheds it is always the dark and duller hairs that are last to shed. There is only one horse here that has her complete and shiny summer coat. Even the yearling and my TB has a few hairs to shed. Those hairs are dark and not shiny. The summer coats coming up underneath are shiny.

As I say, I will post some pics to show you in a couple of weeks. During the winter my girl was as glossy as you can get.
 
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