Is she too thin?

Mmmmmm only going of 1 pic here but nope not thin. muscle maybe but def not thin and to be honest if my mare was underweight(no skin and bone i hasten to add ) id be happy as rain will come and that grass will pounce again arghhhhh :)
 
Looks much better in last photo as coat doesn't appear dull. Weight wise absolutely fine in view of issues.

Have you ever tried arsenic for moulting? I used it with my old mare who had cushings and it really assisted with her coat (was prescribed by homeopathic vet in Belgium and was stronger than the arsenicum album that you can buy off the shelf but can't remember exact strength)
 
Nicnac said:
Looks much better in last photo as coat doesn't appear dull. Weight wise absolutely fine in view of issues.

Have you ever tried arsenic for moulting? I used it with my old mare who had cushings and it really assisted with her coat (was prescribed by homeopathic vet in Belgium and was stronger than the arsenicum album that you can buy off the shelf but can't remember exact strength)
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No I have never tried arsenic for moulting. A few of them here are holding onto their coats this year. She is the worst, but a couple of them are nearly as bad. She is better than she was last year though.
 
monkeybum13 said:
She certainly looks a cracker :)
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Thank you.

I am keeping her on half a danilon twice daily now as I think the lameness was her shoulder. I would not be at all surprised if she had a bit of arthritis setting in after her injury. But she is sound now. I rode her last night and am going to ride her again this morning. She has also put on a tiny bit of weight (now 489 kg) and I think she does look better for it. I think this is due to me upping her linseed and allowing her an hour or two a day without her grazing muzzle. I am hoping that the exercise will allow her weight to stabilize.
 
Just a quick update. Her laminitis has shifted to her left fore now, and it's worse. All other feet are fine, but she is lame in her left foot (definitely not her shoulder). Poor thing has lost more weight so I really want to be upping her food intake. I have the vet coming out to see her again tomorrow. I am praying that it is an abscess and not lami, then at least I can poultice it and up her rations. But she is not really that lame (around 2 tenths in trot), so I think it is probably laminitis. I am just SO puzzled as to why it is only in one foot, and not even the foot it has always been in before. :( I am also having her retested for Cushings.

ETA she is currently having five small slabs of soaked hay a day split into four (with two at night), plus 2 1kg feeds. One of fast fibre with her prascend, metformin and micronized linseed, the other of Pure easy, pro hoof, metformin and micronized linseed. When she came down with the laminitis, she was out on short grass in a grazing muzzle 8 hours a day with 3 slabs of soaked hay plus her two feeds.
 
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Sorry it's not better news :(.

Ignore me if you've already answered this, but have you tried giving her a really good detox?
 
Wagtail said:
No. Do you mean like one of the global herbs ones?
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Yes, that sort of thing. Trinity consultants do one that's supposed to be good L94 I think it's called, though I found Roger Hatch to be rather offensive so I haven't tried it myself. I've used the Global Herbs one with good effects, though. There's also Ulcerex (formerly ul30rex) from Ron Field's nutrition that is very good, though it's more a gut restorer than a detox. They may be worth a look though, if you're struggling to get to the bottom of things.
 
TwoStroke said:
Yes, that sort of thing. Trinity consultants do one that's supposed to be good L94 I think it's called, though I found Roger Hatch to be rather offensive so I haven't tried it myself. I've used the Global Herbs one with good effects, though. There's also Ulcerex (formerly ul30rex) from Ron Field's nutrition that is very good, though it's more a gut restorer than a detox. They may be worth a look though, if you're struggling to get to the bottom of things.
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Thank you. It's an excellent idea. I will see what the vet has to say tomorrow and then go from there. Something is going on with the poor thing. It may not even be active laminitis. It may simply be she still needs to grow down more well connected hoof. He soles are very flat too. But thankfully there are no dips above her coronet band and so I don't THINK there has been any sinkage. The vet told me last time that she is nowhere near sore enough either for that.
 
Curiosity, why feeding Pure Easy? I do think they're a good feed company but mine can't have any soya or lami symptoms straight away. If you want more weight without upping feed try rice bran. I feel bad in feeding mine a base of flax, beet pulp, and oats but I now have all bare which is a miracle. I had to ditch the chaff. Then it's the usual suspects as far as supps. In the winter I will add rice bran for my older TB mare.

For a simple detox what about milk thistle?

Just curious. You try so hard with this mare just hoping it all comes together. As a side note on breeding, metabolic mares usually pass it on. Mostly in their female kids. But I also believe early management is key to keeping it at bay.

Terri
 
To me she looks just right but you wouldn't want her to lose anymore, however, for her size I would want her to weigh a little bit more.

Well done though having her with her ailments. I know you look after your horses.
 
Considering she has cushings etc. and is footy then I'd say she's absolutely fine. You can't afford to let her carry any extra weight. My cushings pony is skinnier, but he's about 26yrs old so I think its age that means he doesn't hold weight anymore :( It's so difficult to put weight on him anyway due to the cushings and being lami prone obviously so he can't have conditioning feeds, only fibre which he gets loads of to no avail.

That presend stuff is so damn expensive isn't it?!
 
She looks fine to me given her issues. Sorry it's not better hopefully you will have a new plan with the vet tomorrow. How long do you soak the hay ? Needs to be at least 12 hours to take out maximum calories.
 
Try giving her a break from prascend for a month, it made a hell of a difference to my old boy, he actually then went on a smaller dose and did better. Prascend isn't all its cracked up to be
 
Zigzag, a friend of mine had a similar experience. Now has him on a metabolism thing from Platnium Performance and huge difference. I think PP is only Stateside though.

Terri
 
I am soaking her hay for 12 hours at least. I am thinking of putting her back onto the Marksway hi fibre haylage as she tends to do better on that. So I am starting as of this evening.
 
Vet has just been. He is more than happy with her weight. He says she doesn't look ill, is well muscled considering her lack of exercise and he wouldn't want to see any more weight on a laminitic horse. He says too many people are used to seeing horses looking 'a little too well covered'. The test results should be back by Thursday. If they are raised, obviously I have my answer. If not, then he says we need to find out why she keeps getting laminitis despite being lean. She doesn't look like a Cushings horse, being very alert, bright and happy in herself. She is hanging onto her coat a bit, but lots of horses are this year. So, it remains a mystery at the moment.
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
Curiosity, why feeding Pure Easy? I do think they're a good feed company but mine can't have any soya or lami symptoms straight away. If you want more weight without upping feed try rice bran. I feel bad in feeding mine a base of flax, beet pulp, and oats but I now have all bare which is a miracle. I had to ditch the chaff. Then it's the usual suspects as far as supps. In the winter I will add rice bran for my older TB mare.

For a simple detox what about milk thistle?

Just curious. You try so hard with this mare just hoping it all comes together. As a side note on breeding, metabolic mares usually pass it on. Mostly in their female kids. But I also believe early management is key to keeping it at bay.

Terri
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I am feeding pure Easy mainly because it has no molasses, and contains a balancer. She won't eat a full dose of the pro hoof and this just gives her that little bit extra to make up for that.

I have decided against breeding from her. Especially in the light of the fact that she is footy so often. Wouldn't want to put any more strain on her. I just wish I had had a foal from her though. Her mother was 19 when she had her, and I kept in touch with the breeder for many years. In that time her mother did not have laminitis. But I do think my mare's condition may have been sparked by one or two summers being too fat. The year I got her, when she was six, she had bruising in all three of her white feet. I asked my farrier who just said it would have been a major diet change. She had been turned away for the summer on grass Just before I bought her.
 
my boy has cushings. I get him tested twice a yr... hes on 2 tablets a day.. hes doing really well. vet is really pleased... I can see his ribs.. he weighs 312kg... hes 20 +yrs old.. trust me your mare looks fab for a cushings horse... :)
 
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