Lady, One Week After The Move

JadeyyAndLadyy said:
She was only struggling with how little grass there was in the previous field. There is plenty in the new field, so that is no longer a problem
And this winter will be SO MUCH different than last winter. Last winter i couldnt drive and lady was kept 40mins away from me. now i can drive and she is just down the road i can get there whenever i want and will have a full time job come summer (i only have part time atm) i will be able to afford the food and hay easily.
im not trying 'everything' ive moved fields nearer to where i live, with more grass. Now i KNOW she is getting good
grass all day and being fed twice a day without worry.
She has shown improvement already, and she will no doubt be getting better and better
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This, for me, sets the alarm bells off.

So you are struggling to care for your horse, i'm guessing due to money and transport, from what you've said. And that is the sole reason your horse is in such a state?

Hm....
 
I have to agree i'm sorry, she does look pretty poor for this time of year, most of us are struggling to keep weight off, I appreciate she's a poor doer and elderly, but I think she should still be looking better, I do hope you can get some weight on her during the summer, otherwise the winter is going to be very hard for her, good luck, maybe post a photo in another month's time and we'll all be saying how wonderful she looks, hopefully.
 
Girlracer said:
This, for me, sets the alarm bells off.

So you are struggling to care for your horse, i'm guessing due to money and transport, from what you've said. And that is the sole reason your horse is in such a state?

Hm....
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How am i struggling? she is in a better home, its easier for me and better for her. What makes you think im struggling for money?
 
devilwoman said:
I have to agree i'm sorry, she does look pretty poor for this time of year, most of us are struggling to keep weight off, I appreciate she's a poor doer and elderly, but I think she should still be looking better, I do hope you can get some weight on her during the summer, otherwise the winter is going to be very hard for her, good luck, maybe post a photo in another month's time and we'll all be saying how wonderful she looks, hopefully.
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Oh i will, dont worry ;) :D
I will post again in a months time, with her looking FANTASTIC! And there is NO way she'll get thin again.
 
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I'm sorry Jadey but I really don't think she is looking as well as she should be :(

We have recently moved much older horses onto starvation paddocks because they were looking too well and we don't even have amazing grass.

There is no point worrying over spilt milk, but you can learn from this :)

Feed all year round and give her hay as well as the good grass if you have to. There is nothing wrong with rugging all year round to stop her feeling any chills too.
 
littlemisslauren said:
I'm sorry Jadey but I really don't think she is looking as well as she should be :(

We have recently moved much older horses onto starvation paddocks because they were looking too well and we don't even have amazing grass.

There is no point worrying over spilt milk, but you can learn from this :)

Feed all year round and give her hay as well as the good grass if you have to. There is nothing wrong with rugging all year round to stop her feeling any chills too.
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Thank you LML, and yes i agree she is not looking as well as she should be, this is why i moved her closer to a field with longer, better grass, and she is fed all year round. Ive tried giving her hay, she doesnt want it, just walks away and munches on the grass.
 
If someone was entrusted to give this mare her morning feeds and wasn't doing so unknown to Jade then it can be a good enough reason for some horses, especially elderly ones to start dropping weight. Given the other fact that on her previous yard the grazing wasn't good, one dropped meal a day can make that difference. I am sure many of us have been let down by someone we have trusted at some point. Hopefully now that has been recognised and dealt with, Ladey will start to put on weight again. I do echo the good idea though Jade to save some money as a Winter feeding account, she may need more this Winter and although hay is good in general (one of mine gets fat looking at it) if she can't chew properly then she won't get the goodness out of digesting it. One of my friends gives her oldie a trug of readigrass overnight during the winter in addition to her meals. Might be worth the while looking into something like that, if she can chew okay why not get in some good quality haylage?

Good luck anyway.
 
Tormenta said:
If someone was entrusted to give this mare her morning feeds and wasn't doing so unknown to Jade then it can be a good enough reason for some horses, especially elderly ones to start dropping weight. Given the other fact that on her previous yard the grazing wasn't good, one dropped meal a day can make that difference. I am sure many of us have been let down by someone we have trusted at some point. Hopefully now that has been recognised and dealt with, Ladey will start to put on weight again. I do echo the good idea though Jade to save some money as a Winter feeding account, she may need more this Winter and although hay is good in general (one of mine gets fat looking at it) if she can't chew properly then she won't get the goodness out of digesting it. One of my friends gives her oldie a trug of readigrass overnight during the winter in addition to her meals. Might be worth the while looking into something like that, if she can chew okay why not get in some good quality haylage?

Good luck anyway.
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Thank you Tormenta, youve said what ive been trying to say throughout this thread :)
I did have the dentist out on friday, but he couldnt do her without sedation, so we're getting the vet out as they are getting quite sharp. Other than that, she can chew fine, just cant pick up short grass :)
 
She does look better in the second pic, that much is true, but she does look particularly poor in the first one and i personally would not have been able to sit by and watch my horse become so underweight-she must have gradually got worse she wouldnt have become skin and bone over night....

i'm not trying to be mean, I am sure you love her to bits and really do care but you need to think very carefully about how you are going to get her right, and keep her right...especially going in to the winter.

what is she having feed wise at the moment? Has the vet taken bloods? My last horse dropped weight and looked terrible due to aneamia which was sorted with blood tests and a jab...
 
She is looking a little better but still poor well done for trying and keep it up, is she getting any feed too to build her up? if so what are you feeding her? spillers conditioning mix or nuts are very good.

What she done to her back leg?
 
JadeyyAndLadyy said:
Thank you LML, and yes i agree she is not looking as well as she should be, this is why i moved her closer to a field with longer, better grass, and she is fed all year round. Ive tried giving her hay, she doesnt want it, just walks away and munches on the grass.
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Have you tried haylage? Alot of ours will turn their noses up at hay but will happily munch haylage:rolleyes:
 
As soon as i noticed what was going on, i got in touch with a few people regarding moving Lady. This took about 2 weeks to find somewhere. During this time i would take her out inhand for about 2 hours for her to eat longer grass.

She is fed on alfalfa, D&H build up mix and kwikbeet. I wouldve put her on alfa a oil but there wasnt any in stock when i got the food so i got alfalfa instead.
She got a couple of cuts on her legs from hooning around with the other horses
 
Sounds like she is having a good diet, how many times a day are you feeding her? when i was trying to get weight on my mare she had 3 feeds a day.
Ordinary vegetable oil from the supermarket can be added to her feeds. i was advised by my vet to do this with my horse to up the calorie content of her feeds. Allen and Page fast fibre is great too, it is soft like a mash so good for oldies and she can have some to nibble at in addition to her normal feeds and hay...a friend of mine with a ribby ex racer swears by it.
 
Lexie81 said:
Sounds like she is having a good diet, how many times a day are you feeding her? when i was trying to get weight on my mare she had 3 feeds a day.
Ordinary vegetable oil from the supermarket can be added to her feeds. i was advised by my vet to do this with my horse to up the calorie content of her feeds. Allen and Page fast fibre is great too, it is soft like a mash so good for oldies and she can have some to nibble at in addition to her normal feeds and hay...a friend of mine with a ribby ex racer swears by it.
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She is fed morning and evening :) and i was planning on picking up some oil from the supermarket next time i go shopping :)
I havent tried F&F, if Lady doesnt improve (which im sure she will) ill give it a try :)
 
I don't want to start an argument or come across as harsh but after reading this thread I do tend to agree with AmyMay and the like.

You've basically stated a number of excuses for your mare becoming as thin and poor as she was but, this does not happen overnight (as others have said) and, had this been either of my boys (both veterans, one 21 this year and one 17) I'd have been nipping it in the bud AS SOON as I saw the weight loss starting! You say you spoke to people about moving her as soon as you found out about the problems, this to me gives the impression that you didn't even go to see her for some time and thus you have to take some responsibility.

My eldest lad came to me in a state much like your mare in the first pic, he was very poor and very thin....with good feed and lots of TLC he has constantly improved and looks like a 6yr old now so age, lack of good grass (especially during winter when 90% of us have little to no grass anyway) and unable to drive (I can't either, I got 2 buses to see my boys every day and 2 buses home until my OH got a car last month!) are just no excuse as far as I'm concerned.

I agree with what others have said, please learn from this and try and prepare yourself (and Lady) for the forthcoming winter whilst the weather (and grass) is good. Put away a winter feeding fund, feed her twice daily and give her ad-lib hay/haylage as well to get some weight on her. I truly hope she does improve :-)
 
I haven't always posted but have followed your story with Lady for a long time. I am always shocked at her. And now especially. This did not happen in 2 or 3 weeks, it should have been obvious and it should have been stopped way before she got in the state she was in. Yes she is putting wright on now she is on grass. Which suggests to me the main problem this horse had to lose so much weight is a basic lack of food. No excuses, you have let her down yet again jade. She should never get into that state with careful management and monitoring.

I guess she may well be fine over the summer, and i am glad you are getting her teeth sorted, but what when the winter comes and the grass goes again? It doesn't last forever. She needs ad lib haylage as a minimum. This means that she should never be without. And if she were mine i would br bringing her for a few hours during the winter with a haynet, or at least maybe fencing off a small area to ensure she has access to haylage which none of the other horses can steal. She is your responsibility and it doesn't matter what excuses you tell us, you should know in your own mind that you have caused this. It's up to you to ensure she is ok, and look at her, she's not been. Again!

If i was your neighbours i would be reporting you every day too. It makes me angry for your horse. I'm not trying to be nasty, but you need to quit with the excuses and take responsibility for the care of your horse. And if you can't do that then you need to think about how you can ensure she doesn't go hungry and suffer... which may involve a hard but not unkind decision.

Please just think about it. I really don't want to see photos of lady looking like this yet again in another 9-12 months

I hope to god you have no thoughts of riding her again for a few months.
 
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I would also suggest a worm count if you're not already on a good worming programme. Make sure that you poo pick her field regularly to keep it clean, and try to manage your grazing by rotating and treating.

Does she have a stable? She may benefit from coming in during the day to ad lib haylage and a couple of good feeds or a veteran mix (I think she's quite old from memory)?

I have read your threads since the beginning and I respect you for keeping on coming back despite the slatings you get on here. I think they are pretty justified to be honest, if a little blunt, but you do seem to take notice and try your hardest to do the best for your horse. Don't be put off, keep coming back, and keep looking for help and advice. She does look marginally better in the second pic, but I'm another one that is restricting grazing at the moment to keep weight down. She's suprisingly poor imho for this time of year.
 
MizzPurpleKitten said:
You say you spoke to people about moving her as soon as you found out about the problems, this to me gives the impression that you didn't even go to see her for some time and thus you have to take some responsibility.
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Basically. My friends did the morning feed, i did the evening. I started to notice the buckets being in exactly the same place that i left them the previous evening. THIS is when i started planning moving her. I saw lady everyday
 
JadeyyAndLadyy said:
Basically. My friends did the morning feed, i did the evening. I started to notice the buckets being in exactly the same place that i left them the previous evening. THIS is when i started planning moving her. I saw lady everyday
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The sign that something is amis should have been your hat rack horse, not an unmoved feed bucket. Did she have a rug on? Did you take it off to check her? I'm sure i have seen excuses in the past of people not feeding her when they said they would. I think it's down to you to feed her, she's your horse.
 
somethingorother said:
I guess she may well be fine over the summer, and i am glad you are getting her teeth sorted, but what when the winter comes and the grass goes again? It doesn't last forever.
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She is currently in an 8 acre field, which is rested half the year. in the winter months she is going to be in a different field approx 6 or 7 acres which is also rested half the year.
 
Bedlam said:
I would also suggest a worm count if you're not already on a good worming programme. Make sure that you poo pick her field regularly to keep it clean, and try to manage your grazing by rotating and treating.

Does she have a stable? She may benefit from coming in during the day to ad lib haylage and a couple of good feeds or a veteran mix (I think she's quite old from memory)?

I have read your threads since the beginning and I respect you for keeping on coming back despite the slatings you get on here. I think they are pretty justified to be honest, if a little blunt, but you do seem to take notice and try your hardest to do the best for your horse. Don't be put off, keep coming back, and keep looking for help and advice. She does look marginally better in the second pic, but I'm another one that is restricting grazing at the moment to keep weight down. She's suprisingly poor imho for this time of year.
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I did a worm count on friday :)
Thanks :)
 
JadeyyAndLadyy said:
She is currently in an 8 acre field, which is rested half the year. in the winter months she is going to be in a different field approx 6 or 7 acres which is also rested half the year.
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And when it turns to mud or is covered in snow? How many horses are on 6 or 7 acres? That amount of space would struggle to support more than 5 for anywhere close to half a year imo without extra forage.
 
This is what I struggle to comprehend - you see her every day and you said she looked great through the winter but she can't have lost that much condition overnight. How can you not notice a horse getting that poor? I'm not trying to be nasty, or harsh, or blunt, but I think the responsibility for the mare's poor condition lies with you - it isn't a surprise to you that she obviously requires careful (and regular!) feeding, she's looked like this before. Anyway. I'm not saying what you want to hear, so I'm bowing out now.

Hopefully if you love her as much as you claim, there won't be any more photos of a poor old horse in very poor condition.
 
somethingorother said:
The sign that something is amis should have been your hat rack horse, not an unmoved feed bucket. Did she have a rug on? Did you take it off to check her? I'm sure i have seen excuses in the past of people not feeding her when they said they would. I think it's down to you to feed her, she's your horse.
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I know shes my responsibilty. That is why i moved her, so that i didnt have to rely on anyone else.
 
Oh, for christs sake! Some people are being unnecessarily harsh. Lady looks fine, and far from 'poor' in reality. So, we can see her ribs, she is short of muscles/lack of fitness and her coat hasn't come through properly in the first pic, but thats not nearing deaths door! Jade works hard at this mare, yet she is proud of her too and some of you are the sort of people who puts real dampeners on horse ownership.
My elderly mare, in comparisson to Lady, at one point looked very thin coming out of winter in mid march time. She had been fine all through the worst of the winter and suddenly dropped off like no tomorrow. Yet, when I posted a pic of her, I had comments of her being 'fat'! It doesn't add up, and Lady being the type of horse she is, is never going to be 'well covered'. Also, have to note, why are people questioning the first photo, when clearly the horse has improved? Should you not be applauding Jade on the right choices she has made for the horse in order to get her looking better?
Jade, you are doing a fab job and Lady IS looking well.
 
RuthnMeg said:
Oh, for christs sake! Some people are being unnecessarily harsh. Lady looks fine, and far from 'poor' in reality. So, we can see her ribs, she is short of muscles/lack of fitness and her coat hasn't come through properly in the first pic, but thats not nearing deaths door! Jade works hard at this mare, yet she is proud of her too and some of you are the sort of people who puts real dampeners on horse ownership.
My elderly mare, in comparisson to Lady, at one point looked very thin coming out of winter in mid march time. She had been fine all through the worst of the winter and suddenly dropped off like no tomorrow. Yet, when I posted a pic of her, I had comments of her being 'fat'! It doesn't add up, and Lady being the type of horse she is, is never going to be 'well covered'. Also, have to note, why are people questioning the first photo, when clearly the horse has improved? Should you not be applauding Jade on the right choices she has made for the horse in order to get her looking better?
Jade, you are doing a fab job and Lady IS looking well.
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Thank you, This really does mean alot to me x
 
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