My horse looks really bloated, What can I do ?

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niagaraduval

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My horse has been looking really bloated for a while now. I posted some pics on the forum about a month back and was told to de-worm him again and do it for tapeworm too.

I bought a new wormer, de-wormed him and I also picked up one just for tapeworm, which he will be having next week. Since I have de-wormed him it doesn't seem to have made much difference. He was out in his paddock for about 2 weeks before going out on the big fields to get him used to being on grass again.

He is now only on grass, doesn't have any hard feed as he is on 24 acres with a friend it's just the two of them.

I can't post actual photos but this photo looks pretty similar to what my boy is currently looking like..


 
I'd wait and see what the tapewormer does first; plus twenty four acres between two horses is an awful lot, he could just have a grass belly?
 
My little cousins pony came with a very bloated gut, it made him look the strangest shape.. But nothing really changed it, restricting grass didn't help & he wasn't fat, you could still feel his ribs. Saw the vet a couple of months ago (a vet who is also an osteopath) and she thought it was a gut imbalance, he was out on a total molasses free diet & given ulcer treatment..4 weeks later & he looks fab & is filling out. Am trying to find you a before & after pic..
 
Thanks for your reply :) Interesting ! So was it just change in feed that helped ? I don't think he has ulcers, He is an ex racer but hasn't ever had ulcers and doesn't bat an eyelid when I feel around on his tummy/girth him up etc..
 
He does seem a lot more calm than he usually is, but he is always calm when he is out 24/7 he just mooches about all day. He does gallop off if I run around him and generally wind him up. I also watch him play with other horse sometimes so I'm not sure ?

He doesn't feel any different when riding him, except a bit lazy from time to time.
 
Well a change of feed has done something good.. Which I know because I also changed my tb onto the same as he has had ulcers & his feet are crap atm. With my tb i changed his ed and after 3-4 days he completely stopped getting in a state at dinner time & stopped kicking the wall which he has done every night since ive had him.As for pony he was never girthy, he didn't definitely have ulcers but there was definately something going on with his belly..but the equine vet I took him to is also an osteopath so sometimes treats them naturally if she feels it will work instead of medication. So no harm in treating him for ulcers just in case. Pony also never ever stood square, always had one hind leg under his stomach & wasn't that happy with back legs being lifted.
 
I'm not sure he needs feed though ? He is out all the time on lots of grass I think feeding him would make him put lots of weight on, he's a very good doer when he's out 24/7 and quickly becomes the size of an elephant even on rotated (so restricted) grazing..

If feed could be the key I suppose I could try and muzzle him and feed him ? because I think feeding and keeping him how he is currently will make him very overweight.

Can you recommend me any feed that you have used ?
 
Ours are out all day & in at night, not restricted grazing but we have huge fields for winter to keep the grazing going & smaller fields for the summer with quite short grass ( looks like a mown lawn)

it does sound as though your horse could just have a grass belly, especially if out 24 hours. As I haven't done 24 hours as yard doesn't allow this, I don't know if people who don't feed worry about there hors having a gut balancer? Maybe someone can tell us?

I think the trouble with ours was more that feeds that contained sugar was irritating him, that's why we went molasses free. But then on the other hand the grass this time of year does contain a lot of sugar. We just feed a round scoop of hifi molasses free, speedi beet, 365 vitamin which also is a balancer & the tb has his hoof supplement.
 
If you suspect it could be ulcer related, then ensuring he is getting plenty of fibre should help, I don' think you'd need specific feeds unless you wanted to try something like happy tummy, or a supplement, not sure if you can get that where you are though?

I think if you are worried enough then maybe a vet check and blood tests might tell you if there is anything going on, some heart and liver conditions can cause bloating, I'm not saying that your horse has these, but for your own peace of mind an all round health check might be in order.
 
I wil look into that but they are on 3 acres at a time (2 big horses - both 16.2) so I think restricting them more would be a bad thing. He also can't come in at all as has severe COPD and must stay out at all times when he can, when he is in everything must be immaculate for him. :(

That's a good point, it could be the sweet grass, but then he was like it before he went out, that's why i'm thinking it's not the grass...it's not just come on since he has been out, he had a big belly before he went out. I thought it was worms but I have de-wormed him twice and an de-worming him for tapeworm next week. He has also never had worms and I can't see anything in the poo at all, which seems slightly yellower than usual by the way...


Edit : I think it's time for blood tests :( One thing after another with my poor boy..
 
niagaraduval said:
I wil look into that but they are on 3 acres at a time (2 big horses - both 16.2) so I think restricting them more would be a bad thing. He also can't come in at all as has severe COPD and must stay out at all times when he can, when he is in everything must be immaculate for him. :(

That's a good point, it could be the sweet grass, but then he was like it before he went out, that's why i'm thinking it's not the grass...it's not just come on since he has been out, he had a big belly before he went out. I thought it was worms but I have de-wormed him twice and an de-worming him for tapeworm next week. He has also never had worms and I can't see anything in the poo at all, which seems slightly yellower than usual by the way...


Edit : I think it's time for blood tests :( One thing after another with my poor boy..
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Bless him! I hope you get some answers, but try not to stress as it might just be something easy to fix!! Best of luck.
 
Try something like fennel it the tape wormer doesn't do anything. It helped my sisters pony who used to get bloated during summer. It dispels gasses in the gut.
 
3 acres between 2 horses at this time of year could easily cause a grass belly. The problem mare in the field I have my two in produces awful cowpats - I'm washing my wheelbarrow after poo picking, it's that bad and 4 of them are on less than 2 acres. I'm itching to give her some brewer's yeast and electrolytes as her gut can't be healthy! I would try either restricting further for a while, until the summer burns the grass off a bit (ha!) or muzzle for some of the day. Does he produce sloppy poos at the moment? Mine started bloating before going out 24/7, too - it only takes a few hours of Spring grass to do it. I muzzled for their turnout hours and poos returned to normal.
 
Lots of horses at the yard have been coming in like that, it seems to be caused by the grass, my horse has been pretty bloated and gassy so trying to restrict the amount of time he is out.
Exercise seems to help reduce the bloating too.
 
His poo isn't sloppy at all, it's like normal quite firm but is yellower than usual I have noticed.

I will look into getting some supplements or herbs I can try him on. He's not exercised at all at the moment as had bad rug rub on his withers and it's taking a while to heal up, he's out 24/7.
 
Sounds like grass belly and weak core muscles to me. Exercise and correct work which engages the core muscles should help.

Until then you could do carrot stretches... though if you're worried about extra sugar you'd better make them sugar free polo stretches :D.
 
TwoStroke said:
Sounds like grass belly and weak core muscles to me. Exercise and correct work which engages the core muscles should help.

Until then you could do carrot stretches... though if you're worried about extra sugar you'd better make them sugar free polo stretches :D.
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Thanks for the suggestion :) Better make it sugar free polos stretches then !
 
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