opinions please skinny horse

ivandenisovich10

ivandenisovich10

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hi, I posted a little while ago about my horse being on loan and not being happy with his condition (they seemed to be over rugging and feeding) well he came home last weekend and i just wanted to attach a couple of pics to show you and for your opionion. im not sure the pics show the true skinnyness as i was angry and didnt do a very good job . he is slowly looking better now. but these are of when he arrived back.

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He would score very low on body scoring, that's for sure. Did they ever take off the rugs to look at the horse underneath? I guess they must have as he's clipped! That would also suggest he was being ridden! Not good.
 
His back end looks awful but looks like extreme lack of muscle more than anything to me. Poor boy, bet you're livid!! x

Good luck getting him back happy again x
 
lcharles said:
His back end looks awful but looks like extreme lack of muscle more than anything to me. Poor boy, bet you're livid!! x

Good luck getting him back happy again x
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I agree the fat covering on the ribs does not match the rear end , OP I would get an equine vet to take a look.
I would be extremely worried if a horse you describe as being over fed was looking like this.
 
I would agree it might be wise to get a vet to check him. Presumably he didn't look this bad when you saw him 10 days ago so it must be quite a quick loss of muscle over his back end.
 
He appears to have an ok covering over his ribs but that doesn't match the back end at all. I would be very concerned about the lack of muscle over his quarters. I would def be getting the vet out to have a look. You poor thing :(
 
MontyandZoom said:
He appears to have an ok covering over his ribs but that doesn't match the back end at all. I would be very concerned about the lack of muscle over his quarters. I would def be getting the vet out to have a look. You poor thing :(
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I agree with this and a few others, to accuratly body score you score 3 parts of the body and take a mean of these. His back end has no muscle and + weight loss looks very poor but his ribs are ok as is neck. I would say get an equine vet out asap as there must be something else going on here esp if he is rugged and fed. Maybe unrelated pelvic issue??
 
Wow - those are some poverty lines.

If he were mine I'd get the vet out, get bloods checked just in case, and get him some decent food. As long as there's nothing sinister I'm sure he'll pick up, least he is home and safe now.
 
MontyandZoom said:
He appears to have an ok covering over his ribs but that doesn't match the back end at all. I would be very concerned about the lack of muscle over his quarters. I would def be getting the vet out to have a look. You poor thing :(
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I also agree with this, which was my first thought when saw the pictures. I do hope continues to improve.
 
It's bizarre, those ribs with a healthy rump attached would not be too bad.... The muscle wastage on is backend suggests he maybe has been stabled constantly for a long period? Maybe?
Poor boy x
 
He's been living out but in foot deep mud. With at one point 5 rugs on I was told cause he was cold! He was cold cause he couldn't move! As far as I know they were riding him up until 2 weeks ago (while he was lame with an absess) and they worked him into the ground and all his sparkle went. In the week he has been home he has picked up and is playing with my other two and looks a lot brighter. But the vet is coming to check him over. And thankyou for the thoughts on his pelvis, it was something I hadn't immediatly thought of but will get him to give him a thorough going over. Thankyou
 
Do you have any "before" photos showing his rear end before he went on loan? I just wondered how prominent his croup is when up to weight as at the moment his quarters don't match his rib cage as others have said. I have an old TB who has quite a jumpers bump when at his best weight wise.

I can see why you would be upset, but even though they have been over rugging it seems odd that he would be so thin over his quarters especially if they have been over feeding too. Do you mean his meals were too large or he was given too much cereal? Did he get adlib hay or haylage or was he bullied off it by the others?
 
Ill try and find a pic of before he went and post when I get home. From what I know he was having two huge feeds a day of some power cubes, oats and flaked barley and sugar beet if I was to guess in kilos about 5 per meal. I'm changing him over to pure feeds again slowly as he was on this before he went and he is getting 4 small feeds a day now. I don't think he was bullied but I don't kniw what to believe anymore
 
On a positive spring grass is on its way through-FACT as my girls are still scoffing till late now and not waiting at the gate.
Lots of TLC, maybe a 5 day wormer to cover that off and get on good steady diet.

Good luck cant wait for the after pics!
 
I should imagine with that lot being chucked into him he has ended up with a very disturbed hind gut :-(
I think you are right to get the vet to check him over as I know pics can be deceptive but as others have pointed out he looks 'odd' behind.
Glad he is back in safe hands now & that he can begin his recovery.
What pure feeds are you giving him?
 
A horse cannot process 5kgs of feed in one sitting. The maximum is around 5lbs (2.5kgs roughly) so you splitting his feeds into 4 times a day is the way to go. He is not skinny in his body and neck but he does have a lot of muscle wastage on his back end (as others have said). Am guessing he's a TB or TBx, their back ends are usually the first bit to drop off when something is amiss so you're wise having the vet come and take a look at him.
 
Pure condition (was reccormended) and its what he looked good on before. He is a tb and is naturally lean and he did drop of a tiny bit in winter when I had him but nothing like this. His guts where incredibly noisy when he came back and would just stand there farting for hours. Since being home this has settled down a lot. Thanks again for all your comments and advice
 
Another vote for Pure Feeds. I was recommended them by the team at Jason Webb's yard, and now all our ponies are on it - Pure Condition is good for our lighter TBs...
 
The hind quarters are awful, but....his coat is very good, so wouldn't have thought he's wormy/ill as such. Let us know if you find anything. I'm not sure I believe the amount of feed they were supposedly giving him!
 
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