Skinny horse & still losing weight

M

Michelle c

Active Member
Joined
26 November 2012
Messages
43
Visit site
I have a 21 arab horse i have had for 18 years.Back in August this year my horse received a kick to the head. At the time in was just a cut below the eye. I then decided to move fields.
After a few weeks I noticed that she had started to loss weight even though they is more grass in the new field. I thought it was stress but decided to put her on new feed for increasing weight on laminitic horses as well as increasing her feed.

By the beginning of October she still wasn’t putting any weight on even though she had stopped losing weight by this time. I decided to have her back looked at . She said that her C1 & C2 was out at the top of the neck which was affecting the jaw & her ability to chew so the food wasnt getting into her system properly for her to digest her food so hence the weight loss. (I can provide the written receipts & reports on this).After several visits (as it kept popping back out again.) I had her teeth looked at which were fine but did show some misalignment in the past but were in place by this time. He mentioned to me to get the vet out as she still wasn’t improving as she should do. By this time she was getting very lethargic & wasn’t being ridden.

On the 22nd October I got my vets out, my vet examined her & took blood for testing. She was tested for Cushing’s at the same time but came back negative for that but a high White blood count so was put on anti biotics for a week. After a week she was visited again & more blood was taken. The White blood count was down but still no improvement. the vet decided to send the blood of again to have it retested for Cushing’s but again it was negative. The vet has decided to try the Cushing’s tablets just to see if they is any improvement. She has been on the tablets now for a week & still no change as yet. My vet wants to maybe look at the pain side of things if this doesn’t work as I have had back woman down again since & she is still in pain from her neck, withers & back. She has loads to eat & hay. Her feed is lo-cal, fibre beet, linseed meal, hi fi lite & fenugreek.
Has anyone else had these problems before?
 
She is out to grass from 08.00 til 17.30. She has a large breakfast & a haynet before she goes out then another large feed & loads of hay when she gets in. There is still grass in the field too. She hasnt been riden for over a month after not well enough & all her spine is showing.
 
Huge feeds will not help - you need to feed small ones - so think about splitting the ration in to 4. What are you feeding her?

Hay her in the field, and obviously make sure she's warm enough.

Bute trail, to see if it is pain relief. Blood tests (as you're doing) to narrow down the reason for the high white cell count. It may be that something pretty rubbish is going on (cancer, liver failure) etc. which could be the problem, with a difficult decision needing to be made sooner rather than later.
 
Last edited:
Love the cats by the way. I have 4 of my own. Cant feed hay in the field cos of the other horses & she does split the large feed i give her at night herself as she eating some then some hay etc. The white blood count is normal now & no sign of problems with the liver etc. Not sure how they go about finding out if it is cancer. But also not sure how long the Cushing tablets take to work either. My vet said i should wait a month to see if there is any improvement before doing anything else. If things dont get any better i will have to start bring in earlier but as the vets bills are already upto £1000 (not sure if i can claim as she isnt insured for Cushings because of the Lamie prblem 3 years ago) i could without the £2.00 charge for bring in. I have showed the vet how much i am eating her per day & she is happy. Im am with the Ashbrooks Equine Hospital.
 
I would be very inclined to try thermal imaging to pinpoint any area for definite so you know what to focus on but at 22, she might be suffering from delayed shock to the kick which takes a long time for them to come to terms with; exactly the same as it is for older people; shock and stress can take so much away from you.

Out of interest, what are her gums like, what colour? This probably occurred when she was kicked; the fact there was only a little cut at the time doesn't denote how strong the kick was and whether it jarred anything deeper.
 
Thats a good idea. I will ask the vet. She did knock her C2 & C2 out but they are back in place now. Was thinking of putting her on something for her stress as she is worried cos im worried. But again the vet said to wait as i wont know if it is the Cushing tablets working or not. Do you know how long it takes for Cushing tablets to work?
 
You need to increase the calories , what wieght of linseed are you feeding and how much beet no reason to give hi if lite to a skinny horse I would gradually indroduce Alfafa or perhaps alfaoil depending how much wieght of linseed you are giving I would also be feeding haylage mixing it with the hay at first and making all changes gradually.
 
amymay said:
What hard feed are you feeding?

£1000 seems a huge amount of money in vet's fees??
Click to expand...
Im feeding Lo-cal, fibre beet, hi-fi lite, linseed meal & fenugreek. She cant have mixed cereal as it sends her loppy & have to be careful cos of the lamie. The vet said i am eating right.
 
In your shoes, I'd be looking for a veteran feed that is going to offer more calories (as you wan't her to put weight on.....). She's hardly getting any calories - so am not surprised really at the lack of weight gain.
 
Michelle c said:
Im feeding Lo-cal, fibre beet, hi-fi lite, linseed meal & fenugreek. She cant have mixed cereal as it sends her loppy & have to be careful cos of the lamie. The vet said i am eating right.
Click to expand...

Ok that's why she's had lami .
But you have to increase calories if the horse is still losing wieght that meas increasing the time she has acess to hay and I would feed more beet put you have told us any amounts you are feeding I am am giving beet could mean anything.
 
Goldenstar said:
You need to increase the calories , what wieght of linseed are you feeding and how much beet no reason to give hi if lite to a skinny horse I would gradually indroduce Alfafa or perhaps alfaoil depending how much wieght of linseed you are giving I would also be feeding haylage mixing it with the hay at first and making all changes gradually.
Click to expand...

I am giving her a mug of linseed a day but might increase that. The haylage on the yard thay her the runs. Part of her hay is soated & part is dry. As she prefers the hay stuff but have to be careful because of the lamie. I will try the alfafa though. This horse is skin & bone though there is nothing left on her. Everyone of her ribs are showing with her hips & spine showing aswell. I dont think its a case now of what to feed. Her gums are normal as are her teeth.
 
I would change the hi-fi lite to something like Alpha (the oil one) asap. I would also add Pink Powder to ensure the vits and mins are right. Maybe also switch to haylage.

I'm surprised your vet hasn't checked this diet :confused:
 
Have you tried haylage and hay to see if she can have some haylage .
How much beet a coffee mug you need to wieght that work out how many grammes a day she is getting .
You need to get the calories up in a safe way.
That does sound enough food .
 
shysmum said:
I would change the hi-fi lite to something like Alpha (the oil one) asap. I would also add Pink Powder to ensure the vits and mins are right. Maybe also switch to haylage.

I'm surprised your vet hasn't checked this diet :confused:
Click to expand...

The vet said she thinks what i am eating is ok. Will try Alpha, cant go on haylage as it gives her the runs so tried that. As i have mentioned, i think there is more going on than food. This horse is so skinny that i think it is medical.
 
amymay said:
Why are you soaking her hay??
Click to expand...

The horse has a history of laminitis. Even skinny horses that are lami prone need their hay soaked.

OP, there is more going on than the feed issue here. Your horse should not be so skinny with what you are feeding her, which you obviously know. Avoid veteran mixes etc as they are not suitable for laminitics. I agree with Maesfen, this is most likely a result of the kick she sustained some time ago. Good advice re the thermal imaging too.

Pracend takes around a month to start working.

Personally, if she were mine, I would bring her in after two hours turnout whilst she is this thin. You don't want her expending too much energy. It may also be that she is stressed out there because of the kick and is frightened it will happen again. This in itself would be enough to make her worry the weight off.
 
Last edited:
Michelle c said:
I have a 21 arab horse i have had for 18 years.Back in August this year my horse received a kick to the head. At the time in was just a cut below the eye. I then decided to move fields.
After a few weeks I noticed that she had started to loss weight even though they is more grass in the new field. I thought it was stress but decided to put her on new feed for increasing weight on laminitic horses as well as increasing her feed.

By the beginning of October she still wasn’t putting any weight on even though she had stopped losing weight by this time. I decided to have her back looked at . She said that her C1 & C2 was out at the top of the neck which was affecting the jaw & her ability to chew so the food wasnt getting into her system properly for her to digest her food so hence the weight loss. (I can provide the written receipts & reports on this).After several visits (as it kept popping back out again.) I had her teeth looked at which were fine but did show some misalignment in the past but were in place by this time. He mentioned to me to get the vet out as she still wasn’t improving as she should do. By this time she was getting very lethargic & wasn’t being ridden.

On the 22nd October I got my vets out, my vet examined her & took blood for testing. She was tested for Cushing’s at the same time but came back negative for that but a high White blood count so was put on anti biotics for a week. After a week she was visited again & more blood was taken. The White blood count was down but still no improvement. the vet decided to send the blood of again to have it retested for Cushing’s but again it was negative. The vet has decided to try the Cushing’s tablets just to see if they is any improvement. She has been on the tablets now for a week & still no change as yet. My vet wants to maybe look at the pain side of things if this doesn’t work as I have had back woman down again since & she is still in pain from her neck, withers & back. She has loads to eat & hay. Her feed is lo-cal, fibre beet, linseed meal, hi fi lite & fenugreek.
Has anyone else had these problems before?
Click to expand...



Sounds to me they need to do some more tests.

I presume you have had a dentist in to see if her teeth are ok?? If she had a kick to the head she could have broken or damaged a tooth

Have you done a worm count??

Is there a bully out there that pushes her about within the pecking order?? she could be stressed with that

have they taken her temperature?


check her liver and kidney , liver disease they lose weight to and its linked to lami if you have used bute


Poor Feeding Regimen
Not taking into account increased caloric needs
Feeding the wrong quantity or quality of grain and hay
Dehydration
Parasites
Dental issues
Age


What ever you do don't pump her full of mix build up feeds and things like propell plus. Do more thorough research then speak to D&H leading nutrition who will give you a tailored diet for her based on her condition.
 
Goldenstar said:
Ok that's why she's had lami .
But you have to increase calories if the horse is still losing wieght that meas increasing the time she has acess to hay and I would feed more beet put you have told us any amounts you are feeding I am am giving beet could mean anything.
Click to expand...

She wasnt on these feeds when she got lamie. She moved fields & got lamie from too much rich grass but that was 3.5 years ago now. She is getting about 2 mugs a day of the fibre beet & 1 mug of linseed meal, with 3 double hands full of chop. Worried about feeding too much sugar & starch.
 
I would try a Bute trial. Also How was the issue with the C1 and C2 diagnosed and treated, that would concern me a bit and how much is she drinking and peeing, has that changed? Ashbrooks are usually pretty good, or they can get you a refferal to Leahurst, assuming your still covered by insurance.
 
Whatever our agreements or disagreements about your feeding regime, I think we'd all agree your horses is in crisis.

I'd be asking for an immediate referral to hospital OP.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
 
Leviathan said:
Sounds to me they need to do some more tests.

I presume you have had a dentist in to see if her teeth are ok?? If she had a kick to the head she could have broken or damaged a tooth

Have you done a worm count??

Is there a bully out there that pushes her about within the pecking order?? she could be stressed with that

have they taken her temperature?


check her liver and kidney , liver disease they lose weight to and its linked to lami if you have used bute


Poor Feeding Regimen
Not taking into account increased caloric needs
Feeding the wrong quantity or quality of grain and hay
Dehydration
Parasites
Dental issues
Age


What ever you do don't pump her full of mix build up feeds and things like propell plus. Do more thorough research then speak to D&H leading nutrition who will give you a tailored diet for her based on her condition.
Click to expand...

I have had her teeth checked, moved fields so not bullied. The hay is good quality. We have worm counts all the time & she has no worms but thinking of worming her anyway just to check. The blood tests ( i have had two in 3 weeks) have showed nothing her white cell count was up but she then had a course of anti biotics so find now. She hasnt been on bute for years so not that either.
 
Michelle c said:
The blood tests ( i have had two in 3 weeks) have showed nothing her white cell count was up but she then had a course of anti biotics so find now. She hasnt been on bute for years so not that either.
Click to expand...

Confused regarding the blood tests, because in your first post you said this:

The White blood count was down but still no improvement. the vet decided to send the blood of again to have it retested for Cushing’s but again it was negative.
Click to expand...

Have you tested and wormed for tapeworm?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top