Skinny horse & still losing weight

amymay said:
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.
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Thats the problem. She is with an equine hospital at the moment & they cant figure it out. Thats why i came on here to see if anyone else has been though this. I dont think it is just a case of changing feed though i do take everyones point about increasing the calaries & will look into that. Both me & the vets think there is more going on.
 
I had an old girl that went like this :-( She was at least 26 yrs old & have been tested negative for cushings but did have all the signs (long coat, drank & weed lots) vet put her onto 'Pergolide' tablets but they didn't help at all.

We did manage her very carefully for about 12 months. She would have 4 small feeds a day & a mix of haylage & soaked hay.

She was doing really well until she went to a friend for her daughter to potter about on. The friend was very experienced but it was in the Spring & i think that the change of (very restricted) grass just tipped the balance & she went downhill very quickly. She came straight back to me but she now had laminitis & we decided to call it a day.

I suspect that your suspicions are true that your mare has got something else going on, maybe caused by the kick back in August, who knows. I understand what you mean about vet fees, it cost me over £500 to get my girl tested & that was 6 yrs ago, then it was inconclusive.

Good luck, i hope that you do get to the bottom of it.
 
amymay said:
Confused regarding the blood tests, because in your first post you said this:



Have you tested and wormed for tapeworm?
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They are worm counted all the time but i am getting a dual wormer just in case.
She has had 2 blood test. The first had a high white blood count then after the course of anti biotics in was normal.
 
Michelle c said:
Thats the problem. She is with an equine hospital at the moment & they cant figure it out. Thats why i came on here to see if anyone else has been though this. I dont think it is just a case of changing feed though i do take everyones point about increasing the calaries & will look into that. Both me & the vets think there is more going on.
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Ashbrooks is more like a dedicated equine vet practise, with a posh name rather than an proper equine hospital as I would call them, I got my horse refered to Leahurst from there, thats where I would be going next.
 
HazyXmas said:
I had an old girl that went like this :-( She was at least 26 yrs old & have been tested negative for cushings but did have all the signs (long coat, drank & weed lots) vet put her onto 'Pergolide' tablets but they didn't help at all.

We did manage her very carefully for about 12 months. She would have 4 small feeds a day & a mix of haylage & soaked hay.

She was doing really well until she went to a friend for her daughter to potter about on. The friend was very experienced but it was in the Spring & i think that the change of (very restricted) grass just tipped the balance & she went downhill very quickly. She came straight back to me but she now had laminitis & we decided to call it a day.

I suspect that your suspicions are true that your mare has got something else going on, maybe caused by the kick back in August, who knows. I understand what you mean about vet fees, it cost me over £500 to get my girl tested & that was 6 yrs ago, then it was inconclusive.

Good luck, i hope that you do get to the bottom of it.
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Thats so sad. I hope i dont end up like that. Its just a shock to see her like this. She was a rescue horse & left to starve to death but some of the best breeding in the country. By the time of go her at just turned 4 she had had a still born foal & the other foal cut her insides really bad & was found lying on other died animals with only hours to live. She is a fighter & deseves for me to do my best for her.
 
badgermyers said:
Havnt read the whole thread sorry as I dont have time. Have the vets checked liver ect. Sounds just like my OHs pony. That had damage from ragwort that it must have eaten years ago! Sounds like this
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No its not that. Both blood tests show no sign of liver damage & i have had her for 18 years & been careful with grazing.
 
ossy said:
Ashbrooks is more like a dedicated equine vet practise, with a posh name rather than an proper equine hospital as I would call them, I got my horse refered to Leahurst from there, thats where I would be going next.
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How did you do that? I dont drive which would be a problem for me. Did your insurance pay?
 
Worm counts don't test for tapeworm - you need her blood tested for that (which they may already have done.)

How long has she been at the hospital for?
 
She is getting wormed for tape worm next week anyway but thought i would dual worm her just in case enough though her worm count is normally zero.
She is still at home at the moment. I dont really want her going away as she will get more stressed & i dont drive so cant go to see her either.
 
Wagtail said:
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.
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I think i might do that & get her brought in early. I did change fields when she got the kick as that was what i thought. I might try her on something for the stress when when the cushing trial ends to see if that helps
 
Michelle c said:
I think i might do that & get her brought in early. I did change fields when she got the kick as that was what i thought. I might try her on something for the stress when when the cushing trial ends to see if that helps
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Magnesium is good for calming, and for laminitis prevention too.
 
Michelle c said:
How did you do that? I dont drive which would be a problem for me. Did your insurance pay?
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Just ask have a word with the vet that is dealing with you, say she is not getting any better and do you think its something you can get refered for? I have my own transport so just drove her over, is about 50mins in a wagon from Ashbrooks. My insurance does cover expenses for transport as standard yes, so worth checking the small print, my current policy also covers 50% of livery charges while at the horsepital, something else to check. I am with what some others have said I would be leaning towards something else rather than your feed being the problem. There are lots of other options like thermal imaging as someone said, Scanning, Scintigraphy ect
 
ossy said:
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.
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The bute trial is the next time.
I have Katherine Palin as a back doctor. She put them back in place but they were out again afew days later then she put them back again. It turns out that my horse has a few problems dating back from about 18 months on her withers, chest & back. I am still having Katherine as my horse has still got a very stiff neck. Both me & Katherine thought she had a facture to the neck as her leghs would shake if you touched to C1/C2 area but now she does that when you touch other areas as well. The vet checked that out & said there is not sign of a broken neck its just that she carries all her stress in her neck which she does. I have changed to a hay bar to make it easlier for her to have her hay. She all so thows her hay over her back using her head so i doubt if she would do that if she did have a broken neck.

She is peeing & drinking alot now & for the last month or so but not sure if that is because i now give her more dry hay. At the moment i havent claimed as she isnt insured for Cushing but my vet is helping me fill out the claim form so i can claim as it is about £1000 so far with vet & back fees.
 
ossy said:
Just ask have a word with the vet that is dealing with you, say she is not getting any better and do you think its something you can get refered for? I have my own transport so just drove her over, is about 50mins in a wagon from Ashbrooks. My insurance does cover expenses for transport as standard yes, so worth checking the small print, my current policy also covers 50% of livery charges while at the horsepital, something else to check. I am with what some others have said I would be leaning towards something else rather than your feed being the problem. There are lots of other options like thermal imaging as someone said, Scanning, Scintigraphy ect
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Thank you. Im with Petplan for insurance. Im not sure if the months trial on the Cushing tablets is going to be enough but then they want to go on the bute after the month is up. Im going to ask my vet if there is anyone else she can talk to at Ashbrooks or where she thinks i should go to leahurst. I dont like to thought of her going away as i couldnt get to see her & i have been with her every day. I went away on hols for the first time this year in 18 years & she attacked someone. Also i had Anne Dee ( 5 months after she came home from the hospital) the horse communicator & she said when she went to Ashbrooks about 5 years away they talked about putting her down in front of her & that really scared her. Was thinking about speaking to Anne again. But when i had Anne about 5 months ago red said she didnt want to say to much as she would upset me but is was losing muscle tone then & asked for a new saddle as the old was had dropped on her withers & when she gets stress her neck gets sore & could i massage her neck for her.
 
You sound as though you are both going through it at the moment, poor things! Have you tried adding vegetable oil to her feeds to up the calories a bit? You can add quite a lot safely as long as she doesn't have liver damage or insulin resistance. Good luck, hope you get to the bottom of it soon. :)
 
Forget the animal communicator, that is just rubbish. You need to increase the amount of calories you are giving her, Winergy do a conditioning feed that is low starch/sugar and high fibre/oil. If she doesn't pick up from what you describe as skin and bone then I hate to say but if she was mine, I would be making the kindest decision. I have been there with my old mare, although I didn't let her get to that stage, it was suspected that she had lymphosarcoma, and I didn't want to put her through a load of tests so I let her go.
I should add that she was 26, and at the age of 23 she suffered from endotoximia and nearly died, caused most probably by a course of antibiotics, so I had already made the decision that is she got ill again then that was it.
 
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lhotse said:
Forget the animal communicator, that is just rubbish. You need to increase the amount of calories you are giving her, Winergy do a conditioning feed that is low starch/sugar and high fibre/oil. If she doesn't pick up from what you describe as skin and bone then I hate to say but if she was mine, I would be making the kindest decision. I have been there with my old mare, although I didn't let her get to that stage, it was suspected that she had lymphosarcoma, and I didn't want to put her through a load of tests so I let her go.
I should add that she was 26, and at the age of 23 she suffered from endotoximia and nearly died, caused most probably by a course of antibiotics, so I had already made the decision that is she got ill again then that was it.
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What is lymphosarcoma & what are the symptoms? I dont want to give up now. She has only got down hill in the last 3 months since the kick so just want to get to the bottom of it really.
 
hollybear said:
You sound as though you are both going through it at the moment, poor things! Have you tried adding vegetable oil to her feeds to up the calories a bit? You can add quite a lot safely as long as she doesn't have liver damage or insulin resistance. Good luck, hope you get to the bottom of it soon. :)
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Thank you Hollybear. I think it is more than just feed problems as i have trebled her feed & hay as well as adding the fibre beet, linseed meal & fenugreek in the last 3 months & nothing is working
 
Michelle c said:
Thank you WAGTAIL. I will try that.
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Just bear in mind that if the horse isn't lacking in magnesium it wont help and can make them worst.


I have to ride my boy back on magic as a 4 month trial on magnesium made him worst. Spooky sharp a right **** on hacks.

Breaking my heart knowing I will never ride my mare (his mum) again who Whenever need calming.
 
The symptoms were pretty vague. She wasn't eating as much hay, had oedema under her belly although this didn't become an issue until the last few weeks and she had problems chewing as she was sore through her spine and poll area. She was put on a course of danilon to see if that would enable her to eat better but then she stopped eating completely and developed symptoms of colitis as well so the decision was made to PTS. The deterioration from just being 'not quite right' to the end was less than a week. She rapidly dropped weight. The vet said that aggressive multicentric lyphosarcoma wouls be first on her list. Some horses have a more steady decline, I remember someone on here years ago who had a horse with it.
 
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