Someone reported my horse to the rspca!

[Meowy Catkin]

He has hay overnight in the field but I can ask if we can put a big bale in there because no the grazing isn't great atm, though should be on better grass soon when they rotate.

I think that this explains why he is light. He would look a lot better if he'd had ad lib hay all the time this winter. There isn't any grass in the field that's shown in the photo. Get him on ad lib hay now.

CPT is right, you are going to have to walk the tricky line between feeding him so that his condition improves and keeping him from getting laminitis.

 

[shadowboy]

Does anyone else feel that it's a VERY dangerous time of year to suggest giving a horse a lot more food and a lot less exercise?

OP, I think you should wait for the spring grass and see what he's like at the end of May. If he has enough energy to do a cross country fence of that size, there's not a whole lot wrong with him.

Exactly! Over feeding the system could pose more problems

 

[SillySausage]

I've not read all of the replies but I am the owner of a neurotic TB who up until recently has looked awful. I've never had such a problem with any of my horses, but this mare in particular 'stresses' a lot of weight off.

Two weeks ago I added a small amount of barley rings to her feeds that she gets twice daily and the difference has been incredible!!! Her behaviour has not changed at all and she has a good covering now.

Note also that she is on ad lib hay as we have only started turning back out today due to fields wrecked in the floods.

 

[paulineh]

from the 2 photos of him unridden I would say yes he looks pretty poor, also that possibly you need to build his top line without a rider and then get a saddle fitted as he is very hollow behind the withers indicating a poor fitting saddle. I would certainly not be working him fairly hard or doing cross country on him

Rubbish. He looks fine. Is he clipped because that will always make the look thinner. He looks FIT and better than a pile of overweight fat horses.

 

[Moomin1]

Rubbish. He looks fine. Is he clipped because that will always make the look thinner. He looks FIT and better than a pile of overweight fat horses.

Are you serious? The horse doesn't look fine. It's got poor top line and is underweight. He does not look fit.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

He looks poor, not fit and lean like a racehorse. I'd still love to know if his anus is sunken or not.

ETA - my gelding will look a bit ribby when he's just had a growth spurt and I have talked to the Vet about this. She was very happy with his condition and showed me how to weight score properly, doing the horse in three sections. Although he scored lower on his middle section, both his front end and back end were scoring in the healthy range. When the three scores were averaged, that also came in the healthy range. I think that the OP should get her Vet to teach her how to weight score, it's very useful to know. Plus with my mare (who had stressed a lot of weight earlier this year), I use a weight tape to keep an eye on her weight. This might also be helpful for the OP in future once she knows what his ideal weight is she can quickly check that he's keeping there.

 

[Fides]

You can see his thigh bones and his hips are very sunken (ignoring the ribs as mine are ribby). I wouldn't feed more cereals but definitely more fibre and oil.

The university of Edinburgh to a free online nutrition course a couple of times a year - I've found it invaluable and now look at feed a totally different way.

 

[Apercrumbie]

Rubbish. He looks fine. Is he clipped because that will always make the look thinner. He looks FIT and better than a pile of overweight fat horses.

While I agree that it is far better to have an underweight horse than an overweight horse in many ways, I really disagree that this horse looks fine. It's the sticking out hipbones that worry me. Now this isn't a complete disaster, other posters have identified ways to get a bit more on him and this is the right side of winter to be lean. However, the first pictures do not scream "fit and healthy" to me. No one on this thread is suggesting he needs to be fat. This forum is very anti-obesity and is very good at identifying the slightly overweight horses where the owner can't always see.

OP - most of us with ageing tbs will have been here at some point to some extent. No one is saying that it's easy to keep them up to weight over winter. Personally, there is nothing as good as spring grass for weight (as my two fatties know) so I would get him moved onto better grazing asap and take it from there. In the meantime, I wouldn't drastically change his hard feed apart from maybe adding something like linseed but make sure he has constant access to hay. It also may be worth a cushings test at his next visit. Good luck and try not to be angry about being reported - it's frustrating but it means that someone does care.

 

[EmmaB]

Thankyou everyone for the encouraging replies, and the tips about a different feeds. I knew he needed more weight on but having the rspca called was just a bit of a nasty shock.

Cptrayes yes he feels extremely well in himself which is why I didn't think he was that bad, I thought well he's old and coming out of winter and we don't have great grass yet.

You make a good point about suddenly shoving more food into him, so I'm thinking my plan should be to get the adlib hay sorted first of all and gradually increase his feed. Then when the grass (finally!!) comes through I can reevaluate!

What I'm definitley going to make sure this year is that he is well going into winter and to keep ontop of it because once he starts slipping it's so hard to catch back up!

I'll leave this thread now as I have a plan of action...I'll update in a couple of weeks!

 

[Goldenstar]

You should not be furious the horse is too thin .
If he's not getting enough bulk because no hay is in the field you must take steps to up his intake do calorie rich fibre .
I think at this time of year I would be cautious of giving to much bucket type food my first thought is that you should consider feeding him a food formulated for a veteran I certainly think you should consider this.
However if he's short of bulk you must immediately fix this if you can get him into a situation where forage is constantly available my choice would for him at haylage .
If you can't get him in a field with forage all the time he will have to be stabled part of the day for feeding .
I would feed a good veteran mix twice a day mixed with speedibeet and some Alfa a oil I would give about two kilos a day to start .
If in two weeks of add lib forage or haylage part of the day and two feeds he's not gaining weight I would involve the vet .
Using a weight tape will give you a good guide of what's going on but if he where mine I would be popping him down to the vets to get weighed
I certainly would be doing any fast type work for a while as he's 18 I would consider gentle walking exercise for a half hour a few times a week if he has any age related conditions that mean he needs to kept ticking over .
I was a welfare officer my advice from you from that side would be what's happened to you is the system working properly and I think you should seriously consider a vet visit and get some advise which of course you will follow .
If someone else calls the horse in your can say I have had the vet the said .....

 

[Booboos]

He's not a welfare case but I would be concerned about the lack of muscle. He has a severe lack of top line and back end muscle which doesn't make sense if he is hacked 5 times a week. He would have to be literally starving to lose so much muscle without an underlying problem. Did the vet not have any thoughts on this? Did he not do any bloods, or worm count?

For example, here is my horse who was fed bucketloads of hard feed and ad lib haylage plus grass but still had leptospirosis and muscle wastage from poisoning so looked awful (same horse as signature for comparison):

 

[Fides]

But you can't see you horses thigh bone and the withers have a covering, unlike in the OP...

 

[hayinamanger]

He's very underweight. I would not be expecting him to go XC at this weight.

If he were mine, I'd put him on Dodson & Horrell Suregrow, it's youngstock feed, but also vey good for putting weight on horses like this. Bailey's no 4 Topline cubes are also very good for weight gain without fizz.

 

[EstherYoung]

Good luck getting the hay sorted - that will likely do the trick. Then it's just a question of getting prepared for next winter come autumn. The issue will be then that the cobs he's out with will need a different feeding regime.

 

[Goldenstar]

He's not a welfare case but I would be concerned about the lack of muscle. He has a severe lack of top line and back end muscle which doesn't make sense if he is hacked 5 times a week. He would have to be literally starving to lose so much muscle without an underlying problem. Did the vet not have any thoughts on this? Did he not do any bloods, or worm count?

For example, here is my horse who was fed bucketloads of hard feed and ad lib haylage plus grass but still had leptospirosis and muscle wastage from poisoning so looked awful (same horse as signature for comparison):

He is a horse who a MOP was right to be concerned about so yes in one sense he is a welfare case .
He is however from the photos an advise and follow up case , defiantly not a removal .

 

[southerncomfort]

Does anyone else feel that it's a VERY dangerous time of year to suggest giving a horse a lot more food and a lot less exercise?

OP, I think you should wait for the spring grass and see what he's like at the end of May. If he has enough energy to do a cross country fence of that size, there's not a whole lot wrong with him.

Totally agree with this. Yes he's on the lean side but personally if he's going to be having less exercise (and I would probably stick to slow hacks for the next couple of months or so) then I'd be thinking along the lines of ad lib hay/haylage for the time being and seeing how he gets on with that first.

Try not to be too upset. It's annoying that they didn't speak to you first but they probably thought they were doing the right thing.

x

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

I would be testing for EPSM as well as cushings - if the bum was covered then no-one would say he is light, just fit. The bum has serious muscle wastage that doesn't match the rest of his top line.

In which case you needs to be cutting back on the carbs and pumping him full of fat (oils) and Vit E (and adequate selenium).

 

[Wagtail]

I like horses to be slightly lean but with topline muscle. Your horse looks too thin to me. But what concerns me is how hollow he is either side of his spine, right the way along, even on his rump. He also has a pot belly. Has he been regularly wormed? For encysted red worm and tapeworm as well as round worm?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Does anyone else feel that it's a VERY dangerous time of year to suggest giving a horse a lot more food and a lot less exercise?

OP, I think you should wait for the spring grass and see what he's like at the end of May. If he has enough energy to do a cross country fence of that size, there's not a whole lot wrong with him.

I agree with you which as mentioned below in my thread reasons why.

There are so many diets and products mentioned here which people use for their horse and they think it would be good to suggest to OP to use on their horse There is no harm mentioning a particular feed which is used on their horse , but in the same breath this feed might not work for OP's and you end up with a bag of feed you cannot use for any number of reason's. It can be very dicey suggesting a diet to a horse you don't know or know the history or medical history. They may be well meaning , but with so many new owners who are not clued up with nutrition in horses, would act on suggestions given here which *could* lead to problems like ( Horse gets to OTT for OP or colic or laminitis )

This is why I suggested using a feed Specialist like D&H or Allen and Page - Baileys etc where they have people there who can give accurate or as damn near accurate suggestion which would help.

For example a year or so ago it was suggested by half a dozen here to put a members gelding on happy hoof. She took the advice, it went ok for the first day but then the gelding started blowing a gasket on it threw her off and being too frisky on it. Told to take him off, he returned to normal within a few days.


Just for the record when this member phoned D&H happy hoof is not one they suggested for her horse.

I always ask the feed merchants now if I need to change my horses diet as I feel they know what is in their feeds and based on the information I give them, they have been right so far with their advice with supplements and diets.
I will never suggest an *actual* diet on here to a member, as I have no history of the horse and what it work program- experience of the owner is.

 

[skint1]

Totally agree with this. Yes he's on the lean side but personally if he's going to be having less exercise (and I would probably stick to slow hacks for the next couple of months or so) then I'd be thinking along the lines of ad lib hay/haylage for the time being and seeing how he gets on with that first.

Try not to be too upset. It's annoying that they didn't speak to you first but they probably thought they were doing the right thing.

x

I think this is good advice, I once made the mistake of feeding up an underweight TB (much more so than your horse) coming out of winter and into spring, it caused a lot of fizziness and fatness amongst other things. If I had it to again I would have done it through increasing the intake of good quality forage rather than through feeds

 

[Auslander]

Does anyone else feel that it's a VERY dangerous time of year to suggest giving a horse a lot more food and a lot less exercise?

Agree! Just as an example - our retired TB mare completely fell apart earlier this year. She has severe heart problems, and was having to work so hard to keep her heart pumping that everything else went to pot. Despite decent rugs, 2 feeds a day and ad-lib hay, she looked like this:

We changed her hard feed (to Equijewel - small quantities 4x per day), swapped her onto haylage, and she came in overnight to have a break from dragging herself round in the mud.A month later, she looked like this:

The grass has just started coming through, and she's gone from skinny but healthy looking, to this in the space of two weeks! Suspect I shall need to keep an eye on her waistline moving forward! It's magical stuff - spring grass!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I know he doesn't look the greatest but I don't think he looks a rescue case!

He's had physio, saddle fitter and vet out recently and yes all agree he needs more topline but i can't get it to happen overnight. He's ridden probably 5 times a week, about 40mins - 1 hr hacks, don't have a school. I have a place to lunge/long rein though so might start doing that to try and build it up without a rider.

He's on 3 scoops Alfa oil and 2 scoops ready mash per day, anyone got any tips for what else I could try to get some weight on?

Soaked grassnuts and Speedibeet are good for putting weight on. Whilst I doubt that I would have reported this horse, I do think his unridden photos show a very poor horse, who definitely should NOT be being worked hard enough to compete at X-country, until he has put on more condition and muscle.

 

[Equilibrium Ireland]

I have a 19yo TB who came out of the winter with better topline than ever. Only on oats/alfalfa pellets/flax. Same with my 15yo TB mare that fell apart last winter. A friend has a 26yo TB that looks about 5. As she says it cost a fortune to have him looking as well.

The equi jewel is good stuff but flax/linseed is quite good too. This was the first year I could get a steady supply. I buy the whole seed and ground myself. Too expensive buying boutique supplies for 6. I would recommend those 2 things before extra hard feed. Agree with CP about the food in spring.

Terri

 

[Auslander]

I have a 19yo TB who came out of the winter with better topline than ever. Only on oats/alfalfa pellets/flax. Same with my 15yo TB mare that fell apart last winter. A friend has a 26yo TB that looks about 5. As she says it cost a fortune to have him looking as well.

The equi jewel is good stuff but flax/linseed is quite good too. This was the first year I could get a steady supply. I buy the whole seed and ground myself. Too expensive buying boutique supplies for 6. I would recommend those 2 things before extra hard feed. Agree with CP about the food in spring.

Terri

Agree re boutique-ness! I feed linseed or copra when weight gain is required - but mine are big fat bullocks, so the need hasn't arisen. The old girl doesn't like linseed or copra, but she isn't mine, and has an owner who adores her, and spares no expense - so she got the posh stuff!

 

[julie111]

Op, he isn't a welfare case, don't start pumping him full of hard feed, ad lib hay until the grass comes through. Nice photo and judging by how get is jumping he had plenty of energy

 

[Goldenstar]

Totally agree with this. Yes he's on the lean side but personally if he's going to be having less exercise (and I would probably stick to slow hacks for the next couple of months or so) then I'd be thinking along the lines of ad lib hay/haylage for the time being and seeing how he gets on with that first.

Try not to be too upset. It's annoying that they didn't speak to you first but they probably thought they were doing the right thing.

x

They where doing the right thing .
If they where not horsy what else where they to do.
Footpaths where probably the source of just over fifty per cent of my calls.

 

[kerilli]

He doesn't look 'poor' to me, and he's a long way from an RSPCA case, imho. He looks a bit light and he looks very fit. That is a LOT better for him than looking obese and carrying an extra 50-100kgs.
Putting weight on a tricky horse isn't easy, but with new grass coming through and the weather warming up (hopefully) he should pick up naturally, no? I wouldn't start stuffing him with high-energy feeds, for sure, if he were mine...

 

[Templebar]

OP In my opinion i disagree with cutting out the work you have already said he stiffens and this will only make it worse, plus feeding without work is only going to make them put weight on not good condition (ie muscle) so once you have the weight on you would then need to get fit from scratch again which will do him no good. I would just keep him ticking along, perhaps decrease the work a little and speak with an instructor about some good fitness work (a lot of hacking in walk on hills i would suggest) he will tell you when he begins to struggle and listen to him as you said he wouldn't go jumping like that if he didn't feel fit. If he gets too fizzy with the hacking then alternate some schooling work, long and low (think western) that will allow him to use his back and top line, and some jumping if he feels ok again encourage the true shape in the jump.

For feeding perhaps try and speak to a nutritionist, but i have always been told barley does well in most forms they use a lot of that with show horses for condition (not that that is what you want to end up with). As others have said ad lib hay of good quality but not too green and change slowly from one to another. I would say from looking at him it is a muscle issue not a feeding issue so with better work he should improve and you said you are trying to improve this.

I would also suggest learning to condition score or asking at your yard if anyone can and monitor condition probably weekly to be able to catch him going the other way before its too late and you get Laminitis.

 

[happyclappy]

don't worry, i have been reported as i am every winter. i welcomed them in as i have nothing to hide and they had to agree. joe public just don' know much about horses quite often.

 

[Arizahn]

Allen & Page Calm and Condition made a real difference for my little guy. It's basically unmollassed beet with linseed already added, and soaks in about fifteen minutes. He gets an alfalfa based chaff too for extra calories