Thin horse - weight? pics included - opinions please!

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millyspaniel

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Got my 4yr TB mare back at the end of july, she was very thin, lots of muscle wastage, back bone visable etc.......
After a few weeks she started to put the weight on, was feeding 1.5 large round scoops of calm and condition and 5 handfuls alfa a twice daily.
Since the cold weather i think shes lost abit of weight again. I still feed the same. She has a LW rug on but tonight am putting on an under rug untill she gets clipped tues then put on her MW rug. Does she look thinner to you in the 3rd pic??
The first pic is the day she arrived - july
2nd pic beginning september
3rd pic yesterday
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Yes slightly better in the last photo.

If you are going to clip her, she should have a slightly heavier weight rug on than usual, simply because horses use 80% of their energy in the winter on keeping warm and this will help her weight.
 
I have a heavy weight with neck cover - she is getting a low trace clip, do you think i should just put this on her when shes clipped on tuesday?
 
I would be reluctant to clip her until she had put a bit more weight on to be honest. Horses use an awful lot of energy keeping warm. I would put the MW rug on now and put off the clipping. Unless she gets too hot in that rug. Maybe get the vet to blood test her. I had an Anglo Arab mare a few years ago that I struggled like mad to get weight on after she came back from a well known stud looking like a HAPPA case. They charged me well over the top for wormers. Then when the foal that was at foot starting colicking shortly after bringing them home, it turned out to be a huge worm burden! Nearly lost the foal. I also gave her a Vit B12 jab which helped a bit. Maybe its worth asking your vet about it?
In answer to your question though, yes, I do think she has improved!!
 
She is carrying more condition in the third picture - definately.

Look at splitting what is two large feeds in to three (she'll get more benefit from them). Are you stabling overnight, and how much hay is she getting??
 
I would probably be putting her a heavier rug on too, only because i know how difficult it is to get the weight on the tb types. My young tb cross has had his mw rug on since september and because he is in at night time he keeps it on all the time. He also gets lots of hard feed, never thought much to calm and condition to be honest so he gets oats, cool mix alpha a oil and blue chip twice daily with as much haylage as he can eat.
 
As above as much hay/haylage as she will eat--digesting fibre creates heat which keeps horse warm
Agree dont clip or if necessary just under the neck/bib type clip/chaser not the type to grow heavy coat
Rug according to weather
Be sure teeth are OK and worming (worm egg count) but make sure you do tapeworm and a dose for encysted redworm midwinter

PS Dont want to start an argument but really worried about fencing, having had a pony which rolled over and stuck his legs through sheep netting, the wire then went under his shoes and he was well stuck. Needs inner line of electric tape to back horse off barbed wire/netting
 
I have a skinny boy, who is a nightmare in winter. I swapped from hay to hayledge and he has as much as he can eat.
He is fed hard feed all year round, but once he starts coming in at night he goes from 1 to 2 meals a day.
This consists of Hi fi senior (no good for your youngster obviously) , top spec balancer, top spec cool and condition, alpha beet and linseed or soya oil.

He is anti clipping so i don't bother as his work load does not warrant it. The one time i did clip him he was impossible to keep weight on, so unless you really need to i would leave her in her woolies, yes it's inconvenient but why take all her clothes off just to put rugs on for warmth
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Echo everyone else on the worming side of things

Good luck, poor doers are hard work
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She looks fine in the third pic. I have a TB mare and I know exactly how it feels when their weight yo-yos. Its a full time job keeping on top of it!
Tbs are a spindley breed anyway so they are always going to look thinner than some other breeds. Just feed her up again, whack a heavier rug on and wait and see. Don't be too hard on yourself, having a TB goes with the territory!
 
Is she well wormed? Podgy belly looks a bit suspicious to me...
What sort of workload does she have at present? She looks the type that more work = stuff full of grub = looks well. Don't be fooled into putting weight on without putting the work into her - she will still look awful until you get her muscled up.
 
totally agree with getting her to do some work - my tb is exactly this type - he looks awful(much worse than these pics) if he isn't worked - he gets 3.5kg of enduro 100 ,2kg of alfa a and 1.5kg of barley a day along with a big haylage net and a big tubtrug thing full of good doer,readi grass and hi fibre cubes a day but is worked 5/6 days a week. He could be on this amount of food when not working and he would drop muscle /condition and weight because the work isn't there . Funny things these tb's
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I would say ad lib hay or haylage, also put her on topline or oats and def sugar beet pullp soaked of course or alphabeet as it is designed to put weight on more thn speedibeet. she is only 4 so may also be still growing/maturing nd filling out and also take into accoutn the work she is doing. My boy at that age was not needing to put weight on and ridden once a day for 40 mins and was on scoop of alh A with oil, scoop oats, good scoop of soaked beet pulp and scoop winergy balanced energy too twice a day and adlib hay.
 
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As above as much hay/haylage as she will eat--digesting fibre creates heat which keeps horse warm
Agree dont clip or if necessary just under the neck/bib type clip/chaser not the type to grow heavy coat
Rug according to weather
Be sure teeth are OK and worming (worm egg count) but make sure you do tapeworm and a dose for encysted redworm midwinter

PS Dont want to start an argument but really worried about fencing, having had a pony which rolled over and stuck his legs through sheep netting, the wire then went under his shoes and he was well stuck. Needs inner line of electric tape to back horse off barbed wire/netting

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Just what I was going to say. Totally agree with MrsM too, hay, hay and more hay. (or haylage)
 
just a quick one,when did she last have her teeth done ? there is alot going on in the mouth at her age and may need a check up,the problem is all the feed she is getting will not do much good as she will not be getting any goodness out of it if her teeth are not great and you might be spending lots on feed and it not working ? if teeth our ok then fab and keep up the good work
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Thanks for all the replys - she is due to be wormed again next week, as are all of them.
The sheep wire bit, thats lined with tape in front now as i hate the barbed wire anyway
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Haylage coming tomorrow - 2 large round bales so going to introduce this with the hay.
So i should be feeding sugar beet and maybe think about changing the c&c. I think a trip down the feed store is in order for tomorrow.
She had her teeth done back in july by the vet - they did need doing. The dentist is doing his rounds in the area end of this month so will be making an appointment.
She is currently being ridden 4/5 times per week which consists of 45mins schooling once a week and the rest of the days its hacking - lots of hills by us, mainly walking and a bit of trotting - 45 mins and once a week i go riding with a few others - 1hr/1.40mins mainly walking again and cantering across fields. She has the weekend off and sometimes a monday. People who live nearby (horsey ones) say how much shes improved muscle wise and weight wise, i just dont want all the hard work undone!!
I put on another rug under her LW, a fleecy thick blanket, shes toasty under it, maybe a bit sweaty even? this weather is so changable though
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Going to take advice and just get neck and belly clipped, i wouldnt bother but she really does get sweaty and with me riding her 4/5 times per week i think its enough to have her clipped. Will put on her HW after being clipped on tuesday and if it gets colder could always pop another underneath or if she gets sweaty just replace with a lighter rug.
Thanks everyone for your advice, very helpful
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If you look on my photobucket the link is under my username you will see I had same problems .My mare is looking much better now on same feed as your horse .This winter I am adding fast fibre as its not the hard feed that she needs just added fibre.The only thing I have changed lately is alpha it just makes her too spooky she is very nervous and plain old ozzie chaff has helped calm her down.
Her condition has improved and she has much more topline than mine
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