worried about my elderly mare.

[Crugeran Celt]

I have a 23 year old TB/Wesh D, she has always been a good doer and tends to carry weight if I am not careful with her. She lives out 24 / 7 all year round and does loose weight over the winter. This winter she did really well and I past comment in February how well she was looking and I would have to keep an eye on her weight when the grass started growing. Over March and into April I noticed she started to drop weight so as well as her hay gave her two small meals of speedy beet and safe and sound, she has had laminitis in the past. Her weight has continued to drop and now she is loosing her coat it is becoming obvious how thin she is. Vet coming on Thursday but I think there must be something seriously wrong. She has her teeth done every 12 months and had been wormed.

 

[be positive]

It was a very mild winter and most did really well but this spring has been cold, the grass has barely grown and my older horse, who looked great in early March, has dropped off a bit more than ideal, he is one that I have to be careful of as he had laminitis many years ago and gains weight in spring normally so I have not been too concerned other than to keep giving hay, I don't ever remember him needing hay in April let alone mid May before, I expect yours may be the same and hope the vet puts your mind at rest.

A blood test to check would be the best way forward, she may just need worming again even if she is done regularly it may have missed some and that can pull them down at this time of year.

 

[Clare85]

The retired gelding sharing our field has dropped off over the last few weeks, even though he did well weight-wise over winter. We have still been giving hay at night as the grass has not really been coming through much. He has just been turned out on some better grazing to try to boost his weight a bit. Hopefully the vet will put your mind at ease, and it would be worth doing a blood test as be positive says

 

[OWLIE185]

I would also suggest a worm count and a blood test for encysted emerging small red worms.

 

[mytwofriends]

Does your mare have cushings? My old boy dropped weight all of a sudden a few years ago. He had a blood test and his ACTH levels were elevated and he had low grade cushings. He's on 1x Prascend per day and he's good as new.

Fortunately he's not laminitis prone, but it's a very common side effect of cushings, as is weight loss, change in coat and lethargy. I'd wonder whether your mare already has it. Worth a check anyway.

 

[huskydamage]

My 23year old mare is not a good doer but at previous yard I had so much grass she was a fatty in summer. Ive moved yards and she lost loads of weight this winter looks awful she has so much food and hay but is very poor looking. I have vet out but found nothing. Other than he said at her age there can be a bit of cushings possible. Im convinced its because the grazing is so rubbish here. I see no change in her ridden or anything else she just looks ropey. This has slightly improved by feeding her balancer. Is it her age or the lack of grass I don't know

 

[Merrymoles]

Worth a dentist check too - oldies teeth can become a problem very quickly, even if she had them done recently.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

Old cob was also doing really well over the winter but dropped off quite badly in March. He is probably 30 and is mostly Welsh D. He moved onto quite lush grass about 3 weeks ago and has picked up well. He is also having a small amount of hard feed - through the winter he was on ad lib hay. Worming might help - he was wormed about 5 weeks ago for encysted red worm and he now has visits from the dentist every three months as his teeth are very short and becoming a bit loose. He does look very tatty as he still has a lot of winter coat to shed. I don't think he has cushings but I will consider a test later in the year if he looks poor again. Only problem is that he is very needle phobic and will try to kill the vet if a blood test is required!

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Worth a dentist check too - oldies teeth can become a problem very quickly, even if she had them done recently.

She has very regular visits from equine dentist and she is eating really well not dropping any food at all. I am sure it's not her teeth.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Does your mare have cushings? My old boy dropped weight all of a sudden a few years ago. He had a blood test and his ACTH levels were elevated and he had low grade cushings. He's on 1x Prascend per day and he's good as new.

Fortunately he's not laminitis prone, but it's a very common side effect of cushings, as is weight loss, change in coat and lethargy. I'd wonder whether your mare already has it. Worth a check anyway.

She had laminitis many years ago at about the age of 6 and has been not in the best of health for many years. Retired her at 7 but since about the age of 15 she has been great. I wouldn't be surprised if she has cushings especially looking at her coat. She has never looked like this before and it yas happened so quickly.

 

[Annagain]

My share horse always loses weight in winter. No amount of haylage (he only eats what he wants, which isn't much for a horse his size) or feed makes any difference, what he needs is grass. Despite it being so mild this winter, as it's been so wet, their winter field has simply turned into a muddy swamp and he's lost so much more weight than usual. They went out onto summer grazing 3 weeks ago and it's only this week after it turned warm that he's started to pick up. You're a bit north of me so it wouldn't surprise me if it takes another week or two where you are.

Hope she's ok.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Thank you annagain I hope she will be ok too. She is not just thin she looks amaciated, her rump bone is like a dairy cows! And she just seems to have deteriorated so quickly. Saying that she is perfectly happy and comes cantering in for her feed, fastest she has moved for years! She is just as aggressive to the others, which is perfectly normal for her and nothing will get her food off her regardless if how hard the minis try. I have efen been putting her to graze on my lawn so she access to better grass. Nothing doing.

 

[southerncomfort]

My welsh cob has been exactly the same. I think changing coats takes a fair bit of energy and then the sudden cold snap while she was shedding meant she really dropped off even when I upped her feed rations.

 

[mytwofriends]

She had laminitis many years ago at about the age of 6 and has been not in the best of health for many years. Retired her at 7 but since about the age of 15 she has been great. I wouldn't be surprised if she has cushings especially looking at her coat. She has never looked like this before and it yas happened so quickly.

Bless her, hope she's ok. I have a huge soft spot for oldies.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Bless her, hope she's ok. I have a huge soft spot for oldies.

Thank you, she is very special for me as her mum was my first pony and we bred her ourselves so been with me for 23 years, longer than my son!! Realise she isn't going to last for ever but still hard to face.

 

[mytwofriends]

Thank you, she is very special for me as her mum was my first pony and we bred her ourselves so been with me for 23 years, longer than my son!! Realise she isn't going to last for ever but still hard to face.

Yes I totally understand. Let's hope our oldies flourish for many more years to come!

 

[WandaMare]

Both my oldies went through a stage of dropping weight which worried me and with mine it came down to them needing more nutrients in their diet. Have you tried a veteran feed or a balancer like Baileys Lo-cal, I used that one on a 22 yo laminitic NF pony and it bought his condition back in no time. I think sometimes they get to a point that their digestion is less efficient and the usual laminitic feeds aren't enough for them.

Hope all goes well with the vet, I will keep my fingers tightly crossed for her. Also with my oldies I always thought that when anything changed it meant it was getting near the end and they both carried on living well into their late 20s and one of them early 30s, so try not to worry.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Thank you WandaMare, she has never dropped weight like this before and has lived out unrugged with only hay every winter with no problems at all until now. Her mum was 23 when she had to be PTS so think that is making me worry but saying that our other oldie was 35 going on 36 when we lost her. Will know more when the vet sees her and takes some bloods I won't hang on to her if there is anything serious that means she will deteriorate.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Well vet has been and bloods taken, may have the results tomorrow or probably Monday. Prognosis is not great as even the vet couldn't believe how much weight she has lost in such a short period of time but as she is well in herself is a bit confused by what is causing it. Hopefully something will come to light in the bloods and we will go from there.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

My old boy had done the same, great through winter but now dropping, he has just had a check up and other than the loss vet thinks he's great, he had a bad reaction to a sting we think hence the vet being out.

He is back up to admin hay in the field, a rug back on and two high calorie feeds a day. He doesn't have cushings.

 

[Morgan123]

Hugs. Really feel for you. My old mare (33!) has also just lost loads of weight, and I totally know how you feel, it's so scary with the oldies :-(. Like you I'm also waiting for results of cushings test and I'm hoping it's that so we can treat it - if not perhaps she'll pick up (mine has just been through lots of stress because my other horse was sadly lost to colic 3 weeks ago and she adored him, so it's probably that TBH) but it's so sad to see. Please please do keep us updated.

I have found micronised linseed to be v effective for weight gain, I've ordered some straight in. Good luck.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

Morgan 123 sorry that yours has lost a companion recently, some take it so hard. Hope your results are good. Vet did think my mare had cushings but didn't think that would cause such severe weight loss over such a short time. I took a photo of her at the end of February and she was positively looking rotund and I was worried she was carrying too much so early in the year. She now looks like a dairy cow with her hips protruding its awful. Vet knows the horse well, he scanned her mother in foal for me 24 years ago and has been her vet ever since so he knows the struggle with us keeping her weight in check to this. Think he was positively shocked when he saw her this morning.

 

[racebuddy]

Messaged you fingers crossed xxx

 

[splashgirl45]

my cushings mare dramatically lost weight a few years ago and it started jan/feb time. had her tested for her cushings levels and they were ok, nothing else showed up had teeth checked etc and I was really thinking I was going to lose her. she had always been a good doer so I didn't really give her much feed especially as she had cushings, but I started her on fast fibre plus chaff and changed her hay to haylage and she turned the corner and hasn't looked back. I have fed fast fibre each winter since and she hasn't had the same problem so yours may just need a bit extra now she is older...

 

[AandK]

She has very regular visits from equine dentist and she is eating really well not dropping any food at all. I am sure it's not her teeth.

When was she last seen by the dentist? My 26yo mare lost weight at end of last winter, and turns out she had a broken tooth. It was filed and checked again last autumn, we ended up taking it out as it had become unstable.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have a 23 year old TB/Wesh D, she has always been a good doer and tends to carry weight if I am not careful with her. She lives out 24 / 7 all year round and does loose weight over the winter. This winter she did really well and I past comment in February how well she was looking and I would have to keep an eye on her weight when the grass started growing. Over March and into April I noticed she started to drop weight so as well as her hay gave her two small meals of speedy beet and safe and sound, she has had laminitis in the past. Her weight has continued to drop and now she is loosing her coat it is becoming obvious how thin she is. Vet coming on Thursday but I think there must be something seriously wrong. She has her teeth done every 12 months and had been wormed.

please get the vet for her, alarm bells are ringing her that it may be GS or something, I hope to god it is not, but my first mare did this I struggle for 6 months and never found the cause but she was scouring to. I wont put pictures up but she was so thin she was bone and fur, and was so weak she swayed a bit, sadly a stoke caused her to go down an she could not get up

Her hips and every other bone was prominant



It is better to be safe than sorry for elderly horses, it may be nothing but a stitch in time and all that. Keep us posted on her.

Edited as just seen your update:

praying for a simple cure for your wee girl, there is always hope, my guess is it a condition causing this not her age

 

[Gloi]

Tooth problems can come on very quickly in elderly horses. Mine started dropping weight during winter and I took him down to the vet. He had a problem with food in a diastemer and when that was cleaned out and the gap packed he picked up pretty quickly. It hadn't been very long since the previous check.

 

[southerncomfort]

Agree re: teeth. When my 27 year old had her last dental check up, the vet found a tooth that was really loose. In fact, he was able to pull it out without any effort at all.

Hope you get to the bottom of this soon, must be very worrying for you.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

When was she last seen by the dentist? My 26yo mare lost weight at end of last winter, and turns out she had a broken tooth. It was filed and checked again last autumn, we ended up taking it out as it had become unstable.

She had tge dentist last October but as she is eating haylage and her feed with no problem at all I really don't think it is her teeth.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

please get the vet for her, alarm bells are ringing her that it may be GS or something, I hope to god it is not, but my first mare did this I struggle for 6 months and never found the cause but she was scouring to. I wont put pictures up but she was so thin she was bone and fur, and was so weak she swayed a bit, sadly a stoke caused her to go down an she could not get up

Her hips and every other bone was prominant



It is better to be safe than sorry for elderly horses, it may be nothing but a stitch in time and all that. Keep us posted on her.

Edited as just seen your update:

praying for a simple cure for your wee girl, there is always hope, my guess is it a condition causing this not her age

Vet has been and bloods taken just waiting for the results. The strange thing is she is completely happy.