weight loss on a hores?

Question

i have a mare that 25+ she is lossing weight i have her on alfalfa hay t.c. senior her teeth have been done we had tried weight gain no sucess what other options are there

Answer 1

You have gotten a lot of good advice so far. Calling your vet out for a thorough exam is where I would start as well. I have a boarding stable. Many of my boarders are elderly horses that have been with me since they were young show horses. Managing their health as they grow older is quite a challenge. Here is my check list:

1. Vet exam including blood work. Check for liver and kidney function as well as for anemia.

2. Have the horse dentist out. At this age avoid the power tool floats, and go with a good filing by a skilled dentist.

3. Add roughage to your horses diet. Older horses can not chew and digest forage(Hay) like a younger horse can. Adding well soaked beet pulp can make up the difference. Senior feed is meant to be a complete feed and contains adequate roughage for your Senior horse. However some horses get tired of it. For them, I use a Nutrena product called Legacy. It is a beet pulp based feed with added omega 3 & 6 fatty acids to increase calories, improve circulation, and improve connective tissues. Plus your horses coat will shine like crazy on it.

4. Green grass pasture! Nothing helps an old horse like grass can. High in fat and nutrition it's natures remedy for old teeth. If your pastures are worn out, take her out and hand graze her as much as she will tolerate.

Good luck!

Hetty

Answer 2

Senior Grain Is AWSOME! Have You Looked Into Empower? Its For Performance And Sport Horses, But It Can Also Work Miracles For Horses Who Need Weight Gain. If She Seems To Not Want To Chew Her Hay, Look Into Chop. Its Hay That Is Chopped And Blended, And Mostly The More Nutritious Part Of The Hay. Soaked Beat Pulp Or A Warm Bran Mash Or Moist Grain Can Also Help. Essential Oils And Or Vitamin Supplements Can Help. Make Sure She Has Free Access To A Salt Lick And Plenty Of Fresh Water. Salt Helps Maintain Their Health, And Can Help Her Maintain Weight Better. Contact Your Local Large Animal Vet/Equine Veterinarian And Ask What They Recomend. Also Make An Appointment For Her To Be Checked. Explain To Your Vet Whats Going On, And They Should Be Able To Get To The Bottom Of THe Problem. It Might Just Be Old Age Getting To Her. Remember, You Need To Realize When Enough Is Enough. Dont Let Her Suffor If There Is Something Wrong With Her. And If You Can Fix The Problem, Make Sure You Know When Enough Is Enough On Your Wallet. You Dont Want To Spend The Rest Of Your Life Paying Off Vet Bills On A Horse You Couldnt Pay Cremation On.

Answer 3

There have definitely been some great replies so far.

Have you tried giving her beet pulp? I would try that. When my mare started losing weight, I started giving her some and she picked her weight up again, but I also fed her more hay, so those two things combined really helped.

Like others have reccomended, I'd have your vet out, so she/he can do a full exam and maybe do some blood work if needed.

Is your horse out with others? Other, more-dominant horses could be eating her hay/grain. That happened to my trainer's gelding - he was with another horse, and when the other horse was done with his grain, he'd come over and eat some of the older gelding's grain. Once the other horse was moved into a different paddock, the older horse picked up weight and you can definitely see a difference.

If I were you, I'd take a look at your worming program - horses should be de-wormed every other month (six times per year). Make sure this is happening. You also may look into feeding her daily wormer, like Strongid C. Then you only have to use paste wormer about twice per year. I would continue feeding weight gain. My friend's 10 yr. old Thoroughbred gelding was losing weight, so she purchased weight gain, and it took awhile to see a difference, but now the weight gain is kicking in and you can definitely tell. It takes some time, at least it did in this case. I would also start feeding beet pulp, it's fairly inexpensive and I've seen it help with weight on numerous horses. You also may consider upping the hay amount you're giving her.

Good luck!

Answer 4

there has been some good advice for you on this i would try using bentonite it is drilling mud and can be found at a well drilling co. i ahve used it for 30 years, sand gets in a horses belly and keeps them from absorbing the nutrients they need and can cause weight loss, it is very cheap and effective an old vet. showed me this many years ago and i worked with him for a long time and i have had many people bring horses to me that they were ready to put down and they recovered fully... it is worth looking into also she is getting old and this does happen in all animals as the body gets older and they do not processs everything the same as when they were younger...put 2cups of bentontie in her feed(grain) daily for three or four days, then once a week. then once a month for preventive measures, this works better than anything i have found. good luck

Answer 5

You have received excellent advise so far,, blood work, a fecal examine are all wonderful ideas. You did not state how often you feed.. If you can keep the digestive system fully charged with roughage ( a horse in the natural state grazes 22-23 hours a day)
Then feed more often, but in smaller amounts, you may find that makes a difference.
Why feed smaller amounts? The abdomen is a small pocket sitting in line with the intestine, large amounts of grain can fill this area quickly causing the rest of the grain to pass over without being utilized. By adding small amounts to a roughage full system, a horse can better utilize the added nutrition.

Answer 6

I have a 25 year old Arabian gelding who is in extremely good condition. I worm my horses every 8 weeks with a paste type wormer, have their teeth floated every fall, feed Purina Equine Senior feed (according to my vet they can't founder on Equine Senior) and good grass hay in the winter, pasture in the summer. I don't like to feed an older, inactive horse alfalfa, because I like to keep more hay in front of them, but that's a personal opinion. Make sure that your horse is getting vitamin E - there is a disorder (rare) called EMND which is caused by a lack of vitamin E in the horses' diets, and one of the symptoms is rapid weight loss despite a hearty appetite. For more on EMND, there is an article in John Lyons' Perfect Horse, July 2006 issue. A vet check is always a good idea to rule out any other diseases. Maybe a feed-through worming program would be better than paste worming. Are you keeping a salt block out for your horse? Sometimes they don't drink enough water and the salt block will encourage them to drink more water.

Answer 7

Wow there was some very good advice listed above,
yes do have her checked out buy a vet, when a horse starts to lose weight there is a resone.
I have seen 3 major resones for horses long wheight in a down hill run.9not gaining it back.)
first is old age and there system is shutting down.
second is cancer,
the third is sand collic.
for the first one you can put her on burmuda pellets,beet pulp(soaked for at least 2 hours.) rice brain,calf mana, and good dose of enzimes.
the second one sorry nothing can be done
for the third one start giving sallinum and corn oil in her feed.
for a horse that age you should be feeding one ration of senor feed (mana pro) at least once a day plus the above recipe in the evening,
keep her off from oats,( this will hop her up and make her drop weight, so will sugars.)
don't give up on her,
i hope that it turns out to be something minner but you need to have a good horse vet give her a complete going over to help you find her problem.

Answer 8

So many elderly horses have teeth problems despite regular floating. Loss of teeth probably being their most prevalent problem. Try feeding several meals a day. Add corn oil to the senior feed. At 14 grams of fat per tablespoon it gives the senior horse a heck of a boost and that's not to mention the shiny coat. Read instructions carefully. Most people don't realize that horses that cannot eat grass or hay efficiently are missing out on most of their daily ration. Horses require about 2 lbs of senior feed for every 100lbs of body weight per day. I even top dress my senior feed with a sweet feed that is rather fine and not coarse. Your horse may also be plagued by the most common disease of aged equines- Cushings disease. Your veterinarian can help you with diagnosis and treatment in case increasing calories doesn't work. The weight gain may be slow and steady and that is good. Use a weight tape if you like to see positive feedback and be patient while he gobbles up his food and turns it to fat. Worming schedules should be strictly adhered to. If you need to sometimes use a cheaper addition to what I have suggested. you can substitute a portion of your senior with shredded beet pulp flavored with molasses. All senior horses benefit from having their food moistened and don't forget to ride him for muscle tone. Good Luck!

Answer 9

25 is an age that other health problems may be affecting her health. Have you had the vet do a blood test. I would have the vet check her out and remember that she needs the food to slow down in her gut for better absorbtion. Senior feed is a great idea. How long your horse lives may also depend on her care before you owned her. Super worm her. If the vet says she is fine and she is eating & pooping normally she may me doing the best she can.

Answer 10

I hate to say it, but she is 25 years old. That is OLD for a horse. I would definitely take her off the alfalfa and put her on fanned oats with a mineral supplement (the feed store will have the details on the supplement..I don't want to go to the barn to check the name and mixture on ours...it's late). You can also have the feed store mix in molasses with the oats, and the mare may eat more due to the extra sugar.
If you are hesitant about removing the alfalfa completely...I would recommend adding the feed mixture I suggested above along with her alfalfa.
Best of luck to you and her. I hope she improves.