Colour?

[Enchantress]

She's registered as black/white. She does have some very very dark hairs in her tail and some spots on her white stockings the dark dark brown like on her body. This is her earlier this spring after having a partial body shave.

And this is her today in the pasture. The filly in the background is definitely black/white. I know the angle and the head down probably don't help and I can try to get more if I have to, but I have to take advantage of the time before she really notices I'm there or all I can get is her nose.

Also, while I'm at it..what's with the belly? She has a HUGE belly and has been getting mostly hay and vitamin supplements. You can see her ribs, but for awhile I was worried she might be pregnant. Or does she just have a major hay belly?

 

[kaykay]

wow that is a very thin filly! i think her belly is bloated from protein deprivation. You can see her ribs sticking out and her back bone is way up. I think also her odd color is due to malnutrition. Horses that arent getting good enough nutrtion show it in their coats. Is she a yearling?? Its very common with yearlings as they hit a growth spurt and you have to really keep up the feed. I would call a vet out to evaluate her and then put her on a feeding program of very high quality hay and equine jr. Actually i would get her on the equine jr asap. When was she last dewormed?? She just looks "not thrifty"

 

[Minimor]

I agree with kaykay. I would feed that filly up (you didn't ask, but I will say anyway, the filly in the background also looks to me like she could use some 'rounding out'). I'd increase her hay, (depending on the quality of hay she is getting now, I'd look at getting a better quality hay for her) and give her a generous grain ration. And, of course, make sure that she is dewormed...

I think she may very well be black, just very sun bleached. Our first two Mini geldings came to us very thin & run down, and their manes & tails were very bleached. We fed them up over that first winter, and by spring they were nice and black, and have never faded again.

 

[Boss Mare]

Yes, the horse pictured (and in the background) are both very thin. Don't let that huge belly fool you into thinking they're overweight, it's really the complete opposite.

I'd offer as much good quality hay as they can eat. Also increase grain, my yearlings who were in the 28-30" range were getting a full two pounds of grain -- 14% protein and 6% fat.

Also make sure they're up to date on dewormings.

Beet pulp (soaked) is great for filling a horse out, you can safely give the average Miniature Horse one full pound of beet pulp daily, measured dry, so feed them up!

Corn oil and/or black oil sunflower seeds are also a good source of fat.

The horse pictured in my opinion is bay pinto.

 

[Enchantress]

ok so how much feed should she be getting at 1 yr and approximately 33-34"? This is the same filly I had asked a while back about skin problems. When I got her I noticed her rubbing a lot and she was literally rubbing off her skin, which you can sort of see in the first pic (the reason I shaved her so early). I put her on a diet of 8 cups of 14% protein 4% fat (equi-pro development designed for yearlings and lactating/pregnant mares) and 2 cups of soaked beet pulp twice a day as well as Liquid 747, a pretty complete supplement, until about a month ago. Plus all the hay she would eat. Then she started getting her belly which was more to the side than dropped down like it appears now and acting a bit off, standing with her hind end more under her than I noticed before, laying down more often than she used to and being a bit more lethargic, so my first guess was perhaps founder as those are the same things my previously foundered stallion does when he's getting too much protein. So I cut her back for a couple weeks to 6 cups of grain and the rest the same. I noticed she still seemed off so now she's getting 4 cups 2 x a day, I upped her to 3 cups of beet pulp and hay plus the 747. She's acting like "herself" again, but I did notice the backbone and ribs in the last couple weeks, plus her belly started dropping. Should I just not worry about the way she's acting and figure it might just be the heat or all in my head and stick the grain back to her? Also, filly in the background is getting 5 cups same grain, 3 cups beet pulp and hay/747 twice a day. The show horses I have (all but one just halter) are getting approximately (depending on age and size) 8 cups 14-16% protein and 3-5 cups beet pulp and my foundered stallion is on 3 cups plain oats mixed with 3-4 cups beet pulp all fed twice a day. I'm also making the beet pulp extra sloppy since it's been so hot. Am I doing something wrong? Also, all my horses were wormed in April and then again early June (ivermectin). They get out on grass nights and weekends when I'm home since occasionally they "fall" (yeah right!) through the two lower boards. Also, could it be something to do with her teeth coming in at all? or teeth in general? She tends to eat very slow...her 4 cups of grain 3 cups beet pulp takes her almost an hour to eat. I check her teeth weekly and haven't "seen" anything that looks off, but ???

And as far as colour..are some horses more prone to sun-bleaching than others if she IS black/white? The other filly is out in the sun probably more than this one and is still MUCH darker in person. I have a 3 stall small turnout so they can all get in and I split the hay with some inside and some outside. More often than not when I peek outside she's inside and the other two are out. Any help is appreciated, especially with the feeding issues! I just want them to be healthy and happy *sigh* There seems to be a fine line somewhere that I just can't find!

Both horses in the pictures are complete pasture bums, by the way, so I'm certainly not working the weight off them.

 

[kaykay]

im more for the kiss method (keep it simple)feeding method. equine jr imo is the best complete grain for foals, yearlings and really any horse underweight. Im confused though because your first post says shes only on hay and vitamins??

For now i would cross her over to equine jr and high quality hay. Not all hays are created equal. Since equine jr is a complete feed it should counteract inferior hay. once shes used to the equine jr you can free choice feed it. At 33 inches shes a tall yearling and really needs the extra feed etc that shell get in equine jr. If shes acting off though i would bring in a veternarian to check her out and then start changing her feed. I sold a yearling about her same height and she also got too thin when her new owners took her. We put her on 8 cups per day of equine jr and all they alfalfa/grass hay she wanted. within 2 weeks she looked so much better. within a month she was a new horse. Better coat, more alert etc etc. The big pot belly disappeared. Its amazing what good feed can do!!

I still think her mousy color is due to poor nutrition. you can see in the first pic shes just starting to look thin. the neck is too thin and hips are starting to poke out. I dont know what kind of grain you are feeding but its obviously not working so i would switch both them off of it.

Dont feel bad! its a common problem with yearlings. Just get her on a better feed etc and youll really see her start to bloom!!

wanted to add i dont think you are worming them often enough. i de worm foals and yearlings every month. I would do a 5 day worm purge

 

[Ojai Minis]

I would have the vet do blood work just to rule out anything. Maybe she needs a more aggressive worming program?

Liz V.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Could I just ask why you are keeping them off the grass in order to feed vast amounts of feed and hay?? Why not just worm properly and turn out on good grass and let nature take care of everything?? My own yearlings are out all the time and they are not thin. No feed, no hay, ready to go in the show ring. Why complicate matters so?? As for the deworming- has she actually been fully dewormed since you got her?? She needs a Vet, I think, and so does the other filly. If I had horses looking like that I would be worried, to say the least. I think you have a huge worm problem, or something more sinister. Blood work will tell you either way- it could be a huge vitamin deficiency, but it is something radical- a horse does not look like that for nothing. If you want to go ahead and try deworming, use Fenbendazole (Panacur/Safeguard) at double the dose for the weight of the filly (1ml per 13 kgs bodyweight normal dose) for five days, wait ten days and give the normal body weight dose of Ivermectin. Then ten days after that take a poop sample for analysis- to see if you have got everything and if she has a Tapeworm. You need to do ALL horses that are kept with her, it is no good just worming the filly alone. Myself, if she were mine, and the other one too, I'd deworm and turn them out on good grass, nothing beats it and you don't have to keep running out to feed and hay.

 

[Lauralee]

I agree with what others have said. The filly is terribly thin. Something is going on there.

First of all, I would deworm her with 5 days straight double dose panacur or strongid. Then a week after that I'd deworm her with zimecterin. I would keep up the deworming every 2 weeks for 2 months...and I would do the same for ALL horses on the property as it will do no good just to deworm one of them.

Secondly I would allow full and free access to grass.

And I would drastically increase the grain, using a good 14% protein feed from a nationally recognized company. A yearling her size and growth can eat upwards of 3 or 4 pounds in a day! You are going to have to increase it gradually but you will observe her condition constantly as you make changes until you hit the right amount.

My feed of choice for youngsters (like kaykay) is Purina Equine Junior. It can't be beat!

One tiny fleeting thought....is there any chance she could be pregnant?

Lastly...and please do not be offended....but....Please remove the halter, it is dangerous IMO to leave them on horses that are turned out loose. I would hate for your next post to be about losing her because it got hung on something and she broke her neck.

 

[capall beag]

This may have already been said, BUT I bought 3 young mares and they all arrived in poor condition and thin. I wormed them repeatedly BUT my vet gave me a special wormer, to get tape worms. I was varying my wormer, per my vet but none worked on getting tape worms.

My 3 mares get contender sweet feed, hunter pellet, BOSS and beet pulp. I have had them 2 months now and they look beautiful, one is still a little too slim btu their coats are shiny, they have a sparkle in their eye, they are happy and filled out! I was amazed at what they needed to recover, when a young horse is growing and they are deprived of the essentials I think it takes them longer to come back.

My horses get time out on pasture but I don't have lots of grass for them. My husband limits how much of the place I can take over with my horses!!

However, I think I read you are feeding 8 cups of grain am & pm?? If your mares are getting plenty to eat then there might be something really wrong because they look really underweight?? That seems like it would be enough grain??