Need advice with very, very skinny 9 mo old sick filly.

[user 3234]

What could you do to put weight on a very, very skinny 9 mo filly (talking hip bones, back bones & ribs showing)?

HISTORY: She was shipped from No Dakota to California to Arizona making her a very sick mini from this adventure and she has now ended up in my barn. The vet has her on antibiotics and recommends to help put weight on her to give her Nuturena Safe Choice. But the problem is she will only eat Bermuda Hay and will not touch any type of pellets. They fed her alfalfa on her trip which she only picked at and it caused her an extreme case of the poops.

She is getting better on antibiotics and the vet did take a culture, which I should know the results of in a couple of days. I have no history on her other than I know she has never had shots, worming, etc and I am not sure when she was weaned. She has now has been vaccinated (Intervet Prestige 5 in1) and wormed.

All help appreciated in advance.

Sherry

 

[justjinx]

You may want to consider some probiotics to help re-establish the correct micro-organisms in her intestinal tract.

jennifer

 

[user 3234]

What type probiotics do your recommend? What exactly is in a probiotics?

 

[Frankie]

Beet pulp, and beet pulp, and beet pulp!

I'd also start her on ulcer medication as well, talk with your vet.

Good luck!

 

[Horse Feathers]

How about sweet feed? Once she clean that up quickly, slow start mixing pellets till your feeding only pellets.

[SIZE=14pt]Good Luck[/SIZE]

 

[muffntuf]

I also support the probiotics.

You could start her on Purina Equine Jr. and you may have to shove some in her mouth and hold her mouth a few times to get her to understand what it is. This has beet pulp in it.

Starting young animals on feed is hard when they never have had any. But I put a little bit in their mouths and hold their mouth shut until they start moving it around with their tongue. This may take a few times and a few days, but she will get the hang of it. You could also water down a bit of it to get the good taste in her mouth faster.

 

[minie812]

Ditto on the beet pulp and good luck

 

[justjinx]

Probiotics have beneficial bacteria and micro-organisms in it to get the intestines working correctly again. I usually get PROBIOS in a tube (its a bit bigger than a dewormer tube) and follow the instructions on the tube. Some people use yogurt in place of this. jennifer

 

[Gini]

Sherry you may have to, like someone said help her learn to chew by holding her mouth gently. She probably does have ulcers from what she has been thru. Ask your vet for gastroguard. I had to give it to Emmy for almost a month. Beet pulp is a great idea. If you think she is in pain please use banamine ask your vet for it and the dosage for her weight. You'll probably have to give her like a liquid mash for her feedings. Good luck with her and Sherry you have my phone # if you need anything

Gini

 

[rabbitsfizz]

http://www.valleyvet.com/catalog_products/...Probiotics.html

Probiotics from Valleyvet...

Basically they put back all the good stuff that antibiotics strip out...to work the antibiotics take the good with the bad, the probiotics put back the good, OK?

I second Beet Pulp, if you soak shreds in a little boiling water, enough just to damp them down, then just leave them for her, do not mix them into feed, she should get inquisitive- if you have another foal that eats well, that would help, I feed my weanlings in their run in shed, and I tie them all up next to one another so they cannot patch each others feeds, this causes them to really tuck in, and the smallest colt, who had little appetite at first, is now eating as much as the others.

I would leave a couple of varieties of hay for her, but since she seems to have a low tolerance of alfalfa I would keep her off that for a while, at least.

I second the ulcer meds, too, if she has been stressed that is a real possibility.

What did you worm her with and how much did you give??

 

[Carolyn R]

If you hear all the talk about yogurt and good/beneficial microbes, well they are probiotics. It is nothing new, it has been around in the equine world for year. Fast track and probios are both brands of probiotics. If she has been skittish with her feed you may want to try the probios brand paste until you can bee sure she is on the right track.

Senior feed are great, they are especially designed to get weight on them and be easy to digest. Oil helps with weight, but may upset her belly if she is super sensitive.

Platinum Performance has a product, this is not the same comp. that has platform feed, it is a high calorie product for special needs horses. If someone doesn't chime in with the exact product (I can't remember the name) email Earlene Roberts from Nostalgia minis (Kentucky). She told me about it. She used it on an elderly horse that could no longer eat regular feed or graze. She said it worked miracles on his weight.

Good luck, I hope this info helps.

 

[Sandee]

Probiotics is the stuff that help support the "good" bacteria in the gut. Sort of like when humans have digestion problems and take yogurt for the "live cultures" to get their insides working properly. The Antibotics not only kill the germs or whatever that may be making her sick but they kill off these "good" guys in the gut too. Probiotics comes in differnt forms. It can be a in a tube like wormer or granules that are sprinkled in their feed.

I'd suggest try the beet pulp. It comes in pellets or shredded. Either one would need to be soaked in water for her. The pellets if soaked (for instance overnight) take very little chewing. Most have molasses in them so they taste sweet and most horses will "go" for them although some take a slow approach to anything new.

If you decide on the probiotics in granular then mix it up in the soaked beet pulp so it disguises the smell and flavor. And I sceond that thought that at that young age with the travel and being sick she is very likely to develop ulcers which will also make her NOT want to eat.

 

[Mominis]

I am so sorry to hear about your horse! My husband and I had a similar problem once. There was a horse that I had known as a 2 year old and he was a really pretty firey chestnut who was full of himself. He was a very successful show horse then as well. About 8 years later, we ran into his owner and I asked about him. She got this really sad look and said that she had sold him but repossessed him for non-payment and that he was in terrible shape. After some discussion, she took us out to see him.

Thinking about this makes me nauseous, but the guy at the barn led the old boy out of a stall that was at LEAST a foot deep in feces. The stallion was squinting when he came out of the dark barn and hadn't seemed to have seen the sun in a looooong time. His ribs were hanging out, his hip bones prominent, you could see his spine, and he had something going on with his skin. In many places he was hairless. There was a 'chunk' in the side of his neck that was dented in, as though he had taken a bad injury to the area and had lost tissue. Well, needless to say, we left long enough to grab a horse trailer and came right back for him.

We took the old boy home and put him in the barn out back. We didn't want him near the other horses as he hadn't had veterinary care in Lord knows how long. The vet came and saw him and said that the next couple of weeks were crucial. In other words, if he survived them, he'd likely make it. The vet advised a diet of grass hay supplemented with about 1/2 flake of alfalfa (this was a large horse, btw). We got him his own set of brushes as the areas that were hairless literally started peeling. The skin was falling off the horse! We had to use a rub rag in those places to help stiulate the healing process.

Well, we followed the vet's advice and after the first ten days, we were permitted to give him Equine Sr. He started slowly filling out, got his EIA test back (thankfully negative), and we were able to put horses out in the back barn near him so he wouldn't worry the weight off of himself from being alone. He was allowed 30 minutes of turnout in the pen attached to his stall.

Well, we had to go to a horse show about a month after we got the guy home and with great trepidation, left him in the care of a good friend of ours, who happened to be a trainer. Our friend was very good with him and fed him according to the list we gave him. However, he forgot to put up the horses in the pen next to the stallion's turnout pen before giving him his turnout one day and the old boy managed to breed one of them through the fence on that turn out. That pretty much told us he was going to make it (lol).

After about 5 months, he was allowed back into an exercise program and we were able to put him on 'regular' feed which we sullplemented with CocoSoya Oil and Strongid C2X. One year later, the old man was back in the show ring and was reserve champion in-hand at the show. So, chin up. You can turn it around, it will just take a lot of time and tender loving care.

 

[Miniequine]

I would also start her on gastroguard.

 

[Genie]

Make a warm mash of a pelleted feed, beet pulp, minerals and vegetable oil.

 

[user 3234]

Is it safe to mix ulcer, phrobiotics & antibiotics together?

 

[Mominis]

I think the Gastro-guard is a good idea! But I would ask your vet about the mix of probiotics, antibiotics, and ulcer meds. Better safe than sorry.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

The ulcer medication may have an effect on how the other meds are absorbed into the digestive tract so , no, I would give them separately.

 

[user 3234]

I will pick up some probiotics on the way home and ask the vet about the ulcers meds. Thanks you everyone and I will keep you updated on her progress.

 

[HGFarm]

If she was switched suddenly from grass hay to alfalfa I can see why she would have diahrea. You should NEVER change feed suddenly like that overnight, and I have never seen a horse turn up their nose at alfalfa. I have a feeling she was already sick and just doesnt want to eat- period, no matter what it is.

I would check for worms and sand. Then see how the results from your vet comes back. Foal pneumonia? I had a foal arrive here that apparently picked it up on his trip, who showed no symptoms but just being lethargic and got more poor, just picking in his food. After his dose of antibiotics, he was back to normal, thank heavens.

Make any change of feed slowly, but I know the grass here has no value in it and I use it for bedding! It doesnt have a thing in it for a growing foal. The probiotics is a great idea too.