Need help OTTB

[jess]

I bought a 7 year old off the track TB mare last year in Sept. at an auction though she never actually went through the sale. She was a pity case I didn't need her just caught my eye and it was just one of those connections that and her owners didn't want to run her through the sale-They had bought her at another auction for their daughter who was a beginner and needless to say she was too much horse for the kid. My problem with her is she won't maintain weight....She is wormed monthly and also gets a daily wormer,We also did a purge worming on her when I first got her where she was wormed daily for a week. I'm a vet tech and we ran a full CBC on her-nothing abnormal there,her teeth have been floated twice-no problems there either,she's been scoped for ulcers-none. I'm just at my wits end I cant' keep weight on her to save my life......She gets 3 quarts of senior feed,half a bale of second cut alfalfa hay, 1/2 cup corn oil twice a day she isn't being worked-Too skinny and I don't want to stress her, She is bright and active in every way just won't hold her weight. She'll look good for a few days and then drop agian....Has anyone used weight builder or any other weight gain suppliments? Or just have any suggestions in general? I will see if I can get a few pics of her uploaded....At first I thought her metabolism needed to adjust from being a race horse to a pasture pet but it's been over a year now and the vet I work with and myself are at a total loss.....I'm leary about adding straight beet pulp to her diet again as she has choked on it before-Plus the senior feed she is on(blue seal vintage senior)already has beet pulp in it. She is a VERY slow eater so has to be kept seperate from my other horses when being fed. It takes 45 mins to finish her grain. I'm truely out of ideas so any thoughts would be great.......

Edited to add picture of her Photobucket finally co-operate

 

[ChrystalPaths]

If you can believe....a talk with our Bonnie Fogg could be very helpful for you both. Has she been treated for ulcers in the past?

 

[jess]

I know very little about her past.....I don't have her papers so I don't even know who she is. She does have a lip tattoo.....Heck I feel so bad I haven't even given her a real name....The people I got her from called her Trixie but it just doesn't fit her....She is just known as the mare as everyone else here is a gelding....I've tried out several names on her but none seem to really fit HER...I name most animals by their personality or by what they seem to respond to but nothing seems to FIT her... I know the people I got her from had her for a few months....They got her at an auction....She was Very difficult for their daughter to handle and was the boss mare in their herd to the point where they ended up keeping her seperate....She would try to bite/kick when being fed.....She has only done this once with me and a firm NO was all it took to get her to realize it wasn't ok.....She cut her leg the second day she was here....sliced open the flesh on her cannon bone pretty good.....That's long since healed......I've ridden her only twice both times she was very willing to please....She nickers to me when ever i'm outside....Here she is low man on the totem pole except for my arab....My appy and Rachel's pony push her around....I've tried keeping her seperate and she got depressed....Tried just putting her and the arab together but then she beat on him too much and the arab is MY baby so I wasn't letting that continue......She seems fine in every way just won't keep weight on....Also right now I only have a run in shed and I think she would rather be stalled....I've debated about selling her or giving her to someone who has a better set up but am afraid she will end up in the wrong hands and I could never forgive myself if that happened...I will have a reading done by Bonnie when I have the money....Had to buy a new car last week old one blew up so short on cash at the moment but should be able to do it in a few weeks.....

 

[chandab]

While, I haven't used it myself, I know of people who have used Calf Manna or Milk Plus (same thing from two different companies) to put weight on horses. It's something to look into and try.

 

[jess]

Could someone post her picture for me if I e-mail it to them? I've got dial up and photobucket is being a pain......Thank you....

 

[Westwood Farms]

Hey Jess,

E-mail me, and I will explain this as best as I can. I have re-habilated many ottb, and may be able to help.

Alicia

 

[jess]

I PM'd you can you send me your e-mail address......Any help you can give would be great.....I've exhausted every option I can think of except putting her down and I really don't want to do that as I've said she seems fine in every way just can't seem to hold any weight.....

 

[RENMACMINIS]

If you can read the tattoo on her lip for 35.00 you can order her pedigree thru the jockey club. I have a OTTB i just got from an auction about a month ago. She is very sweet and willing and I am just letting her be a horse for now.. But come spring I am going to ride her. Hopefully by then I will have a round pen and have it set up. She has only been off the track for about 2 months now. She is turned out with my 2 TWH's and my Paint mare. She is doing really well after she learned how to walk up a hill. I would try the Calf Manna a 50lb bag here in WV costs about 20.00 but it is well worth it you dont use much of it at each feeding so it lasts a good while. I have used it on several thin/underweight horses and it does wonders at least in my opinion it does.

Sherry

 

[nootka]

I have used beet pulp, black oil sunflower seeds, and sometimes molasses added to help boost horses w/weight issues.

I get a "feeling" from her case and your description that she's just not feeling right in her surroundings, not 100% happy and it's bothering her in some way. Not that you're doing anything wrong, just that she may be depressed for some reason.

I do think the Bonnie idea may help you with a direction. Perhaps a different home would help her out, as in a home that had another equine friend she liked, or a different setup of some sort (not saying your home is not a great one, but something about it she perceives as stressful, or that she feels she doesn't fit in.)

Other than a medical condition (anemia comes to mind, though I'm sure you've checked that), I just don't know other than I'd add beet pulp to her feed.

Good luck!!!

Liz M.

 

[jess]

Hmmm I might have to try the calf manna...I'm sure they have it at tractor supply....I wonder if the goat milk replacer I have left over from when my three goats were babies would work also....I have quite a bit of that left.....How much do you feed?

Nootka- I get the same feeling as you.....She does love me as she nickers to me all the time and loves attention but she is picked on by two of the other horses and the one that doesn't pick on her she picks on constantly...I do want to rehome her eventually but am afraid that if I did she would go down hill even more if not given enough feed......Where I live well lets just say most people want a $500.00 horse that they have to throw hay to once in a while....Not one that is going to reqiure lots of feed and care.....If anything happened to her i'd be so upset...The rescues here if you can even call them that are "for profit" even if they claim not to be....Most won't adopt out for less then two grand...I just don't want her to end up in a situation where she is worse off then she is now....I can shut her in on one side of the lean to as that is what I do to feed her....I also just let her wander loose around the lawn to get better grass when I am home as my pastures have a lot of brush and them and not much grass...Hence the reason I got goats....The whole reason I got her was because she just gave me this look...I am NOT a mare person but there was just someting in her eyes....I knew the people who had her at the sale cared about her....They asked me to handle her for them when it was time to run her through because she was such a different horse with me...But instead I worked out a deal with them and bought her outright....One look in those eyes and I just knew she was pleading with me....So home with me she came....I bought her for $450.00 and have put close to $3000.00 into her trying different feeds and vet visits and bloodwork.....Just want her to be fat and happy....

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I just lost my aged T/B he was a VERY hard keeper.. he ate 10 cups of dry beet pulp pellets a day (soaked) made a 5 gallon bucket full to the top. That helped he got alot of hay but to be honest seemed Safe choice a very high in fat feed helped him to put on and maintain weight better then anything else.

 

[nootka]

Aw! I am glad you weren't offended by what I said. It just feels by what you describe that there is some element that she is perceiving or feeling that you can't possibly be privvy to, a "Detail" that she is focusing on or is causing her some stress which may be why she can't hold weight.

Just maybe the right place will show up and things will fall into place. A place you could "lease" her while you kept an eye on it, and took her back anytime at your discretion? I just have to think there is a "dream come true" out there for both of you to resolve this better.

I think she must have known you were an "answer" for her, maybe not the whole one, or maybe it isn't even that, but just a piece missing somewhere to complete her puzzle.

I wish you luck and wish I had more ideas.

Liz

 

[jess]

Lisa - Thank you for posting-I am so sorry about your old guy....How old was he when you got him and was he always a hard keeper? I grew up with warmbloods-jumping back ground like yourself but have never had a horse I couldn't keep weight on....Usually they need to lose weight when I own them as mine are all a little plump.....Who makes safe choice? Thank you all for your suggestions....I will chat with bonnie soon...

 

[Ms THE]

I am not Lisa, but I am from a hunter backround too. Safechoice is made by Nutrena, I like it too, but for the hard keepers, they make a top dress called Empower. I feed it to my old TB mare who is a hard keeper and my percheron mare who is on more of a EPSM diet and requires added fat without the starches and sugars. It is like $20 a bag for 40lbs in my area, but if you go online to Nutrena.com they have a $5 coupon for your first bag. It is worth the money and is cheaper than the other weightbuilder supplements. Good luck :bgrin

 

[Pepipony]

Sometimes these TBs just are lanky and nothing can change that. I have an appendix QH ( lots of running tb in her) , she is now 16 and it wasnt untill the last couple years that she doesnt look half starved to death! For a decade that mare could eat 24/7 and not gain an ounce. If my other horses werent fat, you would think I was starving her, could easily see all her ribs. Then finally one day she matured LOL might be yours is like that too.

 

[jess]

Thank you all for your ideas at least now I have a few more things to try with her.....Tonight we made one side of the run in a stall.....I'm going to try keeping her confined at night with even more hay and will look around for the safe choice or empower....For those of you who feed BOSS how much do you give? I know the beet pulp helps put weight on her but with her previous choke I'm a little nervous about starting her on it again....Anyway thank you all and I'll keep you updated and if this stupid dial up and photobucket will co-operate I'll post a pic of her she's a very pretty mare except for her ribs and hips sticking up.....She reminds me of a runway model.....

 

[Boinky]

I know exactly where your comming from! i have one that wastes away every summer (seems to be something to do with the heat. anyhow it's happend every summer for me and it's so frustrating. we've had bloodtst after bloodtest and the vets can't figure out what's going on. He's almos always anemic or boarderline anemic and has had some high/low BUN/Creatine.

Anyhow just a tip.. you might want to look up info on RER (reaccuring equine rabdomylosis) and EPSM (Equine Poly Saccaride storagte Myopathy). they are both very similar and require very similar management but from my research RER is very commin in many lines of TB's and STB's according to my new vet who deals in STB race horses he see's it ALOT. it's not well known about yet for hte most part. If i were you i'd do some research and see if his "symptoms" sound anything like RER or EPSM symptoms.

I know my TB has many of the symptoms including a high creatine level (which is common in RER from what i've read). I truly think he has it, but havne't tested him as the vets advised against it. he was doing VERY well on a high fat/low carb diet for most of the summer. longer than has ever maintianed into the heat before. ... ohh yes that is another symptom of ESPM and RER is that horses have a hard time regulating their thermostate. they are sensitive to cold and heat. anyhow just look into it and see if it sounds similar! it's managable with the right diet (which if it were you'd want to eliminate sweet feeds and feeds with alot of grains). My boy is on 1 quart beet pulp (dry) 1 Quart Carb SAfe, and 1 quart Triple Crown Lite (for the vite/mineral content but it's low carb too) twice per day.. sometimes when he's doing very well he can go back to once per day. with 3-4 cups of oil per day top dressing his "grain". some other things recommended is to have them on a Vite e/slenium compound, electrolytes and a few other things.

 

[jess]

Here is a picture of her just in case anyone was curious....Not a good one as she has her fly mask on but the black flies here are still awful....

 

[jdhand]

I would maybe try Strategy Feed, Beet Pulp and keep with the corn oil. I would try to add an extra feeding in the middle of the day if you can. They just require lots of feed. They are hard keepers. I have 6 big horses and the quarter horses are fat, the TB QH crosses are medium and the full TB is thin. The only way I have ever been able to keep weight on one is feeding it three times a day and feeding two large coffee cans of feed each feeding. The alfalfa is great. I cannot get fresh alfalfa here, but I have fed the dehydrated. It just takes persistance. Feed, Feed, Feed

 

[miniapp]

I use Purina Horse Chow 100 and a top dress supplement called "Fat Cat" with great results. The Horse Chow is an extruded pelleted feed, so it is easily digested and stays with them longer... I have kept weight on REALLY hard to keep horses.. (aged, stressed and physical issues..) and have never had them colic or refuse to eat. All the horses that I have put on the program will leave their hay and go to this...

Some other great suggestions on here as well.. sure hope one of them helps..

Suzy Hooper

Show Horses by Suzy

Fresno, CA