Request for ideas

[muffntuf]

Did we ever find out how old the filly was - 1 -2?

 

[Marty]

Some thoughts:

Is this girl low on the pecking order?

Are the others running her?

I also hate a daily wormer. Seen it backfire in the past with big horses. Don't like it. Don't believe in it.

Horses need to be kept on ulcer meds for at least 30-40 days.

When horses have had to share with others for feeding, those that "get" get and others don't. They can't relax and enjoy it. Having to feed horses together can cause stress, which causes a horse to become nervous, ergo: weight loss. I feel every horse should never feel a threat when having to eat and should be able to eat in peace. She should do better now that she is separated.

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[stormy]

To reply to some of your questions, this filly was one year old in May. She was housed with 6 yearling fillies in a paddock with a large bunk type feeder with hayrack. These gals are feed twice daily with second cutting hay and a pelleted grain, wormed every 2 months, fecal screens are done once a year. She was one of the two herd leaders though this group eats at the bunk peacefully without fighting likely because there is always some hay available. She has been seperated for almost a month now, continues to lose weight and refuse feed....she has 6 differant types of feed available to her at all times.

 

[muffntuf]

Thanks for posting her age. I am going to suggest you add in (build up to) 1 cup of oil, I prefer soy oil, a day for abit, that will give her 1,000 free calories and help her gain weight quicker.

This is not a fix all - you still need to figure out if you need to isolate her to feed her her meals or if there is a metabolic reason she has stopped gaining weight - an you are on the right track with involving your vet.

There are fat supplements in pellets out there too, but I generally just grab a good soy oil.

 

[Charlotte]

I have been watching this closely. I don't have anything more to offer. The Ranitidine I add to Ulcerguard and Sucralfate....the good effects only last for about 4-6 hours so on a bad horse I give 3 times per day if I can and try to give it just before offering feed so maybe the stomach will feel better and the horse will eat.

Something we have tried is Red Cell by syringe.......now it can cause the stomach to hurt, but the high B vitamins and Iron can be a real appetite boost too, so ......

I hope the next time I look you are posting about improvement

Charlotte

 

[stormy]

So do you guys see any change, better, worse, the same?? Looking at her every day I can not tell if we are getting anywhere!!

 

[chandab]

Perhaps its just the picture angles, but to me it looks like there has been a little bit of improvement from the first set of pics you posted to the newest set posted.

I know what you mean about seeing them daily and not being able to tell if there is improvement or not.

 

[Songcatcher]

Just a thought here, have you tried giving her some Sandclear? I once had a mare not doing well and after a round of sandclear she did much better.

 

[muffntuf]

Yes take a look yourself!

Look at the backbone from before:

Look at the backbone now:

She's improving. Remember is she is 1 and growing and underweight, this is going to be a slow go. Again I would suggest adding some free calories.

 

[Connie P]

Marcia,

We just came across a great new feed. Thrive. Check it out at thrivefeed.com

 

[stormy]

I appreciate all the good suggestions for getting weight back on her....have to get her eating more then a bite at a time first though, she will not eat anything new....have tried mare and foal, apple juice, alfalfa cubes soaked, pears even but she will only eat a bit of grass, a bit of her hay and a few bites of the grain she is used too. Her manure looks like rabbit droppings, only 2 little piles a day.

 

[barnbum]

Wow--how frustrating. You sure are giving it your best shot! She most definitety looks better in the second set of photos!

Good luck!

 

[Sue_C.]

I once had a filly who went off her feed just a couple of months before her big Futurity show, and the vet recommended a product called Ketamalt. It is a suppliment manufactured for cattle, but he said that he found that it incresed appetites in horses. He was right! After just a couple of days that filly would eat up her feed and still licking her lips, would look for more.

I also went the injectable B12 route with a rescue mare I had once, and it worked wonderfully. In less than a month on those B12 shots, that mare went from a dandruffy, sad looking, flat-eyed mess to a shiny-eyed, filled-out mare with a glossy, dappled coat. I wouldn`t have believed it possible, had it not happened in my own barn.

 

[Marty]

I see a lot of change! She sure looks like she is doing much better! YAY~

 

[stormy]

She ate! She ate! Not alot, maybe two cups of grain but she ate it all!! First time in a month I have seen an empty feed dish!!

Thanks all for your support and ideas, one pm got my vet and I looking at inflammatory bowel diseases....i think that was the key though will never know for sure what we have been dealing with.

Keep the good thoughts and ideas coming, we are not out of the woods but will be looking at some of the ideas to get weight back as her appetite returns!

 

[zacharyfarms]

There is a product called Weight Builder (clever name

)that is made by Farnam. You sprinkle it on top of her regular feed. I had a 28 year old Cushings horse and a very very skinny frenzied stallion that both had lost their appetite which it did wonders for. It smells very very good and they loved it. Takes ony a small amount to put the weight back on and to stimulate their appetite. Weight Builder