IJust wrote a lengthy reply and accidently deleted it LOL, so here's the abbreviated version. I had a mare last spring who also had a major weight loss. Separated her from the herd to give her a chance to eat, but nothing worked and she refused most food but would graze (only place we had grass last summer was around the house, so I turned her out there daily). Blood work on her was fairly normal except for a depressed protein level, result of not eating. Vet was at a loss to say what was going on - we tried various feeds, supplements, etc. She's a wiley mare anyway and I had to catch & dose her twice a day, was a chore. This started, or I noticed her first, in about April. Mid summer, I ordered some Body Builder for show horses and put her on it as an afterthought. Within a week, her appetite began to pick up and subsequently her weight. I'm convinced it's what saved her, and I'll be watching her closely this year.
Excerpt from product description -
" Improve overall body condition; Calm the agitated or sour horse. In most horses, 20 days of supplementation was required before clear-cut signs of improvement were apparent to everyone. In horses that were suffering from severe loss of body condition, Body Builder displayed dramatic reversals in as little as a week's time"
And I'll vouch for that! She was on it for a couple of months, and continued to gain weight and condition. She was in foal too, and delivered a big, healthy colt about 6 weeks ago with no complications, and has so far held her appetite. I'll probably order some more before I wean her colt, just to be safe.
One other thing I will recommend, Karbo Combo by Gomers. Look at their website,
www.gomersinc.com , call them or email. Great folks, small company very willing to help. I put all my pregnant mares on it about 6 weeks prior to due dates, through about 6-8 weeks after delivery. Healthiest crop of babies ever. Tried giving it to the mare last year but it's a small pellet, and she wasn't having any part of it. The Body Builder is a thick, sweet liquid that can be syringed into their mouths.
Jan