Worried about horse...

[Bikewanderer]

Not mine...I lease some pasture to a girl with an old horse. He is over 20. I usually help keep an eye on the water and hay, I don't have much to do with him past this. I noticed today he has lost a lot of weight. His ribs are very obvious and you can see clearly his hips and spine.

I asked his owner and she said she was aware and had been visiting daily to give him grain and trying to get weight back on him. He has water and hay, and has about two acres of pasture. She said he was dewormed last year and she didn't know what is wrong with him. Mostly I just want to make sure that everything that can be done for him is. I don't want him suffering unnecessarily, but if this is just part of aging that is fine with me.

What questions should I be asking?

 

[setxjeff]

We deworming our horses about 3 times a year. Also get vet to check or float teeth, if their teeth are hurting or not grinding their food correctly they will not get enough nutrition.

 

[TomSeller]

Not mine...I lease some pasture to a girl with an old horse. He is over 20. I usually help keep an eye on the water and hay, I don't have much to do with him past this. I noticed today he has lost a lot of weight. His ribs are very obvious and you can see clearly his hips and spine.

I asked his owner and she said she was aware and had been visiting daily to give him grain and trying to get weight back on him. He has water and hay, and has about two acres of pasture. She said he was dewormed last year and she didn't know what is wrong with him. Mostly I just want to make sure that everything that can be done for him is. I don't want him suffering unnecessarily, but if this is just part of aging that is fine with me.

What questions should I be asking?

How are his teeth? If his teeth are bad it will be hard to eat the hay.

 

[Bikewanderer]

I can look tomorrow.

 

[WM75Guy]

Nothing beats a visit by the vet to determine what is wrong. Older horses can be tough to maintain weight. There are multiple reasons that contribute to weight loss, a horse can have more than one. Follow the feed manufacturer's recommendations on how much to feed based on weight. A common number is the horse needs be fed 2-3% of the horses weight split evenly between grain and hay. The 3% is used if you are trying to add weight back to a horse. You may also need a hay with more nutrients like alfalfa instead of coastal.

Also the horse needs to have it's teeth checked and if needed they will be floated or filed down. Without good teeth the horse cannot grind the hay so they can absorb the nutrients. It just passes right through the horse unabsorbed. For horses that cannot chew hay any more there are feeds like Purina Equine Senior that includes hay in the pellets.

https://www.purinamills.com/horse-feed/products/detail/purina-equine-senior-horse-feed

Horses need to be dewormed anywhere from 2-6 times a year. Mine are on daily wormer, Strongid 2X, but still have to be paste wormed twice a year. This explains more about deworming.

Horse.com - Horse Wormer Guide

Hope this helps.

 

[Bikewanderer]

Is that 2-3 percent a daily number?

 

[QRTRHRS]

I would suggest calling the vet for a checkup to start. He may need to have his teeth floated or perhaps they are worn down and he can no longer chew efficiently. Being wormed last year could mean in December or it could have been June. The vet can also advise what type of wormer to use if he needs it again. He may need to be put on a senior type of grain if he is not already. He may need to have some warm water in his grain to make a mash if his teeth are worn down. His grain ration may need increasing, something that should be done slowly over time same as switching to a senior feed if he is not already on it. How many times a day is he given grain? Should be at least twice and maybe three times or more. Smaller amounts spaced out are best. Welcome to the world of the senior horse.

 

[breadtrk]

I'll be that guy.

End this animals decline and suffering.

 

[Bikewanderer]

I know he is on senior grain because I gave him some today. Not sure on the quantity. She did tell me he was wormed again this year, in addition to last year. The tooth floating seems likely. I'm not sure when the vet was here last, but googling this gave several symptoms that I have noticed, like excessive drooling.

 

[WM75Guy]

Yes. For example a 1000# horse would get a total of 20# a day, 10# of grain and 10# hay. Usually split into 2 feedings, AM & PM, so they get 5# of grain and 1-2 flakes of hay at each feeding. We use 3% if we need to add weight. Whatever grain is being fed should have a chart available that shows the weight based amount of grain and hay or just grain alone for one like Purina Equine Senior.

Our performance horses are in the 1400# range so they get more.