I'v had my appendix Moose for the past 3 1/2 years. He's a 17.3 gelding who's 8 years old. Moose and I have literally started from rock bottom, and have progressed into Congress Champions. Ever since I first bought Moose, we knew that weight was going to be a problem. We have tried so many different things, and some were proven to work, and some didn't. Out of nowhere last month, he drastically lost weight to the point where it looked like I neglected my horse. It was so embarrassing to be at a major AQHA circuit (The Gold Coast) with my horse looking like I do not feed him. It was also upsetting, when I would be top three in a class where there were 30 people, and getting knocked down 5 places because he was skinny (yes, we looked at the score cards. He was the only horse with a note written down, and it said "skinny". And we had the second highest overall score).
We thought about the possibility of him having ulcers, and talked to other AQHA trainers that either know him, or have had him in the past. After talking to other trainers, we decided to put him on straight alfalfa (we have a corner feeder, and dump a whole 50 pound bag in it and let him eat what he wants), a magnesium supplement that has always put weight on him in the past, Omega Alpha which is for ulcers, and an Athlete feed supplement.
We started him on this about 3 weeks ago. Already, it has shown some awesome effects on him!
Before: He was sluggish, wouldn't always want to eat his food (sign of ulcers), constantly hit rails in shows and at home, and you could see his ribs and hip bones.
3 weeks later: Has more energy than he ever has! He has been much happier, better attitude, doesn't hit rails, jumps more round, eats until he's full, and you can't see his ribs and you can't see his hip bones as much!
With my mission only 3 weeks in, he has already shown great results. I will be posting weekly pictures of Moose's progress, and updates on how he's doing!
My goal is to get him fit, happy, and filled out by the time Youth World comes around in August!
Sorry for the long post, positive comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
We thought about the possibility of him having ulcers, and talked to other AQHA trainers that either know him, or have had him in the past. After talking to other trainers, we decided to put him on straight alfalfa (we have a corner feeder, and dump a whole 50 pound bag in it and let him eat what he wants), a magnesium supplement that has always put weight on him in the past, Omega Alpha which is for ulcers, and an Athlete feed supplement.
We started him on this about 3 weeks ago. Already, it has shown some awesome effects on him!
Before: He was sluggish, wouldn't always want to eat his food (sign of ulcers), constantly hit rails in shows and at home, and you could see his ribs and hip bones.
3 weeks later: Has more energy than he ever has! He has been much happier, better attitude, doesn't hit rails, jumps more round, eats until he's full, and you can't see his ribs and you can't see his hip bones as much!
With my mission only 3 weeks in, he has already shown great results. I will be posting weekly pictures of Moose's progress, and updates on how he's doing!
My goal is to get him fit, happy, and filled out by the time Youth World comes around in August!
Sorry for the long post, positive comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!