Not gaining weight

We have had our new mare now going on four months and instead of gaining weight she has lost weight. She has access to hay and a large pasture and frequent feedings. However, her belly keeps getting bigger, and bigger. She has been dewormed on multiple occasions. We are having a vet come to come out and do routine care on our other horse and we are going to have her looked at yet again. My main concerns are her teeth, ulcers, worms, and if dear lord help us if she is pregnant. Is there anything else I need to make sure the vet looks over carefully?!

The vet should know what to check for, they have a degree and it is what you pay them for. Relax, he'll find the problem.

How many times in four months is "multiple occasions" that she has been de-wormed? Have you had a fecal egg count done on her? You say your concerns are her teeth, ulcers, etc -- has the vet looked at those issues in the time(s?) he has examined her?

We bought her in september when we had a ppe on her and they said everything looked good except she needed some more muscle. Then, we got her home done a five day round of dewormer, and we turned out into a pasture with hay access and three daily feedings. Well, she lost a ton of weight. In this process her belly is only getting bigger and bigger while the rest of her get skinnier and skinnier. She has been worked two other times and she also seen another vet in December who says he sees nothing wrong.she has had two fecal test done and they show nothing. The vet coming out in February is coming from three hours away because one of my other horses has past injuries that requires a very knowledgable person of his situation so I figured I would have a specialist look at her sense my vets don't know anything

What are you feeding her in those '3 daily feeds'? If it's high starch or such, perhaps acidosis is making her gassy, so big bellied, while she's effectively starving because of it.

Has the vet done a preg test? What have they tested for?

She is on a l/s grain three times a day and she get 2.3 lbs at each feeding. She has not been palpated yet which is what we are wanting to have done next. She has had two fecal test done and neither of those vets said anything about it. The last vet checked her teeth and said they were fine, they also checked for ulcers and said no. So what else could it be? We are having a different vet coming out at the end of february that does all the work on one of my other horses because he has some medical issues that he has had for years and this vet has always been awesome. I have also considered taking her into a local college down that specializes in veterinary medicine because they have do a lot of work on local horses to give their students the experience. They are a very well equipped and educated facility.

Hi,

I'm guessing 'l/s' means low starch? So I'm also assuming it's probably not grain, or not really l/s?? What exactly is it? If it is grain, does she get roughage with it, in the form of chaff, beet pulp or such? Beet pulp, alfalfa/lucerne & soy hulls are also good ingredients for weight gain btw.

Is it possible it's an allergy? I know of horses who are allergic to oats for eg. Although the symptoms are a bit like hayfever...

If she hasn't been pregnancy checked she could very well be pregnant.

I bought a mare and got a surprise baby a couple years back. Actually, one of the first things I had done was palpation and the vet said she wasn't pregnant. Spring rolled around and the belly was growing even though I was riding her a lot. Asked the vet to check her again (which he didn't think was needed) and low and behold that time he felt a foal!

Anyway, just an idea from someone who got a "buy one, get one free" with their mare.