Snickers and the mysterious hind end saga

Slowfeeder nets for slowing and consequently lessening hay intake. If you don't use them already I'd wholeheartedly recommend them.

Oh yes, I remember reading that before. Excellent. I will be investing in some of them.:)

I've made my own, with slightly bigger holes for the oat hay, a couple of hours work and some baling twine, and am now at 2" standard holes, since they mastered the oat hay
My hay bill is down dramatically, horses are never out of hay and consequently never hungry.
They used to have about 30lbs each a day, nearly 10 lbs each ended up inedible, now maybe a pound, max 2 is on the ground, but not trampled and they together eat 20-25 lbs. Together, not each!. I keep my nets full, but weighed everything daily for about a month, and that is what they consume. Most amazing!

I bought two hay nets this afternoon and used them for their evening feeding. I think the holes are too big though since they could stick their muzzles right in it no problem. Good idea with baling twine...I could maybe just fix those making the holes smaller rather than buy new ones?

So, is it that they don't eat as fast that makes them loose the weight? Or, do they actually have to have less hay daily? The hay they got for their dinner was enough to fill two large hay bags comfortably, not stuffed.

Have you had her tested for Lymes? I've seen horses with similar hind end problems test positive for Lymes, and then improve after a round of Doxy.
Just another of the many things to check.

Yeah, thanks though....I really do appreciate the interest from everyone. I'm a little overwhelmed with information and things to think about at the moment. I'm going to start with the hair testing so I at least know what diet to stick to right now. Then, I will mention everything again to the vet at spring shots time and see if any additional bloodwork should be drawn for anything while they are there. Then, when I win the lottery or at least am hopefully still not unemployed, I will put money away for future expensive stuff, if necessary. I am going to simply enjoy walking on the trails with her and try to breathe again a little.

I will still continue to post any videos, if I get some decent ones...it's hard not having them be shakey....just in case it makes a light bulb go off in someone's head.

definitely too big...the holes. With grasshay they shouldn't be bigger than 2". You can put one into the other to reduce the size of the holes until you can get real ones or make them.
The idea behind them is mimicking grazing, a bite here, a bite there, not stuffing mouths full into themselves. They can pull out little only, so they have to work for it. So they chew better, have always a little in the stomach and learn that they never run out.
Amazingly enough, fat horses slim down, skinny ones gain.
Best thing for horses since sliced bread... .. kinda

Absolutely agree with this statement. I was feeding hay loose on the ground in Fayde's stall and she wasted more than she ate by rooting around in it and spreading it out and stomping it into the poo.

Since I put up slow feed 2"x2" hay nets there is almost no wasted hay. As she pulls out each little bite some loose stuff falls to the ground under the net, but not even much of that goes to waste. As a little pile forms under the net, Fayde reaches down and vacuums it right up.

And she went from being finished eating most and ruining the rest in an hour or so, to a net full lasting her a good 4 or 5 hours. Woot! Bonus!

I think I actually took some decent video today. Here is 1 of 3. The others are still uploading....just incase anyone wants to see....

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