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Two rescue horses. Advice please!

12K views 145 replies 22 participants last post by  Glenknock 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

Yesterday we rescued two horses. An 11 year old mare and a 2 year old colt. The place we got them from had zero grass. They were eating off a round bale of some type of hay. Both are very under weight. I am almost positive they have worms (they both itch their tails.) I want to deworm ASAP but I don't wanna use propac. Are there any others that would work just as well that can be bought at places like tractor supply? I am also worried about the chances of laminitis. I didn't have a choice but to move them to a pasture of grass. There are no stalls or any way for me to keep them from eating all day. I live in Florida so that grass isn't super nutritious but I'm not sure if that matters.

Anyone else have a rescue horse? I really need advice on the best way to go about getting them fat again. They seem to be in great health
 
#56 ·
Thank you so much for all your replies. I will start working on all of this. As far as the alfalfa pellets. Could I use a measurement on the scoop. Like 1/4 or 1/2 scoop soaked pellets? They don't like on our property and we are only out there in the evening. Should I be going out twice a day?
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#57 ·
You will want to weigh everything. Scale is super cheap. Any feed you ever feed needs to be weighed. Measure when dry. They absorb a ton of water. And yes they should be getting pellets or such twice per day, ideally 3 times but most owners can't do that and only two per day.
 
#59 ·
You can find a container that holds a certain weight or just draw lines on one so you only have to weigh it the first time and then you can essentially make your own scoop so its quick each time.

I have no idea what hay prices are like in your area but do the math and see if the hay is cheaper than pellets. When I was buying it the alfalfa hay in my area was cheaper than the pellets per pound so I was feeding more hay than pellets.
 
#60 ·
Get a small bucket, 1 cup pellets per horse, double the amount of water over it, and head to the barn. By the time you arrive, they should be soaked. Divide in two portions and offer. If they eat it well, add half a cup every 2-3 days until they're at 3 lbs daily, that amount definitely divided in two, better three meals. Look for alfalfa hay in the meantime. When you find hay, give the pellets, again, a cup only, with whatever you want to add, ration balancer, vit/ min.
 
#68 ·
Start out with a flake, split between the two. Watch how and if they eat it. No need to give it if they prefer the grass. If this is the case, 1/2 lb of pellets, soaked, with supplements. In any case that would be enough. Google Henneke body condition score, print out the chart and " measure" every two weeks to keep track of progress. Once they're used to grass, you can just let them graze, give the vit/ min, and watch so they're not getting overweight:)
 
#65 ·
if you can only put them out onto fresh grass, Shorter grass is higher in sugars. Tall grass is lower in sugars. Feed them Hay so they are full, then put them out onto the grass.
Colt needs cut .. yesterday. A horse can be fed grass hay and, even though it looks horrid. also oat or wheat or a 3 way grain hay is fine for horses. Ivermectin is a good dewormer, fenbendazole/safe guard / pancur/ etc. you dont have to give the power dose
 
#66 ·
I'm not so sure you rescued these horses as you removed them from a dry lot where they won't founder to grass which can cause them to founder because of the sudden introduction. The rubbed tail usually indicates bug bites on the underside of the tail, not necessarily worms, especially at this time of year. Grazing muzzles are inclined to cause rub spots so should be used for only a few hours a day.
 
#67 ·
I think this thread is a little out of hand. Wow. Nowhere in the OP's threads does it say she cannot afford to feed the horses or properly care for them.

i have rescued many horses and honestly, the best thing for the weight gain is quality hay and access to grass. Coming from a dry lot, they should have been introduced a little more slowly but OP seems to be trying her hardest to do right by these guys..

in 2 months, maybe less, they will look completely different. Healthy, glossy coats etc.

throwing hay out to them while they are on grass will be useless. My horses dont look at hay from May-October. Let alone eat it. They want grass and do well on just grass.

also adding grain, beet pulp, cool calories and oils at this point in time is going to be over-kill to their diet and likely to do more damage then good. stick with the basics, grass and some hay, fresh water and a good deworming schedule and youll be just fine.

you have 24 acres of pasture, once they are accustomed to grazing 24/7, they will be perfectly fine on just pasture. The rest is unnecessary. In 6-8 weeks, its more likely you'll need a grazing muzzle to keep then from getting TOO fat. ;-)

as for deworming, whenever i took on a "help needed" horse, I used Pyrantel first. Then in 4 Weeks, Ivermectin, and then in 6 Weeks SafeGuard. And then every two months i'd rrotate between the 3 from spring-fall.

goodluck and keep us posted!
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#71 ·
I feed 2nd cutting alfalfa to my horses from mid-November through april. sometimes earlier, sometimes later, depends on the summer/amount of rain we have.

Alfalfa hay is rich so pure alfalfa may not be the best right off the bat. An alfalfa/grass hay mixture may work better for their stomachs.

putting them right on straight alfalfa is like putting them directly on sweet grass. Dont be surprised if you get some runny stools. When I start feeding hay again, all my horses go through a spell for a few days.
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#73 ·
I'm glad some of the knowledgeable members showed up. I was able to learn a few more things I had backwards from when I was bringing my horses back..

Looks like you have a good support group now.. Can't wait to see the improvement pics.
 
#74 ·
Okay so I gave them the ivermectin last night. We also picked up the alfalfa pellets and we will start those tonight. I weighed them using the weigh tape as well. The mare was around 800lbs and the colt around 600lbs.

Deserthorsewoman, I was actually looking at shoglo last night at tractor. I will go back and pick that up. Is that the only vitamin supplement they need? Would a regular white salt block work or should I get the red mineral block?

CLaPorte, would T&A be better to start?
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#77 ·
that will be the only thing they need, yes. You could get Opti-Zyme, that's the probiotic, wouldn't hurt right now.
Salt: going by my horses...mineral block is being ignored, as is the white one. Himalayan salt is what they consistently consume. TSC has small ones for the lickit toy,for 10$, all nice and round and smooth, or big ones on a rope, at least twice as much, not pretty and smooth, for 10$... you pick ;-)
 
#75 ·
You can get the red mineral salt block but make sure they have the white one available at all times as well. They might devour the white block in a few days, don't be alarmed that is normal if they haven't had access to one for awhile. Just get another to put out there. After their bodies tell them they are full they will stop eating the salt.

Just a heads up about the weight tape, my mare has consitently been taping at 850lbs for the last year even though she is clearly now huge. It only measures at a certain spot so when they gain weight elsewhere on the body it won't get counted. Sometimes they work for tracking weight gain/loss but sometimes, like in my case, they don't really show much.
 
#78 ·
I find that only two of mine bother with salt or mineral licks and I'm sure that's more of an 'its here so I'm going to mess with it' thing than an actual need
We also find in this hot weather that they are more inclined to eat hay that's well damped
Sugar beet without added molasses is also great in hot dry weather - high fibre and moisture content
Not sure how big your mare is but 800lb might not be that underweight so could just be that extra she needs to give her some conditioning
 
#79 ·
T&A would probably be a better hay to start with, then wean into Alfalfa completely if needed.

I have a white salt block, a mineral block and a Himalayan salt block as well. The white is most popular. I'd give a dose of SafeGuard in 4-6 weeks. If their weight is picking up and doing good, make it 6. If its a struggle, deworm again at 4 weeks.
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