Weight??

Thank you everyone for your input I really appreciate it -- I should have added a few more details the bay pony is 25+ years we got her last fall her teeth have been checked and we were told they are very good for her age -- she doesn't seem to drop gain when she chews and does well with her hay (we do wet it for her to help her out a bit). We have switched hay suppliers in April (will never use them again) and she is now on very good quality grass hay which we put down all day for her (unlimited) but I now think that she needs a round bale which she can munch on at night as well? She also has some grazing (it is limited here as our pasture is not very good) She also gets 900grams of Purina Integri-T soaked to a mash (it's the highest protein/fibre/fat) complete feed that we could find in our small town. She is ridden very lightly by my 6 year old daughter maybe once a week. Other than the weight her health is very good -- she runs around like she is a 2 year old and is always happy and bright.

The appaloosa is not in foal (she has been vet checked) because we thought she was too when we got her before the winter she was a little more filled out (I do not like seeing her spine it seems to stick out on the top of her back) and it was not like that in the fall. She is just starting to be ridden/worked as she was a former broomare and not broken when we got her (could be why the belly?) and lack of muscle. She is also on the same hay/grass regimen as the bay and just a couple handfuls of 13% protein sweet feed mix.

As for worming -- they were both wormed twice in the fall/winter using Eqvalan Gold and once this spring using Bimectin and again two weeks ago using Eqvalan Gold again -- I have not seen a 'power pack' in our small town available can anyone explain what this is? As well I am not aware of the sand flushing -- maybe this will be beneficial as well (they are in a sand paddock for most of the day) can anyone explain how to do this as well .. ?

Again thanks for all of your input (any is appreciated as we are new at this)

Panacur Powerpac is available from your vet or you can order online. I have not seen it in stores. If they were infested with worms regular dewormer will not get rid of all of them. The Powerpac is in 57gram tubes that are given every day for 5 days sraight to each horse. Hence why you cannot just double up on regular Panacur since that is only a 25gram tube.

I would be cautious about feeding her grain, but I suppose you mean the Purina stuff? Is this a ration balancer? Ingredients look OK except for ground wheat. I would be wanting to make sure it does indeed balance out with the pasture/hay she gets, esp considering the wheat & high protein, which can be problematic especially with older horses. Perhaps speak to a nutritionist or get onto feedxl.com or such. I would avoid feeding sweets to your horses.

If she's got grazing over night, I wouldn't generally worry about making sure there was always hay, but if she's otherwise going hungry for any length of time, then yes, hay over night too. Wetting hay isn't a bad idea IMO, because it can often be dusty & sometimes a bit mouldy(tho that's best not fed anyway), but it won't 'help her out' because of her age - either her teeth are ok or they aren't. If they are, she's also better off getting fibrous feed that needs chewing, rather than a mash. Chewing creates saliva which is an important buffer against stomach acids.

Perhaps she was obese then & a bit better now, but lacking muscle, hence the spine & angular rump. Yes, IME that's the normal tummy shape for an unfit horse who has spent long years as a broody.

Thank you I am going to look for this -- does anyone know how to do the sand flushing -- is this something you can do yourself or should I consult my vet??

Sand flushing yourself is very dangerous as it's done by a tube into the stomach and it is all too easy to end up putting the oil in the horse's lungs by mistake, which then drowns them. A vet should be the one to do it. Usually it's done with paraffin oil and sometimes (depending on the vet) psyllium husk is added so as to better shift stubborn sand. Be aware, though, that one drench won't always shift all the sand, if there is a large amount in the horse's gut, because it can set like concrete.

Isn't psyllium(sp?) used as well? Something like sand clear? Where a vet isn't needed but can just be consulted about?

Yes I meant the Purina stuff -- it is a pellet form we wet it as it says on the instructions and she doesn't seem to drop it. I wasn't sure if it's the best one for her -- they don't have a senior feed at our co-op I am going to find out if I can order one through them -- it would be a Purina product as that's all they can order -- only other option is Beet Pulp -- not sure if that can be used as a feed or just as an addition to a complete feed??




that was my husband's thought as well -- he thinks I worry too much..lol..

Poppy, yes it is, but it's most effective in combination with a good mineral oil drench. In my years of having horses and drenching for sand yearly, I have only ever had one colic, and that was unrelated to sand. I know people who just use psyllium husk in their horses' feed, and shove hay down their throats in vast quantities, who have sand colic every single year!

Also want to add my horses are pretty brainless about sand so it's not that I have horses that just don't pick it up!

Ahh, so glad I don't live in a sandy area.

OP- for a complete feed, Purina products are fine. Do not go with a ration balancer if they need to gain weight. Most feed stores will order in anything you need but my local one told me it takes a month for anything horse related to come in, so plan ahead if they aren't the quickest.

Also the complete feed should be fed with hay or pasture, not alone. Beet pulp can be added to diet with complete feed and hay or pasture but may not be needed if you feed a senior feed. Senior feed is going to be the best to put on weight.

Poppy, yeah, you're lucky. ALL the soil around here is either sand or WET clay which is a nightmare because it coats your horse (so you HAVE TO hose them before every ride) and then horses' hooves damage it and make the problem worse, and then in summer it dries up, cracks, and leaves HUGE DEEP holes just hoof-sized for the horses to break their legs in.

I like a good "garden" soil - soft and loamy, made of a mixture of organic matter, sand, clay and gravel. Unfortunately where I am there's no such thing so we just make sure our sand colic prevention is all up to date, and they're not eating off the sand or eating the grass down to dirt (in summer they're on round bales 24/7 to prevent this). I also make sure I don't over-stock the land, and if we have a bad year and they run out of pasture early we move them until it starts growing again. Or reduce the herd like we did a couple of summers ago.