Are her ribs showing, Picture.

I have a 8 year old mare named Teddybear who is having issues with her ribs showing. Teddybear hasnt had any problems with her ribs showing in the winter.

Here is what I have been feeding her;

• Since it is spring time I have only been giving Teddybear one 80lb square bail of Orchid grass mixed with Timothy grass. She share's this between two other horse's; Christopher & Cody. Teddybear also gets free roam of grass as well.
• Teddybear recieves about 5-6lb of 12% Horse Pellet from Producers Pride mixed with whole oats, also from Producers pride. Christopher & Cody recieve the same type of feed, the only difference is the amount, and they do fine on it and have no problem with their ribs showing.
• I dewormed all three of my horse's in December with Intervincitm(sp?).

I am willing to try different feeds and such but it has to be a reasonable price. I have looked in my local TSC for Ration balancer and they do not carry any in my location.
Here is a picture of Teddybear taken last weekend, I will compare it to a picture of her taken in either December or January.
1st picture is from December or January after I dewormed her.
2nd picture is from May 1st.
Sorry about Teddybear being dirty in the second picture and having patches of rain rot on her leg a bit. I am treating the rain rot and she normally doesnt get rain rot its just that its been raining like crazy here latley.

How often are you putting out the hay? Christopher is a Clydesdale and is probably eating a minimum of 20lbs hay per day by himself--and probably more than that. Is Cody a draft as well? The boys might be getting most of the hay.

Your mare does look thinner in the second photo. Might be worth having a vet do a fecal.

She has *visibly* lost condition in the time period between photos.

In the December, she is on the lean side of a good weight - very faint shadows of the ribs, hip bone well covered and no hollow in front of the hip, area between croup and tail head filled in nicely. The wither is prominent but that appears to be her confo.

The second photo shows here 100 - 200 pounds lighter - all ribs plainly visible, prominent hip bone, big hollow in front of the hip, concave around the croup/tail head area, not just the wither but the secondary structures of the shoulder clearly visible and the aptly named "poverty line" visible down the back of her buttock.

If she is being feed and cared for the same way she was in December, get a vet out, now, because something is seriously wrong. If she is being feed differently than she was in December, go back to what you were doing in December.

Has she had her teath done because no matter what you fead her if her teeth are bad then she won;t get anything from the food.

Rbarlo,

Getting teeth checked is always a good idea, however, I'm guessing this mare's teeth didn't suddenly get bad. Weight loss that quickly usually has to do with a dramatic change in circumtances and feeding or illness.

When an 8 yr. Old suddenly drops weight, it is my opinion that it would be a good idea to get a vet out there ASAP.

We can all guess that it's worms, teeth, piggy pasture mates, etc....but the truth is, only a vet can give you the answers you need.

She does look thin to me, but then both my horses are weighty .... one plump, the other just plain fat.


After health issues have been ruled out, you may want to look into her feeding regimen.

One thing I swear by for both my horses is probiotics. I know some will say horses don't need it but we have two horses with two reasons why I think they do.

Our OTTB was emaciated when we got him, his body score was a 2....that on top of the fact he is a TB and they are supposedly hard to keep weight on. We put him on a probiotic supplement to maximize his ability to digest his food and garner nutrients from it.....a side benefit is that he never gets loose bowels from worming.

Our fatty lumpkins draft does not get grain or ANY fortified feed due to her weight, she is strictly on hay with a few hours of grass time a day. All hay is not created equal and varies in it's nutritional value from year to year and cutting to cutting. She take a vitamin supplement from Smart Pak for easy keeper fat horses, and it includes a probiotic to help her digest the vitamins in her supplement and her hay.

Once health issues are looked into and hopefully ruled out, turn your attention to the diet...and think about adding a probiotic

In the winter I was giving them two 80 lbs square bails a day and I was feeding either safe choice or sweet feed, I keep on switching feeds I should propbably stay on one type of feed.
I probably need to get her teeth floated, that's why I am saving my money to get her teeth floated its like $100.
Do you think I should deworm her again and give them a round bail so they have unlimited hay?
Cody isnt a draft he is a TWH.
She looked so much better in December than she does now:( I am going to ask my mom if she will call the vet and have him come down here, I hope she says yes.
Hopefully we go out today and go to tractor supply, then I can get some dewormer for her.
Is there a better alternative to Ration Balancer?I really want to get some but my TSC doesnt carry it.

Here is a picture of Teddybear that was taken in either late March or early April.

Get in your car and go directly to the nearest Triple Crown dealer you can find and buy some triple Crown Senior.

Do not pass go, do not collect $100.

Are you there yet?

He's vidibly lost weight. After you have a vet look at him, put him on soaked beet pulp twice a day with a cup of oats with each feeding. Hay is also super important, make sure you're feeding him the best quality hay you can get.