Health

[Dent Ranch Kickaboo Kitty]

I have an older mini gelding who needs to get muscle on him. Any ideas? So its hard to tell with his head down



he has cow hips and no top line. The vet is not worried.

Kitty needs to lose weight

but she has a belly from a c section. I can't do much with her because she has heaves.

They are both getting 4 hours of turnout, 1 cup of senior since we feed it to our big horses and 1 flake at night since they live in a dry lot with a stall.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Have you had his teeth checked? A horse cannot use his feed properly if his teeth have issues.

Can you take them for walks? Especially if there are some inclines. Brisk walking is actually better than trotting.

I would be careful with lunging him; straight walking would be better.

He has handsome coloring!

 

[Dent Ranch Kickaboo Kitty]

teeth have been checked. We have tons of hills I have to be careful cause they can not be separated and the mare has heaves.

Thanks!

Any ideas on him gaining weight or turn out options?

 

[Riverrose28]

I was going to recommend some grass time, but the picture shows him on grass. Plus my hard keeper gets feed three times a day, hay replacer pellets, mixed with 14 percent grain, and grass hay in front of her at all times, plus a half flake of alfalfa twice a day. My vet has checked my hard keepers teeth and done a fecal, all is well there, but since she is low man on the totem pole, I have to pull her away from the others every spring to get wieght on her. Maybe yours are the same. So in my cas I need to keep her alone so she has plenty of time to eat and not be harrased by the others, but each instance is different. Hopefully these two don't have a metabolic issue. I wish you luck and success in putting on some wieght.

 

[Marty]

I'd definately not do a thing with Kitty. Maybe a little trotting on the lunge line and walking is also good. But be careful of making sure you are going to build him up slow to condition just 10 minutes or so a day and be positive you'll keep it up. No sense starting if you can't continue and stick to it. He's very cute..

 

[Dent Ranch Kickaboo Kitty]

Thanks for all the help!

The lady that is working for us has spent all last summer coming up with ideas.

Feeding him 2 cups of senior but locking the other one up.

lettting have more grass time but putting grazing muzzle on the mare part of the day.

Separating them cause the way we have the field : it is two separate fields- one stall has a pen attached to the stall but you have access to other big field.

Would locking the mare up in small pen while the gelding goes out on other side? they both would have shade and water.

Also would the mare figure out how to use the muzzle because last time we tried it she just stood in the field?

I am setting up a schedule so that they can get worked everyday unless weather is bad.

 

[chandab]

I have a mare that I've muzzled in the past, and initially she just stood there and sulked, so I showed her how the hole in the muzzle worked. I poked pieces of grass up through the hole til it touched her lips and she grabbed ahold, took a few times before she got it, then I watched her and she figured out how to work the muzzle to thread grass into the hole so she could get it. I'm sure some get it quicker than others.