Need some advice please I am frustrated

[dreammountainminis]

I have a 16 yr old sweetwater mare that I purchased this past fall ,She was thin when I purchased her, She has been checked by my vet Blood drawn tests run all are negitive , Her teeth have been checked their is nothing wrong there , I have done rotation wormer on her since i purchased her I also power packed her and followed with probios (per vets advice), She is not a skelaton but she is thin NO matter what I do I cant get this mare to gain wieght , I have her on Equine Senior which is a complete feed , plus she gets 1/4 c boss and 1/2 c calf manna and wieght builder and she gets free choice hay , Any advice on how to get her to build up some would be great , thanks in advance forgot to add vet also took a stool sample and still as per vet there is nothing wrong. OH!

 

[Gracie]

Well anytime we get a rescue in we feed beetpulp and sr to gain weight, and I had 2 hard keeper Full size horses and we beet pulp them during winter and have never had it fail me yet.

Good luck to ya Id guess shes just a tough keeper,

I have a 16 yr old sweetwater mare that I purchased this past fall ,She was thin when I purchased her, She has been checked by my vet Blood drawn tests run all are negitive , Her teeth have been checked their is nothing wrong there , I have done rotation wormer on her since i purchased her I also power packed her and followed with probios (per vets advice), She is not a skelaton but she is thin NO matter what I do I cant get this mare to gain wieght , I have her on Equine Senior which is a complete feed , plus she gets 1/4 c boss and 1/2 c calf manna and wieght builder and she gets free choice hay , Any advice on how to get her to build up some would be great , thanks in advance forgot to add vet also took a stool sample and still as per vet there is nothing wrong. OH!

 

[dangerranger]

Everything you are doing I had to give to an old TB that we had trouble keeping weight on. the only other sugestion would be look for ulcers. you might try a teaspoon of soda on her meals and see if that helps. Good luck, DR.

 

[muffntuf]

I second the beet pulp. Beet pulp will slow down the digestion in the foregut and aid in nutrient absorption. Start out slow though! Also start adding in soy oil or corn oil. Oil is an easy weight gainer as it is pure calories. Also add in some ground flax seed.

 

[kaykay]

Equine Sr has beet pulp in it so I would be careful adding more. How much equine sr do you feed her and what is her size? I would also give her a good hay in addition to the equine sr.

Some horses are just hard keepers no matter what you do. I have a pony mare here who is the same way.

I love body builder for horses who really need to gain weight and muscle. Horses love it. You can get it at jeffers online

 

[Gracie]

Where do you get that equine sr has beet pulp in it?

Ive always used Purins Equine Sr AND Beet on every rescue horse and my hard keepers and NEVER had any problems and do thi swith HIGH recommendations from my vets.

I had to see if the sr had beetpulp in it and I will be sending an e-mail to ask for sure, but till then heres the Ingredients to Purina Equine Sr,

Purina Equine Senior

http://horse.purinamills.com/Crude Protein, min 14%

Fat, min 4.0%

Fiber, max 16%

Calcium, min 0.6%

Calcium, max 0.9%

Phosphorus, min 0.40%

Copper, min 55 ppm

Zinc, min 220 ppm

Vit. A, min 3000 IU/lb

Selenium, min 0.3ppm

Processed grain by-products, forage products, molasses products, roughage products, plant protein products, grain products, soybean oil, salt, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, calcium lignin sulfonate, propionic acid (a preservative,) ascorbic acid, ferrous oxide, dried whey, anise/fenugreek flavor, choline chloride, sodium selenite, vitamin E supplement, citric acid, biotin, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, ferric oxide, tocopherols (a preservative,) vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, niacin supplement, ferrous carbonate, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, magnesium oxide, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, DL-methionine, L-lysine.

 

[stormy]

I would still be looking at the teeth. Unless your vet is an expert at dental work things can be missed in a mini mouth. I even had a equine dentist work on my stallion to the tune of $125., still was thin almost to the point of death, had another dentist out and found hooks on the back molars so long he could not close his mouth all the way to chew. Another with loose teeth not easily seen as the mouth does not open wide enough, another with a fractured molar it took a few visits to diagnose.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I don't have a bag in front of me but I feed Nutrena Equine Sr and it does say somewhere that it has beet pulp in it, I think even on the front of the bag.

Also, in your Purina ingredients - it states "Processed grain by-products, forage products, molasses products, roughage products, plant protein products, grain products. . . ".

It doesn't simply state: corn, oats, beet pulp, what have you.

Where do you get that equine sr has beet pulp in it?

Ive always used Purins Equine Sr AND Beet on every rescue horse and my hard keepers and NEVER had any problems and do thi swith HIGH recommendations from my vets.

I had to see if the sr had beetpulp in it and I will be sending an e-mail to ask for sure, but till then heres the Ingredients to Purina Equine Sr,

Purina Equine Senior

http://horse.purinamills.com/Crude Protein, min 14%

Fat, min 4.0%

Fiber, max 16%

Calcium, min 0.6%

Calcium, max 0.9%

Phosphorus, min 0.40%

Copper, min 55 ppm

Zinc, min 220 ppm

Vit. A, min 3000 IU/lb

Selenium, min 0.3ppm

Processed grain by-products, forage products, molasses products, roughage products, plant protein products, grain products, soybean oil, salt, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, calcium lignin sulfonate, propionic acid (a preservative,) ascorbic acid, ferrous oxide, dried whey, anise/fenugreek flavor, choline chloride, sodium selenite, vitamin E supplement, citric acid, biotin, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, ferric oxide, tocopherols (a preservative,) vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, niacin supplement, ferrous carbonate, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, magnesium oxide, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, DL-methionine, L-lysine.

 

[CheyAut]

I have a 27 year old TB who is a hard keeper. He was always thin until I started feeding him beet pulp... now he looks great!

All my minis get beet pulp, too, and they look better than before I started it.

Jessi

 

[JMS Miniatures]

My 16 year old mare that I also got last fall was also skinny and pregnant. She also had some teeth issues. We started giving her alot of Equine SR and beet pulp soaked and she seems to be doing really well on it. Her issue wasnt that she didn't have any belly, but she was real sucked in at the flanks, she still doesn't look fat but you can feel she isn't hippy anymore and she feels filled up near the flanks. I am very happy with the way it turned out.

 

[HGFarm]

I agree with having the teeth re looked at by an equine dentist.

I also would add beet pulp too. What kind of hay is she getting? If it is grass hay, it may not have enough in the way of protein or nutrients for her.

There is a product out there called Restart- it is formulated for rescue horses, endurance horses and horses that are really hard keepers and need help. It would only take a small amount on a Mini but I used it on a horse last year and WOW- her weight came back on and in 30 days looked like a different horse! It has flax and a bunch of good stuff in it.

 

[Laura]

We had good luck with an always thin LGD with top dressing her food with Flax Seed Oil. It's super high in fat and she put on VISIBLE weight very quickly

We were giving her 1 TB daily.

 

[WLS]

Have you checked the quality of your hay? Maybe have it tested. If the protein is low, you may want to supplement it with soaked Purina roughage chunks or even soaked alfalfa cubes.

I once leased a stallion that was so thin, he was not even fertile. But it took time, got his teeth floated and fed him Purina Sr (an excellent fed) and soaked alfalfa cubes and he slowly came together and produce five foals.

I also consult my Purina Representative rather my vet..........good luck.

Wendy

 

[dreammountainminis]

Thank you everyone for the advice Here is what she is getting 2x daily

1. 2 1/2 c equine sr which is a complete feed

2 . 1/2 c calf manna 26 % protein

3. 1/4 c sunflower seeds (boss)

4. wieght builder

5. 2c soaked bp

6 as much 3rd cut timothy/ alfalfa mix as she wants

I have not tried the oils or flax or baking soda i will try it and see how it works , she is 33 inches

 

[muffntuf]

If she is 33" - I would try adding in a TBL of corn or soy oil and then work her up to 1/2 C a day. That's 500 free calories.

 

[Marty]

You are feeding that horse plenty.

Could she be running around like a maniac

and just be so hyper she is running off the

weight?

Besides having the teeth looked at yet again,

I'd be giving her a dose of probios, do a 5 day

purge of Safeguard de-worming, and then start

her on something for ulcers. She may be

stressing about something in her own little mind

and not be showing outward signs of it.

Good luck and best wishes for a pudgy horsey.