Nourishing Thin Broodmares for Foaling and Lactation
...of, though they seem to be few. The veterinarian will likely be interested in doing a fecal egg count to determine parasite load and then recommend an appropriate deworming protocol....
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Obese Pony: Diet Recommendations
My 23-year-old pony mare, Isobel, is overweight—body condition score of 8.5+. She gets some exercise in the fall and winter through foxhunting, though for her it is more hilltop-lounging than full-out gallivanting. I know she needs to lose weight, and now’s the time. She has access to dirt-quality pasture so she gets free-choice orchardgrass/alfalfa hay…
Q&A: Feeding Horses Grain from the Ground
I pasture-board my horse at a local farm. Though I don’t have access to a stall for him, he and his three pasturemates have about 30 acres of lush, well-maintained pasture to graze. They get a scoop, about 3 lb (1.4 kg), of feed each day, in the form of large pellets. Instead of using…
Q&A: Weight Gain in a Sporthorse Prospect
Max is a six-year-old, 16.3-hand (170-cm) Thoroughbred gelding that weighs about 1,260 lb (570 kg). He’s thin, about a 3 on the Henneke body condition scorecard, with pointy hipbones, visible ribs, and a potbelly. Max came off the track nine months ago. His diet consists of 4 lb (1.8 kg) performance feed, 4 oz of…
Aged Lactating Mares and Body Condition
I own several pony broodmares, all of which are in early lactation. This year, several of them are underweight on a hay-only diet, the same diet that kept them in healthy weight in the past. One aged mare has lost weight rapidly over the past two months. Her current weight is 735 lb (334 kg),…
Q&A: Approaching Twenty Years Old, Difficulty Gaining Weight
My 18-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding was idle for seven years until about a year ago when I started reconditioning him slowly. Now his exercise schedule consists of flatwork and some jumping exercises over cavaletti four or five days a week. He is primarily stalled but does get several hours of turnout each day on…
Q&A: Grain Overload in Horses – Too Much of a Good Thing
Kickup is my seven-year-old Thoroughbred mare. Right now, she’s moderately thin, a 4 on the body condition scorecard. She weighs just over 1,000 lb (450 kg). Her daily diet, split into two meals, includes 18 lb (8.2 kg) of low-carb performance pellet, 1 lb (0.45 kg) high-omega grain, 1 cup ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon bentonite…
Q&A: Horse’s Dam Diagnosed with PSSM, How Do I Treat Her Adult Son?
I was just informed that my adult gelding’s dam was diagnosed with polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM). From what I understand, treating him like he too has the disease will not negatively affect him if he does not. He does have many of the symptoms, so it's my bet that he is affected. I am trying…
Weight Gain in a Low-Level Performance Horse
I do low-level eventing and some trail-riding with my 14-year-old, 15.1-hand Arabian gelding. I usually ride twice a week, two hours each time. He stays at a condition score of 4 on a diet of 20 lb (9 kg) brome hay, 2 lb (0.9 kg) of a ration balancer, 5 lb (2.3 kg) of performance…