Weight loss (Dylan)

First off, I am calling my vet. Dylan has probably lost a good 100 or so pounds this past winter. He is wormed every 3 months, he doesn't seem to be dropping any feed, I've been feeding him oats with kelp and Equimin for years. I started them both on beet pulp this winter too. Anyone have any ideas. I'm sending in a poop sample to get tested for worms.

oh poor boy i hope he is ok Debbie....

He is feeling fine Sue, we went out for a long ride Sunday and he was great. He runs around the pasture with Audi kicking and bucking, so the energy levels are still good. I'm just not sure if I should switch to Fat and Fiber for feed or what the heck I should do.

How much are you feeding him of each and how much / type of hay is he on? hope he feels better soon! One of our mares at our barn is the same way actually, she was underfed most of her life so she wasn't used to getting hay 24/7, but she always ate all of it only scraps left around each feeding.. Now for some reason she always has quite a bit left, but no other symptoms. Hrmmmmm..

He gets 3/4 liter of oats twice a day and 1/2 liter beet pulp twice a day. In the am he get a scoop of Equimin and a scoop of Kelp. They just had a round bale in their pasture that lasted them a week. I put one in the pasture this time as I had noticed his weight loss. I usually feed out their hay by wheelbarrow load (wet) and a 4X4 round bale lasts a week to a week and a half. He also has hair loss like Fiere mentioned on her horse in 3 spots.

May have nothing to do with it..but personally I would do away with oats all together in case it is ulcers..
They are the worse thing for ulcers and will just compound the issue..
(If he has any)
Unless you are getting a scope to rule that out..might be worth a shot to do without them for a month or so. Then ad them back into his diet and see what happens.

Could also, try a month's worth of probiotics.. Have seen that turn some pretty rough looking horses around rather quickly.

We have a boarder here that dropped weight in the past month for no apparent reason. All the other 9 horses are fat and happy. The owner is deworming etc, also...

Whatever it is I hope you get it figured out and cleared up fast!

Good for you for getting him checked out! I noticed he had changed a bit when I saw him at the Holly clinic.

I would give him some Probiotics...Since he is wormed every 3 months..Probiotics will help fix the problems the dewormers cause in his gut..Good luck..

Maybe your round bales have changed in quality? I know we switched from feeding large (800LB) square bales to rounds when our supplier ran out in February and my horses have dropped a bit of weight. Mind you, they NEEDED to drop some weight. Now I can just slightly feel their ribs whereas before they were so fat I couldn't feel anything, just blubber. Can you get some square bales of second cut and start supplementing?

What's Equimin? Why don't you add a fat source to his BP ration? BOSS, flax, or oil? When were his teeth done? Wormed for tape? Ditto the pro/pre biotics.

Equimin is a vitamin and mineral supplement.
He can't have Flax, goes right through him.
His teeth were power floated two years ago and are being done again shortly. He is not dropping any feed.
He was wormed for tapeworm in January. Going to get his poop checked today and then see what I need for wormer as he is due again.
I am slowly weaning him off oats. I am going to mix his oats with Purina 200 (14% protein) and see if that works.
I have upped the beet pulp to 1 liter twice a day.
My round bales are made specifically for horses by a horse guy. I've never had it tested though.

What about BOSS or oil? I would add a fat source before adding processed feeds. If he DOES have ulcers, processed feeds are the worst thing you can give him. Also, if your trying to remove oats, I think you'll find that the 200 contains a lot of oats. It also contains flax, which gives him the shits.

http://horse.purinamills.com/products/omolene/ECMD2-0032696.aspx

You can try rice bran too. A handful of alfalfa cubes mixed in the BP as well. Did you double dose for tape worms?

Could it be that beet pulp does not agree with him, you said you started feeding him that this winter. I have always fed oats, this winter the quality has been poor. I wish we could get western oats. I for one am not a beet pulp fan.

Just waiting to hear back from Dr Shannon now. Will keep you all updated.

Dylan's fecal sample came back clear of worms and his hay and feed are being well eaten and digested. At Shannon's suggestion, I am slowly switching from oats to Purina 200 (14% protein) and beet pulp.

Glad he's free of worms! I hope you can get everything figured out soon and get weight back on him.

When Stretch was losing weight two winters ago it turned out that he had lampas - an inflammation of the roof of his mouth behind his front teeth. I switched him to a "kibble" shaped food and he was fine. The vet figured the pellets much have been uncomfortable to eat, thereby causing stress, which caused weight loss.

I was wondering how Dylan was doing? Did you have any luck finding the cause of his weight loss?

Dylan has put on about 50 lbs. I'd like to see another 100 on him. Thanks for asking.

That's good to hear.

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What about BOSS or oil? I would add a fat source before adding processed feeds. If he DOES have ulcers, processed feeds are the worst thing you can give him.

actually, if he has ulcers, a multiparticle or extruded feed is better, than say, fat&fibre or a sweet feed.. Pam MacKenzie came to my house and did up new feed routines for all my ponies, and she thinks Casey may have an ulcer, so she recommended he stay on Trimax (which is what he was on anyway) and she added a probiotic. hes been on it about 2 weeks now and already seeing a huge difference. also a TB gelding that i ride was having trouble keeping weight on, and she believes its the same thing..he did terribly on sweet feed or fat&fibre, no matter how much we fed him...he does amazing on Trimax. [quote]

[quote="RedBaronBPeppy"]

Quote :

What about BOSS or oil? I would add a fat source before adding processed feeds. If he DOES have ulcers, processed feeds are the worst thing you can give him.

actually, if he has ulcers, a multiparticle or extruded feed is better, than say, fat&fibre or a sweet feed.. Pam MacKenzie came to my house and did up new feed routines for all my ponies, and she thinks Casey may have an ulcer, so she recommended he stay on Trimax (which is what he was on anyway) and she added a probiotic. hes been on it about 2 weeks now and already seeing a huge difference. also a TB gelding that i ride was having trouble keeping weight on, and she believes its the same thing..he did terribly on sweet feed or fat&fibre, no matter how much we fed him...he does amazing on Trimax.

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ANY processed feeds will irritate an ulcer. They certainly play a negative role. Are you treating with omperazole to heal the ulcers or only using probiotics?

Dylan has now gained about 150lbs. He looks and feels amazing. He's no longer the lazy old horse I've had for years either. Love the Purina 200!!