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  Discussion on Rehabilitating a 23 y/o Broodmare
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 3, 2001 - 11:35 pm:

Dr. O.,

We recently acquired a 23 y/o broodmare that is 200 - 300 pounds underweight. Her last foal was born in May and she supposedly has not been rebred. She is about 15.2 or 15.3 and beginning weight was around 700 pounds. However, she does look pregnant. Here is a link to Photopoint pictures from when we got her to current:

https://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=162569&a=13746582&f=0

She was wormed with Panacur X 5 days and will be wormed with Ivermectrin in the next few days.

Her teeth seem to be fine - no dribbling, tilting of her head, cannot feel any really obvious sharp hooks.

We are feeding her free choice orchard grass/timothy hay, pasture, mineral block and she is fed grain three times a day. At each grain feeding she gets a scoop of calf manna, 1 pound cracked corn, 1/2 scoop Richdel's Nu-Weight (60% fat) and 3 pounds 12% sweet feed. She also gets mare plus twice a day.

Is there anything we are missing or something else we could be doing for her? She seems to be gaining nicely - not too fast. Are we feeding her enough or too much?

We don't know how long she was in bad condition. We would have rated her as a "1" on the Henneke scoring system when we first got her.

We plan on having her palpated soon. She has not come into heat, however could that possibly be from lack of nutrients? Could that big belly be due to malnutrition? How long before a big belly goes away, if it is caused by malnutrition?

Sorry this is so long. I tried to include everything I could think of so you could possibly formulate an opinion.

Thanks for your help.

Donna

Posted on Thursday, Oct 4, 2001 - 10:15 am:

I presume you are using the Calf Manna box scoop which holds 1/2 lb calf manna but I do not know anything about Richdel's Nu-Weight's scoop. Can you tell me how much it weighs?

Concerning the amount fed I have edited the article associated with this forum to better explain amounts limits and frequency. Reread it and see if this is not clearer. I do think you need to make some changes.

I cannot answer your question, "what am I missing?" Unfortunately if your missing it you can't tell me about it. But that leads us to an important point. I think a thorough exam by a vet and possibly laboratory work is important but it sounds like you have that scheduled already.

Many poor looking horses have a pendulous belly ususally from eating large amounts of poor quality roughage. As to whether she may also be pregnant will be part of the exam mentioned above.
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Oct 4, 2001 - 10:25 am:

Dr. O.

Thank you for responding.

The Richdel's Nu-Weight scoop holds 2 ounces. She gets that 3 times a day. I was concerned that she would get too much fat and it would be too rich for her poor body to handle.

We give her about 1/3 of a box of calf manna 3 times a day.

What type of laboratory work should be done to see if she is missing vitamins or minerals? Is there an organ function blood test that would be helpful?

Is osteoporosis a consideration in horses? I guess we are concerned about her calcium intake.

She will go to the vet in about 2 weeks.

It is amazing how much her energy level has picked up, even though she still doesn't look all that great. Her eyes have gotten bright and alert and she is always looking for something to eat.

Thanks again!

Donna Myers

Posted on Friday, Oct 5, 2001 - 6:19 am:

For information on using fat in the diet of the horse see,
1) Care for Horses: Nutrition: Fats and Oils in the Diet of Horses

No osteoporosis is not a concern.

Vitamin and mineral studies are best done by evaluating the diet. Usually this means understanding the nutrient contents of the feeds fed and checking to see if the requirements of the horse is being met see,
1) Care for Horses: Nutrition: Vitamins an Overview
2) Care for Horses: Nutrition: Minerals and Nutrition
for more on this.

What is called a "health panel" or "SMA16" will give you a look at both kidney and liver functions along with looks at several other endocrine and metabolic functions. A CBD may let you know about any inflammatory conditions.
DrO
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