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Discussion on Can a horse loose weight too fast? | |
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 3, 2002 - 4:03 am: Hi,I've searched the site and can't seem to find anything that tells me if a horse (that apprears essentially healthy otherwise) is loosing weight too fast. My mare appears to have lost 250 pounds in the last 2-3 weeks. This is based on tape measures. At what point is a horse loosing weight too fast? I purchased a half arab 5 weeks ago. At that time, she was about a 8-8.5. Now she is down to a low 6 or 5, but most of this loss has been in the last 2 weeks. This is the same time as the temperatures have increased from mid-70s to mid-90s. Her temperment has also 'dulled' quite a bit. I understand that this is most likely the temperatures, but want to make certain. Factors Include: She came from day turn out on large pasture, with a large coffee can of 13%+ sweet feed AM & PM. She is now 24/7 on rotated pastures with stall access, approx 2lbs 10% feed (to keep a routine for the herd) AM/PM, has mineral/salt block, continuous access to water, and gets small quantity of hay in stall each day. She was not worked at all before, now she has daily grooming contact and until this week (when temps have soared) is worked 3-4 days a week. Her workouts have been built up from walking to trot ground work, and later from walking to minor trot riding. This work is combined with Parelli type work. Workouts are typically 20-45 minutes total. Daily grooming can be 30-45 minutes. She has been wormed (at least for the last 2 months) and is brought completely up to date on all routine vet care (mostly vacinations) and hoof care. Why I'm concerned: - While she still is bright and can be curious at times, in the last 5 days (when temperatures have been higher) she is SIGNIFICANTLY more quiet than I've seen so far. - When all the other horses in the pasture have developed full body sweating and she is significanly less. They are not routinely worked and I understand this can be because of her breed and conditioning, but want to make certain. She sweats significantly less than other horses. The trainer working with us called her an "exceptionally athletic horse" but I want to make certain that that is the only reason a horse would sweat so much less. Last week, after 20 minutes of trotting under saddle, the only place she had sweat was where the neoprene girth was. She was warm under the saddle pad, but not sweating at all. Nor did she seem to be breathing too heavily. - As a human with my first horse, the thought of loosing 250 pounds (20% of body weight) in little over 2 weeks (she is at 875 now) sounds very scary. I would like to continue working with her, but am worried that she has DrOpped too much weight too fast. If this can be considered normal weight loss, then I plan to - Change PM workouts to early AM to avoid the heat and hoping this will be a time of day when she feels more energetic. She was very enthusiastic about working earlier and now seems exhausted before we start. I vary our workouts a great deal, and she act more like a lack of energy than bordom. - Speak to the farm manager about increasing the quantity of her feed. (To increase the protein, I would have to buy it separate and I am willing to do this if it is a better approach) Any advice would be appreciated. Kami |
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 3, 2002 - 12:01 pm: It sounds like you moved this horse when you bought it and it is not unusual for a horse to DrOp weight after being moved. Throw in the decreased amount of grain, increased work load, and the stress (so further decrease in grazing) and the weight loss is not that surprising. The recent dullness may also be related to too much work in adverse conditions. You should lighten up a bit for a while until the weight stabilizes and the horse's normal demeanor return. Then return to work more slowly.Obviously from behind my computer screen I cannot diagnose whether you horse has a more serious problem or not so if after going through the check lists we provide in the article on weight loss you may want to have your vet out for a recheck, the depression worries me. DrO |
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