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Discussion on Weight loss while in hospital | |
Author | Message |
Member: Tmb2006 |
Posted on Sunday, Oct 15, 2006 - 9:51 pm: Hi!My 8 year old mare recently was hospitalized at Ohio State Univ. Vet Hospital for 3 weeks while she was treated for severe bilateral subsolar abscesses and right front septic pedal osteitis. Upon admission, my mare weighed 1, 045 lbs. After 3 weeks of being in the hospital, she left for home weighing 1, 014 lbs. She returned to the hospital just 3 days later and spent another 5 days. When she subsquently went home, after these 5 days, she had lost more weight from her 1, 014 to a mere 995 lbs! The vets at OSU haven't addressed this weight loss with me, only to say to allow her access to grass hay 24/7. My mare is allergic to alfalfa, so she only eats grass hay. I have been told NOT to resume giving her any grain for the time being. Nobody has recommended that she be put on any vitamin/mineral supplement and the barn manager where she is boarded won't allow salt blocks in the horses' stalls since he says it makes the horses drink and urinate more and thus the stalls harder to clean. My question: What suggestions do you have in the way of supplements for my "light-as-a-feather" horse. I am right to be concerned with this weight loss in the first place? She is dewormed with Ivermectin/pyrantal pom. every 2 months and UTD on vaccines. I had her teeth checked earlier this year, but I'm having them checked again. Admittedly, her hay isn't the superior quality that I would like, but I am unable to locate any better. The hay seemed "okay" for my mare as long as she was receiving sweet feed/grain too. Thank you so much for your help! Theresa |
Member: Sunny66 |
Posted on Sunday, Oct 15, 2006 - 10:10 pm: Hi Theresa,The following is just my two cents, and please take it as such The BO not allowing salt blocks is just plain silly, IMO. I know there are trace minerals you can give her as a supplement. Others will be here with better information on this. I'd be interested to know if this would be a cause for weight loss, my first guess is no. She may have ulcers. Ask your vet about putting her on gastroguard. If she does have ulcers, it may explain her insistence on only alfalfa. Cocosoya Oil or corn oil will help put weight on her. Ask your vet if you can give her some alfalfa pellets and add oil slowly. Good luck to you! |
Member: Hwood |
Posted on Sunday, Oct 15, 2006 - 10:21 pm: Soaked timothy hay cubes with oil might be an option, too, Theresa. I'd be pretty upset if any of my horses came back from a hospital looking worse than when they went in. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 7:44 am: Theresa using the descriptions at Horse Care » Equine Management & Routine Procedures » Weight, Condition, and Eventual Height Estimation what would you estimate your horses condition at? Also what is the reason for removing grains from the diet given by the hospital? And is there a salt block available to the horses in the pasture?DrO |
Member: Jockyrdg |
Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 8:18 am: I must wave a flag of caution before condemning a hospital for an animals weight loss. If your horse spent 3 weeks in a hospital then is was an ailing animal. Most sick people with extensive hospital stays lose weight. The process of healing and dealing with trauma to the body takes calories but there are other reason that the horse might not be taking in his calories. Pain often reduces appetite, medicines can affect an animals taste, depression from new surroundings or missing routine and friends, can reduce food interest, tension, sweat and ulcers can waste pounds. All of these occur in a hospital. I have worked in many and the staff is usually keeping hay in front of everyone, conditions permitting. When you visited her did she have hay in her stall?The oil is a great weight builder, but it will need grain or chaf to carry it, the horse will not drink it from a bucket. Ask the vets about a balancer pellet feed. These have high protein, few calories and packed with vits and min. They are most often made with soybean meal. They got their name because they are the pellet in most grain combos that balance out the ration. They have gained popularity among breeds that are such easy keepers that you can't feed them enough for all the protein, ca, vit, min that they need. You feed cups a day, not pounds. Is a salt block provided in the field? If so your horse can fulfill her need there. If she is only stall bound or if there is no salt on the farm, I would suggest a serious move consideration. Salt is a required nutrient and most forages and grains do not supply an adequate amount. You horse is thin, not emaciated so attend to her but don't panic. Remember weight gain is usually slow and it may take up to 6 months or more to get her weight back. Just look that the pounds are going up, not how fast they go up. good luck. |
Member: Boomer |
Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 6:00 pm: I know it's horrible to have to look at your horse that is thin but Beverly is so right, weight gain is a slow process. Unlike myself which is the other way around. I had a hard keeper (RIP Boomer) and it DrOve me nuts to get weight on her. My best wishes Theresa. Patience.. |
Member: Tmb2006 |
Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 10:16 pm: First of all, thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment on my post. I really appreciate it.Some clarifications, especially pertaining to Dr. O's questions. I would estimate my mare to be a body condition score of 4. (Ribs are visible; Shoulders and withers are emphasized, but her back is still level without any crease) The vets didn't really state a reason for having me withhold sweet feed from my mare. My belief is that in many cases, it is felt "grain overload" may be a contributing factor to laminitis/founder? Or perhaps sick horses tend to handle hay better without adding any grain? Yes, the barn manager does keep mineral blocks for the horses out in the pasture, but my concern is that my mare is on "stall rest" exclusively and thus, can't get to the salt block. Lastly, my vet says that I can SLOWLY introduce a balancer/vitamin&mineral supplement. As Beverly described, my product is a soybean based pellet. I have to be VERY cautious with anything my mare eats as she is allergic to alfalfa and a lot of supplements contain alfalfa in one form or another. Understandably, my OSU vet said that we DO NOT want my mare to gain weight right now as keeping her on the "light side" is preferred while her poor front feet are trying to heal. A Body Condition Score of ~4 isn't too bad, correct? Thank you for everyone's help! Theresa |
Member: Sunny66 |
Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 11:09 pm: I misread your post (allergic to alfalfa) sorry about that!Good luck! |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - 6:33 am: Hmmm, I would give it a 4.5 if the back is still level and no there is nothing bad about it and the reasoning is sound but Theresa, you do not describe laminitis in the first above post. Do they think the abscesses are secondary to an episode of founder?Without access to the salt blocks loose trace mineral salt should be added to the diet and vitamins perhaps also, but there is no reason such supplements should be added slowly. For more on adding these as supplements see the Overview Nutrition article. DrO |
Member: Tmb2006 |
Posted on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - 8:28 am: Hello, DrO,Thank you for your response. I goofed. I tried to answer your question regarding "Do they think the abscesses are secondary to an episode of founder?" in my posting listed under "Preventing Bacteria in the sole". I apologize for that! Anyway, I am still told to continue to withhold sweetfeed/grain from my mare until further notice by OSU doctors? Your guess as to why? I will start the balancer/vitamin& mineral supplement tonight, but only a little bit to be sure my mare won't break out in allergic hives. That would be BAD at this time as I would have nothing to use medicine-wise to combat the allergic reaction should it occur. Thank you for all your time. I appreciate it greatly! --Theresa |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006 - 11:21 am: No need for me to guess, which is all it would be, ask them!DrO |