Nevermind...Issue resolved, Thanks

[Lil Chickie Mama]

ETA: Problem was below but the issue was resolved by the responses I received. Thank you to all that replied.
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Let me start by saying, I know NOTHING about horses, I don't own any and don't have a clue what normal would be. That said, my neighbor's horses are looking pretty bad. The female had a baby about two months back and he/she seems pretty healthy I guess, but mom is VERY skinny. I can see all her ribs as she's walking around over there. Wherever the feeding area is must be out of my eyeline as I don't see anything, but it could easily be hidden. I don't know how often he feeds or what he feeds, but I see the horses munching on the wild grass "pasture" (not seeded) all day long and they have reached over the fence to snag a few plants from our side including two juvenile palm trees that I can't imagine tasted very good. I don't mind getting a bale of hay for her though I don't know what kind to get. How skinny is too skinny for a horse. I don't think she's all that old either as he just brought her here about a year ago.

The male (I think) horse is fleshed out and not skinny, but he looks like he could have problems with his back legs. All I could think was that his hooves need a trim, like the front is overgrown, but again, what do I know.

At what point do you say something either to your neighbor or to animal control? I am NOT a nosy neighbor truly, but I did call animal control after their dogs were in our yard every day and night (sleeping on our deck) and started knocking me down while trying to play. Poor things were starved for attention! I don't want to get involved but I can't stand to see animals being mistreated. I'm not on speaking terms with the neighbors, I don't even know their names, but is this normal and if not what should I do?

 

[freemotion]

It is impossible to really tell by the description...can you post a picture or two or three?

Sometimes a mare will lose condition as the nursing baby demands more than she can keep up with. I worked at a breeding farm where money was no object and the horses got the best of the best, and with a few mares, it was still a challenge to get them in good flesh if they had a big colt. We did our best until the colt was weaned...it was only then that we could get the mare lookin' good again.

It is not unusual to see a little flash of ribs on a fit horse, especially a Thoroughbred or Standardbred.

On the other hand, if she is being neglected, I would be the first to take action! But I can't tell from here, so it would be unfair to advise you either way.

 

[()relics]

water is impotant too...maybe a trip to the neighbors house, just as a neighbor interested in horses....I hate people looking over my fences as I'm sure most everyone else does , but I am always happy to talk to someone that is interested in horses that happens to stop by... I agree a lactating mare needs extra feed and she may not be getting enough or any concentrate...Without a concentrate a mare will lose condition quickly while her colt seems to be doing well....If you stopped by my house and asked if you could throw some hay over the fence so you could watch the horses eat; I would be glad to let you....FYI all my horses are fat and you would have a hard time luring them away from their ever present round bale of hay.

 

[fadetopurple]

http://www.habitatforhorses.org/rescues/bodyscoring.html
I couldn't find a completely illustrated one, but that's a good starting point. A perfectly healthy, average horse is generally considered a 5. Some breeds' ideal weight is closer to a 4. You won't be able to get a completely accurate score without touching the horses (which I would obviously not recommend, for several reasons), but you can at least get an idea of what's normal.

Are the horses noticeably fuzzy? Winter coats, even light ones, can do a lot to hide poor condition.

Between the possibly underweight mare and the hooves, it does sound like something iffy is going on. Animal control may or may not be able to do anything. I would definitely keep an eye on the situation, but I wouldn't feed them.

By the way, if anyone ever tries to give you the excuse "my horse is thin because he's old," they are wrong. A horse with well-maintained teeth, a good diet and no major health issues should be a healthy weight no matter how old they are.

 

[()relics]

I disagree...but age doesn't appear to be a factor in this case....But what do I know?

 

[lupinfarm]

But since she had a baby not long ago, it's not uncommon for mares (and other females) to become a little (and in some cases a lot) underweight with the baby continuously nursing. Sometimes it can be difficult to feed enough to make up for the nutrients the animal is losing through nursing.


That said, there are lots of nursing momma feeds out there.

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Weather permitting I'll take and post pics tomorrow. For the record, the fence is just about a 4' high, poorly placed, barbed wire fence I think 4 strands (without looking out my window to check), so I was just observing this while we were constructing a goat shed the last two days as I was outside a lot. Oh, and "mama's" coat looked dingy for lack of a better term. It has been excessively rainy here lately (very unusual) and their "pasture" has become a shallow lake with grass popping through. I doubt she is dingy from laying down, but it almost looked patchy. I really don't know how to explain it well. As I said, I'll post pics tomorrow if there is enough light to take the pic without rain obstructing the view. Based on the link I'd assume she's a weak 3, but I wouldn't touch her with a relatively new baby around. I have touched her muzzle (forehead, whatever the term is high on the face) when she stretched over the fence, but that was only a few times last summer and that is the extent of our acquaintance

 

[freemotion]

Thanks for caring!

 

[ducks4you]

I going to catch it from THIS group for posting this, BUT, the first year that I owned horses, I bought a TB mare that was a really "hard-keeper." Everybody else in my small herd was QH or QH cross, or grade, and younger, so the rest did great on just hay, but not this mare. I had a real problem keeping weight on her, and she got really skinny. Finally, I had a vet out to look at her. The vet suggested isolating her and feeding 1 bale hay/day to her to start bringing her back. I didn't keep her, for a variety of reasons.
I just lost my Arab--I've posted about him before here. I bought him at 4 years old when he was skinny as a rail. Over the 23 years that I owned him he weight was up and down throughout his life with me. I believe that he never developed enough fat cells when he was young--he was NEVER overweight when my other same age horses were putting on rolls. But, in his last years, after straight alfalfa hay free choice in the manger year round, plenty of grazing and 5 pounds daily of 16% pelleted feed I was able to keep his chest and back side filled in. SOOO...sometimes weight issues are due to the individual horse. HOWEVER, I kept his feet trimmed his whole life. It bothers me that your neighbor has spent the money to breed a mare, but won't spend it to keep up with the feet. I have seen untrimmed horses stuck in stalls that have hooves that look like elf shoes because they curl up if they grow too long. Those hooves can be brought back, but they pull on a horse's tendons and overstretch them--imagine wearing shoes too large everyday that you couldn't take off! I've also heard of a horse owner who honestly believed that their horse could survive on table scraps.
If there are ANY other neighbors who see these horses, call animal control--that way, you won't necessarily be approached by these neighbors later on. People at animal control aren't monsters, but they will educate if possible, rather than spend money from their budget relocating animals. If you don't know your neighbors well, you won't know if they are neglectful on purpose, or because of ignorance.

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

If you don't know your neighbors well, you won't know if they are neglectful on purpose, or because of ignorance.

I'm still hoping to get a picture today since we seem to actually have that thing...oh what's it called...sunlight, yeah haven't seen it in a while. Anyway I'll get the pic and let everyone here decide, hopefully I'm just overly nervous. I would like to think it's ignorance and not a lack of concern for an animals real needs. Animal control had to go to their place 2-3 times about the dogs from my calls but it worked and I haven't seen them over here since but I hope they still have them. Animal control told me then that they had been over there before and knew the couple...I don't know what that means exactly. I had spoken to the wife shortly after they moved in (don't remember her name) and she had mentioned that they were "city" people and she was not happy about the move. "He thinks he's a country guy just because his uncle lived in the country" or something I forget exactly what she said. Basically they didn't know what they were doing. I do like seeing the horses back there so I hope if it does come to calling animal control again (which I really don't want to do!) then I hope they are just educated on proper care. Maybe she just needs to be wormed...?