Weight fluctuations?

[dianneS]

I'm trying to figure out if my mare has lost weight or not? The weight tape says no, but she's a little ribby-er this spring than in the past. Now she is a Thoroughbred, and she is 19, so some ribs showing is normal, but they seem to be a little more obvious this year.

I'm not even sure if I would call it "weight loss", perhaps she's just leaner?

She is getting more activity, being ridden more and she has more pasture companions that keep her active. She does a lot more running with the herd than she did in the past when she mostly stood around eating with her little buddy.

She also seems to be in perpetual heat. Could that cause weight loss? She never ever got mare-ish, or showed any signs at all of being in heat in the past. But, ever since I got this foster pony gelding, she has been in heat nearly non-stop! Its embarassing. She flirts shamlessly at him and he's so much smaller than her! I guess she likes short guys? But the romance never stops and the little guy actually attempts to service her, but he's too short!

So do you think these are normal causes for some weight loss? Do you think she could be just trimming down a bit and getting leaner rather than losing weight? I have to say, she does look more muscular and less "round" than in the past. I just want to be sure she's not getting "thin".

Non-horse people ask quite often "why are your horses ribs showing?" Even though I know that its normal for them, I get self-conscious.

This is her today:

Here she is a few years ago with a bit of a winter coat. She was only being ridden once a week, if at all at this point. Doing a lot of loafing mostly.

 

[secuono]

I see a hint of spine, maybe that's just me. But I'd say she is thin and should gain a touch of weight.

 

[goodhors]

Look at your management program, think of the usual culprits. Teeth are my first thought, quality of the pasture,
getting enough of the basic Vitamins and minerals. In Michigan Selenium is a real problem
because most areas have none in the soil, or food products from our soil like hay and grazing.
I have found you MUST give Selenium and Vit E together so horse can absorb the Selenium, and
you have to FEED it to the horse on their grain. They DO NOT get enough of these two items by
licking mineral blocks or mixed in feeds. You might want to get her tested for Selenium before
adding it to her feed, see how her levels are now.

Any horse getting worked enough to sweat is using up their Selenium and Vit E faster than the
unused horse. They need more in their feed.

Selenium affects the reproductive cycle in mares, may cause poor ovulation, consistant heat signs.
Horse also may have much LESS endurance in work, seems sore a lot, no stamina, even with
a good conditioning program, with low Selenium levels. Only testing will tell you what her levels
are.

Vets I know are all talking about trouble with mares in season this year. Weather and daylight length
seen to have all the body signals confused, mares are cycling, but not all the "body parts" are in synch
with the other ones! Seems like our young mare is in season all the time, but just checked her and Vet
said she is not putting out a follicle to go with open cervix, so no use breeding her at this time.

I would blame your horse's heat cycles on the strong sunshine recently, not having her cycles coordinated
yet. Having any kind of male horse on your property WILL make the best mare act quite silly, when they
never have before. Have you checked HIM for not fully being gelded? I am hearing about more retained
testicles, bad gelding jobs, than ever before!! A test for testosterone by the Vet could tell you that if he
keeps acting studish with her. Some lines of Minis are notorious for this retention or actually having a
third testicle!! I was quite shocked to hear that one. Vet took two off the mini, but he still had "issues"
and acted badly, so the testosterone test was done and showed he wasn't fully gelded.

If her teeth are in good condition, you could modify her feed a bit. Do you use wet beet pulp in her
diet? It can add a lot in bloom, filling her out, without making her brains fall out. Most horses will
eat it quite fast, enjoying it as part or most, of their dinner menu.

I like a trim horse myself, but go for just the flash of ribs when they turn. With horses her age, teeth are
often the culprit in not allowing horse to get good food value from her diet. We have everyone looked
at yearly, to stay on top of their health. Usually everyone needs a bit of work, but not always. Worth
the cost to know horse has no excuses for acting poorly, or not chewing well to use their feed efficiently.
I prefer a horse dentist that does hand work, so my horses don't need to be sedated. Way too EASY to
remove more tooth than needed, can't put the enamal back on! Horses only have so much tooth and
it needs to last the length of a long lifetime.

So there are some ideas for you to think on. Maybe some will help you get her a little smoother looking.
The other problem is most horse viewers EXPECT to see hog-fat horses. Commercial feed advertising
uses the REALLY FAT animals in photos, so we have gotten trained to THINK that FAT is a healthy animal, not
one that is trim like an athlete! You can tell questioners that obese, no-rib, fat horses tend to have problems
with over-eating that will affect their health. A horse should be considered an athlete, kept trim instead of fat
because she is NOT a beef project!

 

[dianneS]

She does see a holistic equine dentist. She is a cribber and the dentist said that her back teeth are actually in really good shape because the front teeth are so short from cribbing! Maybe its the cribbing too? I recently stopped putting the collar on her in the pasture since I have electric fence on top of my split rail. She can't crib on the fence, but she has found trees and stumps to crib on in the woods. I don't think she does it that often though? But she is a serious cribbing addict.

Interesting about the heat cycles. This mare has been impossible this year.

I was looking at her muscling last night and (you can't see it in the pics) but her croup area, if viewed from behind is even rounder and more muscular than before? So she's not losing muscle, just fat... which is probably good!

She is normally a really easy keeper and doesn't require much feed, however, I have increased her feed this year and she's been getting a ration balancer and a fat supplement too, but not a huge amount of either. Just enough for nutrition and skin and coat health.

She'll be getting muscle tested in a few weeks for allergies and deficiencies, even energy blockages. So we'll see how that all works out.

I do agree that most people think a fat horse is a healthy horse, its not.