# Is my horse too thin and does he have a worm belly?



## lauraetco (Sep 14, 2011)

Hi everyone,
About a week ago, I noticed that my horse had lost some weight. Soon after, the owner of the stable approached me and told me how good my horse is looking. She said he was overweight when I got him. His former owner admitted to me that she liked her horses slightly overweight.

I went on a trailride with his former owner and she was appalled at how thin he was. So much so that she threatened to take him back! My friend, agreed that he was a bit thin going into winter.

Since then, I've asked five people at my barn what they think and all have said that they think he looks good (including a horse trainer/coach).

My opinion is that he is a bit thin so I've talked to the barn and they have agreed to help me plump him up. I also talked to a knowledgeable man at a feed mill who sold me a mixture of grain that he thought would help him gain weight. The man also suggested that I worm him as he could be loosing weight due to worms.

My question to you is, is he thin or not and how thin is he? Too thin to survive the winter on pasture board with a very warm (and expensive) winter blanket? Will the grain make a difference? He was just eating hay before. Does his stomach look full of worms? It looks bigger than it was.

Last question...lol. The barn said to wait to worm him until the rest of the heard gets done. Shall I wait or do it now? I happen to have two wormers. Will it hurt him to get wormed now and in a few weeks?

Thanks so much and sorry for the novel. He is my first horse so I'm still learning. 

His is a quarter horse and is 15 years old.





















Last pic is when I got him.


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## RoxanneElizabeth (Dec 18, 2009)

When I went through this exact same thing I had the vet out so she could body score him, and made a feeding plan for us. I think he looks good in the bottom pic, a little thin in the others...especially for going into winter. I have heard that a horses belly is not an accurate indication of their weight.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

He looks a little lean going into winter, not horrible, but he should probably not lose any more weight.


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

I was taught a horses ribs should never be able to be seen, but with slight pressure should be able to be felt. i think he looks great in the last picture, to skinny in the first 2.


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## fresh paint girl (May 27, 2011)

He looks thin in the first two and great in the last. You always want your horses a little plump. Ribs should always have a thin layer of fat over them and you should be able to feel them without seeing them.  

Beautiful horse btw.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I agree with everyone else. A little thin now, looked great before (not too fat in my opinion). 

But yes, if he were mine I would deworm him now, and then again in a few weeks. It should not hurt to do him twice. Might be good in fact if worms could be the problem.


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

IMO, your horse looked perfect in the last pic, which is how he looked when you got him you say.

The other pics show him looking much more ribby, and with a distended belly.....

How did he go from the last pic to the top two pics?

Have you wormed him regularly? Has there been a change in his appetite? What do you feed him?

I don't know the time frame from the last pic to the others, but it seems as if his body condition and overall healthy appearance has declined from the pic taken when you got him.

IMO, you need to have a vet check him out physically, and then have the vet help you devise a feeding plan designed just for him.


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## lauraetco (Sep 14, 2011)

Great. Thank you very much for your opinions. I will deworm his asap and continue with the grain. If he doesn't put on a bit of weight in a month, I will reassess my plan.

Laura

P.S. I'm so relieved that no one said that I should panic cause hes not going to last through the winter.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Agree with others' assessments. Too thin now, perfect before. I would deworm him. And free choice quality hay is better than grain for putting on weight. Adding a fat supplement to his feed can also help, but he may not need it.


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## lauraetco (Sep 14, 2011)

Beauseant said:


> IMO, your horse looked perfect in the last pic, which is how he looked when you got him you say.
> 
> The other pics show him looking much more ribby, and with a distended belly.....
> 
> ...


The last pic was taken when he arrived at the new barn at the beginning of August. He was on quarantine for almost three weeks and then it took him a while to make friends with the new herd. I had him in a coat that was too warm for the temperature for a couple of weeks (by accident). He used to be ridden very rarely so he's being worked a lot more now...not hard tho. Perhaps all of these things could have caused weight loss.

He went from grazing and hay to just freechoice hay. However, every once in a while, I've noticed that there is no round bail in the paddock and when that happens, they feed them twice a day. I only started his grain this week and I've been doing it on my way to work (around 3pm). I don't know what's exactly in the grain...sorry. It's a mixture.

No, I haven't wormed him since I got him in August.

Ok...I'm going to give it a month and then get a vet.


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## lauraetco (Sep 14, 2011)

Again, thanks so much everyone. I've been really stressing over this. I feel like a bad horse-mom.


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

There are alot of things you can do to see if it resolves his weight issues...

Probably firstly..worm him. I don't know if tapeworms are common where you live, you could ask your vet....if they are, you need a wormer with praziquantel/ivermectin combination in it.....

secondly, since he is ribby...he needs a probiotic. These supplements are rather cheap and they have worked MIRACLES for my OTTB. I reccomend them for EVERY horse, but certainly for senior or ribby horses.

thirdly, have his teeth checked by your vet and floated if needed.

Foruth, he could certainly benefit from a weight supplement. We used Cool Calories and it made our boy fat...so it does work for some horses. There are many other weight supplements out there.

Free choice hay is good. Our OTTB went from a body score of 2 to being a bit fat pig on probiotics, Cool Calories and free choice hay with NO grazing, as he was in a dry lot. Imagine: going from body score to to fat pig on DRY LOT.

The reason I think you should get a vet in to look at him is that his appearance and overall health seems to have declined since the last pic, which was when you first got him.

I am certainly not suggesting you are doing anything wrong or are not doing all you could....It would just get me mildly concerned to see a decline like the one in the pics, even though it is mild...it is still a decline from what used to be a healthy appearance (last pic) and he may have some metabolic or other issue that your vet can help you resolve. 

He's a very beautiful boy. And you are a fantastic horse owner to care so much and to come here asking for opinions and advice. SO many horse owners are neglectful, and wouldn't notice or care if their horse was thin or had a worm belly.

As a matter of sad fact, some horse owners couldn't care less if their horse lived or died. 


You are certainly NOT a bad horse mom, you are a great horse mom...because you care. Your boy is lucky to have you!!!


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## NCPH (Nov 2, 2011)

Worming him now is definately a good idea. Besides the fact that he looks ribby, his coat is also not in the greatest shape, even if he is growing long hair for winter. Also, maybe check the quality of hay you are feeding. If he is getting a lot of hay without very much nutritional value, that could explain his stomach and ribby condition. We call that a "hay gut". A weight supplement will help, but I would look at the overall nutritional value of what your horse is eating. It's good that you have started him on grain, but you might want to look into purchasing a senior feed, perhaps a pelleted form that will be easier for him to digest. A vet's opinion also might not be a bad idea, as he can help you decide on proper grain, nutritional supplements, etc.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

bubba13 said:


> Agree with others' assessments. Too thin now, perfect before. I would deworm him. And free choice quality hay is better than grain for putting on weight. Adding a fat supplement to his feed can also help, but he may not need it.


 
QUALITY hay is key. If the horse is not eating decent hay - it's just filler. Takes longer to pass through the body (hay belly) and no nutrition (weight loss in other areas).

And yes worm him! You can worm again with the herd.


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