# Too skinny?



## ilikehorses2 (Sep 24, 2012)

We have been trying to fatten her up. Is she still too skinny? She always rolls just as we go out to get her!


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## GamingGrrl (Jan 16, 2013)

She is EXTREMELY underweight. You should not be able to see her back bone like that. I suspect that you can see ribs too, but her winter coat is hiding them.

What are you feeding her?
And you should blanket her ASAP, so she doesn't waste energy trying to stay warm.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

I would say so. There is an evident "boat" in her back near her withers, where she has not developed any muscle.
Cannot really say about her belly with all that winter fur, but depending on her age and the feed she is getting, it may take a little longer for her to pack on the meat where she needs it to fill in the holes.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Her coat and the angle do make it hard to judge entirely - but there is visible lack of fill at the topline and seemingly around the tailhead, etc - so, yes, she appears to still be significantly underweight/lacking in muscle tissue. The coat inhibits seeing ribs, how easy are they to feel?
How old is this horse?
When was she last vetted? Teeth last floate? Last FEC done?
What is her current diet?


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

You didn't say the age, but if she is elderly, you will not be able to put much weight on her. Younger, skinny horses will have ribs showing, too, even under a winter coat. "Corporal" was a hard keeper, and it was impossible to make him fat. But, I never let his backbone sink this deep. I agree about the blanket.


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## ilikehorses2 (Sep 24, 2012)

That is a photo from a few months ago... I will get a recent one... Her ribs are slowly disapearing.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

When a horse gets looking like that, it means it has been neglected. Which also indicates dental care and parasite control have been neglected. In order for a horse to properly utilize the food she is now getting to put weight on, she needs the other issues addressed otherwise you are wasting money on feed that she is not absorbing into her body.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

ilikehorses2 said:


> That is a photo from a few months ago... I will get a recent one... Her ribs are slowly disapearing.


Why post a photo from months ago, that does not reflect the condition of the horse, to ask about the condition of the horse???


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## GamingGrrl (Jan 16, 2013)

I'm confused. You asked if she's still too skinny but posted an old pic?
_Posted via Mobile Device_

ETA: whoops posted at the same time ^


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

OP is under 15 according to my filter.


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## phoenmoon (Jan 6, 2013)

I hear Thrive horse feed is supposed to be really good at adding weight. I have also used K finish from Tribute feeds with good results and empower.


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

From the angle I can not see if she is underweight, but definitely lacking in muscle, severely.

Looks just like a cushings horse at the barn.


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## PaintedBandit (Feb 2, 2011)

In the picture posted the horse is underweight. I would suggest blanketing the horse, having her teeth checked ASAP, having the vet come out and check to see if she's wormy. Without the age I can't really suggest food but I really like the Triple Crown brand (a bit pricy). At the barn I worked at that was what we fed (Triple Crown Complete and then Triple Crown Senior for our old guy) and it was great! Also consider adding bran to their food, and if their teeth are too poor to be able to chew had ask your vet what they would suggest as a substitute! We gave our old man Triple Crown Alfalfa and never had any issues on it (though I know some people are skeptical about feeding alfalfa).


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## CowboyBob (Feb 11, 2013)

First, Teeth, dewormer, Second, Have you talked to your Vet? Third, what are you feeding her now? Find the best hay you can, there are some great feeds out there, Talk to your feed people. Someone say blankit, it really would not be a bad idea, but make sure you keep it as clean and dry as you can other wise your waisting time blankiting. IF you can't keep it clean and dry your better off leaving it off. Don't waist time talking to us Talk to your VET.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Can you provide a more up to date picture please?


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## PaintedBandit (Feb 2, 2011)

CowboyBob said:


> First, Teeth, dewormer, Second, Have you talked to your Vet? Third, what are you feeding her now? Find the best hay you can, there are some great feeds out there, Talk to your feed people. Someone say blankit, it really would not be a bad idea, but make sure you keep it as clean and dry as you can other wise your waisting time blankiting. IF you can't keep it clean and dry your better off leaving it off. Don't waist time talking to us Talk to your VET.



Def. Agree. Get your vet out there! And if you don't have a waterproof blanket, it's not worth the time since if it gets wet and stays on in the cold that in itself can cause problems.


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## moniegx3 (Feb 18, 2013)

can't really tell through that thick coat. If anything, she's a little chubby.


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## moniegx3 (Feb 18, 2013)

As far as her backbone goes, she just needs muscle to fill that in.


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## ilikehorses2 (Sep 24, 2012)

She gets riden almost every day.


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

In your photo you provided that horse is way too skinny!

No amount of Muscling up is going to fix that horses weight.
That horse needs groceries.

How do you even fit a saddle on that horse with that backbone?
I know you said that photo was old, but I think less riding until her weight is up to par.


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## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

Okay, one, you should NOT be riding a horse in that condition. Two, you definitley should post an up to date picture. As others have said the picture you posted shows an extremely uderweight horse, that doesn't just happen overnight, sorry. 

Has she been checked over by a vet? Age? Current picture? Any known issues? 

There are so many questions left to be answered here, please let us know!

At this point though, like cowboybob said she needs a vet. From the picture you posted she really should have some vet attention, whether to check her over for an underlying issue, teeth problems, general pain, etc...

I don't know what else to say.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

She cannot build muscle because *she is starving*. She is breaking down muscle to meet her energy needs to keep her alive. She needs to be fed as much hay as she will eat as well as being fed some type of senior feed. She should eat at least 25 pounds of hay every day. 

Sorry to be so blunt, but you need to feed that horse.


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## ilikehorses2 (Sep 24, 2012)

She eats a whole bale of hay a day.


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

ilikehorses2 said:


> She eats a whole bale of hay a day.


If she gets a bale of good quality hay a day, something else is going on with her.
It might be teeth, Might be a metabolic problem, *might be she just needs more food,* like grain or oats.

If the photo you posted is her current condition, at least you know she is too skinny. I feel if you have to ask you already know the answer.

I would stop riding your horse, get the vet out to asses the animal, get her fattened up, then start riding again. 

You don't need to be embarrassed about the state of your horse, you are learning, but if you don't do any of the above, then you do have something to be ashamed of.


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## TurkishVan (Feb 11, 2013)

ilikehorses2 said:


> She eats a whole bale of hay a day.


Does she "share" this bale with other, younger horses? If so, she's probably not getting the food that she should. 

Personally, I have trouble believing that this horse alone would be getting one bale a day. Most people only feed their horses half a bale a day at most (and with 50 lb. bales, that's 25 lbs of hay a day). Anything else is usually wasted. 

I agree with everyone else here- something's wrong. Go to the vet.


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## Critter sitter (Jun 2, 2012)

you are not answering questions asked.
some one asked if a vet has seen her
another asked if teeth have been done and Dewormer??
if you are indeed a younger person please have your parents call a vet out to evaluate her and talk to about getting weight on her.
Also Can you Post a updated picture.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Yes, the horse is way too skinny. Not even a question in my mind. 

Even if it had flesh covering the ribs, at the very least there is a medical issue going on. Either the horse is lacking in calories or it is sick. 

I have had numerous old horses and none looked that way even right before they died. :-(


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

If you have a horse that is this skinny, and you don't have the financial power to buy hay because you are a child, you can take the horse out on a lead line every day and find patches of grass for it to graze on. An hour a day of green grass would do wonders. I guess there is no grass up north, but down here there is a lot of grass along the roadsides.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

.Delete. said:


> its not about how much hay you feed your horse. Its about the quality of the hay. Quality not quantity.


You have to have both. Poor quality hay will not help the horse; however, people who dole out hay by the flake can starve horses even it if is good quality hay.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

Don't know about her area but I can get a 600lb decent quality round bale for $40. That round bale lasts my two piggies almost 2 weeks.


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## Skunkworks (Oct 22, 2012)

Maybe I am use to dealing with stupid or ignorant people but at least she is looking around and realizing that her horse isn't healthy looking. She's 13 and may not want to come out and say, "I have zero horse knowledge but I think my horse is skinny." This thread is her way of saying that. I've met/dealt with adults who thought horses scoring 1 or 2 was how they where suppose to look. They then complained that our horses where obese. They had zero interests in knowing what a healthy horse is suppose to look like and thought we where wrong, end of story. At least she is coming here and starting to have her eyes open and realizing something is wrong.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

ilikehorses2 said:


> She gets riden almost every day.


Um, whut? :shock:

Why would you be riding a horse who looks as if she hasn't seen a good meal in a very long time? She's _far_ too underweight to be ridden, much less 'almost every day'.

Honestly OP, that horse looks awful. I can just imagine how much worse she looks under all that hair. 

She needs a vet out to determine if it's her teeth, she's full of worms, has ulcers, or just that she's not being fed properly. 

I know you're young, but that's no excuse. These animals are our responsibility. If we can't take proper care of them, then we don't deserve to have them.


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

Ummm.....I was given my first horse for my 13th birthday. I paid for half of her and my parents paid the other half. She was an unbroke 2 yo. I was responsible for her in every way shape and form. Daily care, purchasing feed, paying for vet care, the whole nine yards my parents did NOTHING. Zip nada....I paid for all four shoes every six weeks. I babysat, I cleaned yards, I cleaned houses, I mowed, I shoveled sidewalks, etc. I did anything and everything I had to. My mare was always fed twice a day everyday regardless of my school and sports. She was ridden 4-5 times a week. 13 yo to me is plenty old enough to being helping out and doing other things to earn money to care for such an animal. When I was 9 yo I was doing dishes for 25 cents. I saved and saved and saved. You can, even being a minor, be 100% responsible for somethings care, point blank.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

my apologies.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I'm glad the thread was reopened. Hopefully we can help educate the OP so she can improve the horse's care and look out for her welfare. 

OP, as you can conclude from the responses in this thread, your mare is grossly underweight. Until she puts on a few hundred pounds and her health is up to par, please, for her sake, stop riding her. Not only does she have no energy to spare for carrying someone on her back, but no saddle would fit her back in its current condition without causing her serious pain.

The first step is to have her teeth floated and a vet recommend how to go about starting a deworming regimen for her. Without good dental work, she's not going to digest any of what she eats. So while you may not see much food spilled on the floor, she's probably not digesting it properly, and upping her feed or increasing the quality won't do anything for her except keep her mind occupied. If her hooves haven't been touched in the past month or two, please have a knowledgable farrier work on those as well.

Once you start eradicating any parasites that are in her belly and her teeth are properly floated, you need to assess her diet. You say she's eating a bale of hay a day right now. If this is true, there is something serious going on from a medical standpoint and she needs to be vetted ASAP. If she's not actually getting this much or pasture mates are stealing it, you'll need to find some QUALITY hay. My preference would be a mixed grass hay given free choice, though you'll need to transition to this slowly to allow for her metabolic and digestive systems to adjust.

She also needs a good grain. There are a lot of fantastic pelleted feeds on the market. My personal preference for putting on and maintaining weight is Nutrena SafeChoice. My hard-keeping thoroughbreds are both fed 6 lbs of this a day. I also recommend beet pulp. I used shreds, but you need to make sure you soak them before feeding--if they're not soaked prior to feeding, they will expand in the horse's system and could potentially lead to an impaction. I feed 4 quarts dry (equates to 6 or so when soaked) to my TBs. If your mare is a finicky eater, you can buy beet pulp with Molasses. I use Standlee Hay Co. shreds. 

Spread her grain out into as many feedings as possible throughout the day. Optimum would be four. Make sure she has clean, unfrozen water available at all times. 

If you don't have the resources to bring this mare back up to par, please give her to someone who can. It's not fair to let her suffer, and she is in very bad shape right now.

ETA: I was managing a barn full of horses (scheduling hay/shavings/farrier/vet/dentist, doing barn repairs and daily care/turnout) at the age of 10. I came to the forum two years later and found infinite resources available. I've learned an incredible amount in the 3 1/2 years I've been a member here, and I'm so grateful the people here were willing to be patient with someone so young. Please listen to what they have to say--there are so many knowledgable people willing to help you.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

I'm not going to add to the great advices already given. But I want to say that's a perfect example of the thread when the most helpful (and most beneficial for the horse) responses would be to _*educate *_a poster (especially when he/she is a kid), not to attack or bring him/her down repeatedly. 

OP, since you can't do much financially for the horse I'd strongly recommend to share the advices given with your parents (or caregivers). Good luck!


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## horsecrazygirl (Apr 23, 2012)

Yes she is under weight. BTW, i was 13 when i started paying off my lessons by working them off. Never to young to start saving up.


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