Mare dropping weight

[Gizmo]

I need some help. My mare is dropping weight. I've had her teeth done, and now need to get that weight back on her. She's due to foal in March. I'm walking that fine line....too much, will make the foal grow too big....not enough, will cause her to wither away (and be detrimental to the foal). I'm worried sick about her! Could someone PLEASE help me?

[Green Hills]

I need some help. My mare is dropping weight. I've had her teeth done, and now need to get that weight back on her. She's due to foal in March. I'm walking that fine line....too much, will make the foal grow too big....not enough, will cause her to wither away (and be detrimental to the foal). I'm worried sick about her! Could someone PLEASE help me?

Do you know what caused the weight drop in the first place?

[Gerry]

you have a PM

[Citation.]

HI GIZMO... I notice you live in Kentucky do you have your mare blanketed ? That helps her retain heat and not shiver and waste energy.
Also I would worm her once every month for three months to make sure you kill all stages of worms. And as long as she is getting enough alfalfa and grain ( you can add rice bran and oil to that ) if she is still losing weight the vet will have to see her.

Hope that helps.

[Ramona]

Give her a dose of Pro-Bios. This helps the gut action get going again. I don't worm without a follow up of a dose of this, as worming is stessful to the gut. My neighbor had an older mare that was being fed the best of everything, plus regular worming. She said that it looked like she was loosing weight, I suggested a tube of the Pro-Bios and within a few days, the mare started picking up. I'm a firm believer in this stuff...if hauling a horse any distance, I give a dose about 12 hours before hand. The horses jump off the trailer and go to eating. Just my suggestion.

[Gerry]

I second that Ramona but I use Fastrack instead of Pro-Bios, you give less and it has more active ingredients. Any probiotic/prebiotic will greatly help. Not only great for helping with weightloss, shipping but also will help reduce or eliminate foal scours!

[Ramona]

Thanks Gerry, didn't think about that for the foal scours. I've seen that Fastrack at the feed store, but thought it was the same thing as the Pro-Bios. Anyway, I'm glad that I'm not the only believer in this thinking in keeping horses picked up.

[Crystal]

I agree with citation, have a vet do a fecal and blood work on her. Maybe something is going off the deep end.

[madelyn]

It hasn't been cold enough yet in KY for any shivering; first I would have the mare checked to see if in fact she is still in foal (this is the time it is possible for them to abort). I had a mare last year in the barn that was Eye-Rolling Miserable, cribbed and windsucked, rolled, colicked four times, etc. etc. from the time that foal started really growing (November) until the time she foaled (March) and she lost weight despite oil supplements, free choice rich hay, any/every kind of supplement, etc. etc. The colt was a decent size for a first foal, front legs were )( for just the first ten days and he straightened up, but it took that mare three months after she foaled to stop looking like a hatrack.

[Gizmo]

Originally, we thought the weight loss was because her belly dropped (she really thins out). She gets wormed every six weeks - without exception! We have other animals (sheep and llamas), and everybody gets done at the same time.

I'll definitely have the vet come out. Since she's already being supplemented, the vet thought/thinks it might have been her teeth. I'll also pick up some Fastrack.

Being from WI (just moved back to KY in June), I didn't think the weather would even be an issue - at this point.

Thank you all, again, for your help.

[ColChinn]

First, don't blanket that mare.

Second, don't worm her for the next three months. Do a fecal egg count and worm ONLY as needed. Everytime you worm, you are introducing poison into the system.

Bad teeth can cause weight lose. But, so can a multitude of other things including stress. Does she finish all her feed? What kind of feed are you using? Use a good fortified feed like Hallway's mare cubes.

I agree with madelyn, are you sure she is still in foal? Will she tease?

Getting the mare back to optimum weight is not going to "overgrow" the foal. However, the lack of proper nutrition and low body weight will cause problems with proper foal development.

If all else fails, call the vet. You have got to get this under control before she enters the third trimester.