|
|
 Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
  
Location: New Sharon, IA | I got a foundered pony a couple months ago. He foundered several years ago. His hoof care is under control but I am noticing that he is not "blooming". His coat is dull and drab looking. He is loosing weight on his top line as well. He has been wormed, gets good grass hay and has a free choice loose mineral available at all times. This is my first foundered pony so I am not sure what he CAN eat to add weight while still managing his founder. Please help! |
|
| |
|
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| You can give him fat. Flax, oils, etc.
You can't give him anything high in NSC (non structural carbohydrates) such as green grass, whole oats, etc.
If you know how he foundered, and how bad, sometimes you can give NSC in moderation, it is a trial and error thing though.
Also the latest research is saying that beer is good for foundered horses, my vet gives his old horse 6 beer a day and he has definitely bloomed for the age of 36 |
|
| |
|
 Elite Veteran
Posts: 999
Location: Sunny So Cal | I would stay away from sugars completely and use low starch products. Beet pulp will help add weight and you can give THE Muscle Mass with a blood flow/ laminitis blends in it. I agree with the trial and error because each horse react differently to all products. Wishing you and your pony the best |
|
| |
|
  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | I agree on the fat. Remission supplement is another thing to look at. The good thing about low starch feeds is that they are formulated for founder cases and have added hoof nutrients for that without the added starches.
Edited by Fairweather 2015-05-26 12:21 PM
|
|
| |
|
Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | Here is the little pony himself :). Sweet little guy. 14 years old.
 (Cooper N Bucky.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 Cooper N Bucky.jpg (91KB - 133 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
 A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
Location: Southern Oregon | We use Remission on our guy and it works great |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 614
Location: Usually on my horse | I also have a foundered pony. He was fine on grass after August last year(that is when I got him). The grass pasture was pretty burned out by then. But this spring, he started having a problem with the green grass coming up. I have since put him on Remission and Chaste Berry. He gets to go out on green pasture 2 hours a day and he is doing great. He gets grass hay that does have some clover mixed in with it. I give him 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of the Chaste berrry powder 2x a day and 1 1/2 teaspoon of the Remission once a day.(mix it with a tiny amount of oats and molasses flavored water). He loves it.....and it keeps him sound.
Good Luck with your pony. |
|
| |
|
 Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | Cowgirl Kat - 2015-05-26 11:07 AM
I would stay away from sugars completely and use low starch products. Beet pulp will help add weight and you can give THE Muscle Mass with a blood flow/ laminitis blends in it. I agree with the trial and error because each horse react differently to all products. Wishing you and your pony the best
This is what I recommended on your facebook post about him. He is a beautiful pony! |
|
| |
|
Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | Ok so I had someone else recommend Nutrena Senior. Would that be ok to feed him with this remission mixed in? If I go with beet pulp, how do I feed it? Never fed beet pulp before so while I know there is soaking involved..... that is all I know about it! Thanks so much everyone for the input! |
|
| |
|
Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | CwgrlTuffTurnin3 - 2015-05-26 12:30 PM
Ok so I had someone else recommend Nutrena Senior. Would that be ok to feed him with this remission mixed in? If I go with beet pulp, how do I feed it? Never fed beet pulp before so while I know there is soaking involved..... that is all I know about it! Thanks so much everyone for the input!
I have given mine Nutrena Senior and liked it. Might go back to it. Should be able to feed the Remission with anything I would think and I feed beet pellets and just add water the evening before/ or at least a couple hrs so it has time to really break down the pellets and make a mush. Some like it really slurpy and soupy and some of mine prefer thicker (but still broken down from the water). I feed my pony once a day with it and he gets roughly 1/2 coffee can, but he also tolerates some alfalfa pellets really well and gets about 1/2 can of those too. Then I cover with about an inch or 2 of water. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 999
Location: Sunny So Cal | I haven't looked at Nutrena Senior so I don't know what is in it. You could call the company up and ask if they would recommend it or if the tack store is knowledable about the sugar and starch content in it ask them. I would feed 1/2 to 1 lb per day. If you soak in hot water it will expand quickly otherwise you will have to wait for a while with cold. Make sure all the pellets are pulled apart so they aren't hard anymore or you can do the shredded. Mine didn't like the shredded as much as the pellets. Not sure why. Make sure you get the plain beet pulp with no added molasses. It already has low sugar but draining or rinsing the excess water from the beet pulp with significantly reduce any sure that is left. And put in twice as much water to beet pulp. |
|
| |
|
 Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | Forco. I recently just tried it on mine and they have put weight on in no time. |
|
| |
|
 Elite Veteran
Posts: 600
Location: Oklahoma & Texas | Renew gold |
|
| |
|
Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | Sooooo I got some beet pulp crumbles last night and let it soak overnight and when I gave it to him this morning the little butthead WOULDN'T EAT IT! GRRR! Can I add anything to it to make him want to eat it? I also found a feed last night called Purina Wellsolve L/S which says it is a low starch/low sugar feed for horses with special needs. He ate that. Just not the beet pulp I gave him this morning. |
|
| |
|
 Elite Veteran
Posts: 639
Location: God's country...aka TEXAS | Renew Gold |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | If your pony is now in the same condition as his picture...........don't feed him anything..........maybe some air, just kidding. Sugar is bad. Buy him a grazing muzzle or dry lot him. RIDE, RIDE, RIDE him, he should look "racey" instead of fat. He doesn't need grain of anykind, he does need a balanced vit./mineral mix and coarse hay if you drylot him.
We stand a Welsh stallion and have been involved in the pony industry for 30 years. People forget that Welsh ponies were bred to live on almost nothing and work all day, hence the reason they have so much stamina. Not knowing the breeding on your pony does leave a question but I would treat him just like a full Welsh if he were here.
|
|
| |
|
Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | hotpaints - 2015-05-27 12:15 PM If your pony is now in the same condition as his picture...........don't feed him anything..........maybe some air, just kidding. Sugar is bad. Buy him a grazing muzzle or dry lot him. RIDE, RIDE, RIDE him, he should look "racey" instead of fat. He doesn't need grain of anykind, he does need a balanced vit./mineral mix and coarse hay if you drylot him.
We stand a Welsh stallion and have been involved in the pony industry for 30 years. People forget that Welsh ponies were bred to live on almost nothing and work all day, hence the reason they have so much stamina. Not knowing the breeding on your pony does leave a question but I would treat him just like a full Welsh if he were here.
This pony is not in the same condition as his picture, hence this post. He is getting ribby and his coat is very dull. He is on a dry lot with a flake of grass hay in the morning and a flake of grass hay at night. He is under 12 hands and belongs to my 3 year old son so RIDE RIDE RIDE Until he is racey looking is out of the question. This is a lead around for 10 minutes type of pony. Not a ride the crap out of him pony as my son is not old enough for that.
He has free choice to a loose mineral/vitamin and then he gets the grass hay twice a day. He is not getting any grain. I do not know his breed but I do know that the grass hay twice a day and loose mineral is NOT enough as he is losing weight in his top line and getting ribby and dull, not skinny and fit. |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 174
Location: Wisconsin | I would suggest getting him tested for cushings. The first sympton my cushing pony showed was foundering--even on a dry lot & low carb diet. He would also abcess, lose weight on his topline and have a bad hair coat. One of the last symptons he had was the long curly coat which is what one usually thinks with cushings. He has improved a lot since he has been on pergolide. I feed him Nutrena Sr plus flax seed & he gets limited pasture. Looks 100% better. |
|
| |
|
Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | pepsi - 2015-05-27 12:55 PM I would suggest getting him tested for cushings. The first sympton my cushing pony showed was foundering--even on a dry lot & low carb diet. He would also abcess, lose weight on his topline and have a bad hair coat. One of the last symptons he had was the long curly coat which is what one usually thinks with cushings. He has improved a lot since he has been on pergolide. I feed him Nutrena Sr plus flax seed & he gets limited pasture. Looks 100% better.
The vet does also think he may have cushings but if he does, the cushings did not cause the founder as according to the previous owners this is the first year he has not shed out. He foundered at least 7 years ago. While he does shed a ton, he is still very wooly. The vet and I are looking at ways to treat cushings as well if he does in fact have that too. We just havent tested him for it yet. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 999
Location: Sunny So Cal | CwgrlTuffTurnin3 - 2015-05-27 5:10 AM Sooooo I got some beet pulp crumbles last night and let it soak overnight and when I gave it to him this morning the little butthead WOULDN'T EAT IT! GRRR! Can I add anything to it to make him want to eat it? I also found a feed last night called Purina Wellsolve L/S which says it is a low starch/low sugar feed for horses with special needs. He ate that. Just not the beet pulp I gave him this morning.
Is there any way you can try the pellets? my horse won't eat the shredded but will eat the pellets. You could try adding some flaxseed or maybe a small about of red wheat bran to it. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | CwgrlTuffTurnin3 - 2015-05-27 12:48 PM hotpaints - 2015-05-27 12:15 PM If your pony is now in the same condition as his picture...........don't feed him anything..........maybe some air, just kidding. Sugar is bad. Buy him a grazing muzzle or dry lot him. RIDE, RIDE, RIDE him, he should look "racey" instead of fat. He doesn't need grain of anykind, he does need a balanced vit./mineral mix and coarse hay if you drylot him.
We stand a Welsh stallion and have been involved in the pony industry for 30 years. People forget that Welsh ponies were bred to live on almost nothing and work all day, hence the reason they have so much stamina. Not knowing the breeding on your pony does leave a question but I would treat him just like a full Welsh if he were here.
This pony is not in the same condition as his picture, hence this post. He is getting ribby and his coat is very dull. He is on a dry lot with a flake of grass hay in the morning and a flake of grass hay at night. He is under 12 hands and belongs to my 3 year old son so RIDE RIDE RIDE Until he is racey looking is out of the question. This is a lead around for 10 minutes type of pony. Not a ride the crap out of him pony as my son is not old enough for that.
He has free choice to a loose mineral/vitamin and then he gets the grass hay twice a day. He is not getting any grain. I do not know his breed but I do know that the grass hay twice a day and loose mineral is NOT enough as he is losing weight in his top line and getting ribby and dull, not skinny and fit.
Thank you for the info. 1st thing to do is fasting bloodwork, just like in people. This should give you and your vet the info needed to get your pony healthy and on the nutrition he needs. Cushings is most likely but there good be other things going on too.
Good luck, he is cute and your son is too!
|
|
| |
|
Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | hotpaints - 2015-05-27 1:06 PM CwgrlTuffTurnin3 - 2015-05-27 12:48 PM hotpaints - 2015-05-27 12:15 PM If your pony is now in the same condition as his picture...........don't feed him anything..........maybe some air, just kidding. Sugar is bad. Buy him a grazing muzzle or dry lot him. RIDE, RIDE, RIDE him, he should look "racey" instead of fat. He doesn't need grain of anykind, he does need a balanced vit./mineral mix and coarse hay if you drylot him.
We stand a Welsh stallion and have been involved in the pony industry for 30 years. People forget that Welsh ponies were bred to live on almost nothing and work all day, hence the reason they have so much stamina. Not knowing the breeding on your pony does leave a question but I would treat him just like a full Welsh if he were here.
This pony is not in the same condition as his picture, hence this post. He is getting ribby and his coat is very dull. He is on a dry lot with a flake of grass hay in the morning and a flake of grass hay at night. He is under 12 hands and belongs to my 3 year old son so RIDE RIDE RIDE Until he is racey looking is out of the question. This is a lead around for 10 minutes type of pony. Not a ride the crap out of him pony as my son is not old enough for that.
He has free choice to a loose mineral/vitamin and then he gets the grass hay twice a day. He is not getting any grain. I do not know his breed but I do know that the grass hay twice a day and loose mineral is NOT enough as he is losing weight in his top line and getting ribby and dull, not skinny and fit.
Good luck, he is cute and your son is too!
welsh are a different type of pony than the other breeds. I have rarely seen even the healthiest of Shetland crosses be racy looking. I love Welsh and would have loved to have found something like that for my kiddos, but the good ones are so expensive-Pony club jumpers etc.
Mine is not very tall, maybe 12 hands and even when he is thin and ribby, he is very round in the girth and blocky. I would have to starve him to get a racy look, plus he is old and foundered as previously mentioned. I can relate to the OP because other than mine being so much older, he is also a lead line pony and he means the world to my 3yr old son so keeping him healthy and looking good is a priority. I might have a picture small enough of "Pony" to show how he looked this fall/early winter. He's taking longer than normal to shed off this yr. I am hoping just age and not a Cushings related deal.
 (family small.jpg)
 (pony small March 15.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
family small.jpg (83KB - 156 downloads)
pony small March 15.jpg (75KB - 147 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | Cowgirl Kat - 2015-05-27 1:16 PM CwgrlTuffTurnin3 - 2015-05-27 5:10 AM Sooooo I got some beet pulp crumbles last night and let it soak overnight and when I gave it to him this morning the little butthead WOULDN'T EAT IT! GRRR! Can I add anything to it to make him want to eat it? I also found a feed last night called Purina Wellsolve L/S which says it is a low starch/low sugar feed for horses with special needs. He ate that. Just not the beet pulp I gave him this morning. Is there any way you can try the pellets? my horse won't eat the shredded but will eat the pellets. You could try adding some flaxseed or maybe a small about of red wheat bran to it.
The feed store gave me beet pulp crumbles. Not shreds but they are crumbled up pieces the size of a pencil eraser? I soaked them until they were good and wet but he nosed it a few times and went to eating hay. |
|
| |
|
 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 415
| Not sure if this was mentioned already but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get him checked for insulin resistance!!!!! I have had 2 ponies with founder and that's what they ended up having! It's not an expensive test and will really help you with what to feed! Low starch and sugar, I fed triple crown safe starch and Forco! |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | cheeka77 - 2015-05-28 1:32 AM Not sure if this was mentioned already but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get him checked for insulin resistance!!!!! I have had 2 ponies with founder and that's what they ended up having! It's not an expensive test and will really help you with what to feed! Low starch and sugar, I fed triple crown safe starch and Forco!
This is why the fasting blood work needs to be done asap. It is tricky to manage these metabolic problems but can be done. |
|
| |