Equine Weight Loss

We have been seeing quite a few seriously underweight horses the past couple of months and I’d like to encourage you to have your horse evaluated if you notice equine weight loss. Do not wait until there is a serious issue and the neighbor calls the sheriff! The most common causes of weight loss are easy to resolve and include parasites, dental issues, and poor nutrition. I would say these three causes account for nearly 85% of the horses brought to me for weight loss. Some horses have more than one of these problems, and the classic “he’s a rescue” case may very well suffer from all three with another one or two added.

1. Parasites – You need to have a fecal exam done to gauge a starting point. That will help us suggest an appropriate dewormer and/or schedule. Often we will want to recheck the fecal a few weeks after treatment if the horse had a serious infestation. Deworming too often is a common problem and it can lead to resistant parasite populations, as can using too low a dose. Diatomaceous earth will not deworm your horse. Feeding daily dewormer is not adequate by itself either.

2. Dental issues – Because of the anatomy and eruption rate of a horse’s cheek teeth (premolars and molars) they will need to be floated (filed) in a certain way to allow optimum grinding of feed so that nutrients can be properly absorbed and the horse can chew without discomfort. Some horses need it yearly and some need it every 2 or 3 years, it just depends on the horse. We do like to examine the mouth yearly so that if a problem is observed it does not continue and worsen. In addition to regular dental maintenance we need to check for individual problem teeth; this includes teeth that are broken, infected, abscessed, or with excessive tooth material.

3. Poor nutrition – This is more common than you might think. Horses should find nutrition in the grass, then hay, then grain. That list is by amount, and therefore importance. As veterinarians, we can calculate a diet based on the individual horse’s requirements. It is important to feed good quality hay. If you have a performance horse or an underweight horse, you need to seek out excellent hay. Most of his nutrition should come from hay; grain should be only a supplement to the hay and grass. There are a few lines of excellent supplements on the market for specific needs. There are more supplements that are well below average. I finally found a supplement line I can get behind wholeheartedly, and that is Dac Horse Supplements. I have been impressed enough with the products that it is the first and only line of supplements I have ever carried in my practice. The supplement you need depends on your goals and your horse’s requirements. There are so many feeds on the market it is crazy! As a general rule, an $8 a bag with a label saying livestock feed is not going to be a good as a $16 a bag horse feed. Once we find the proper feed, we need to help with intestinal absorption sometimes. Has the horse been eating moldy hay? We can help with that. Does he have chronic mild diarrhea? We can help with that. One of the most common intestinal issues that prevent nutrient absorption is sand in the gut. Horses living in dirt lots ingest sand and it acts just like sandpaper to the intestine causing inflammation and preventing nutrient absorption. We can help you fix and prevent that.

The bottom line is that there are many reasons for a horse to be skinny, and most of them aren’t only treatable, but preventable. If your horse is losing weight or you recently acquired a skinny horse, please don’t wait it out a few months before bringing him in. The odds are we can help you get him squared away pretty quickly.