>>>> Tosca stays out with her band of horses 24/7, but Hunter, part of the >>>> same group, comes in for the night to a large pen and shelter. He >>>> requires supplemental feeding or he gets too thin, so I go up in the >>>> late afternoon and put him up with his feed, then go back again in the >>>> morning and feed him again. Then about 7:30 the barn girl turns him >>>> out for grass and hay. He just needs a different diet from his >>>> buddies.
That sounds like what we're doing with 28-year-old Thunder now. He's always been a moderately easy keeper, out 24x7 with the herd, but no more. His normal pasture is adjacent to my grassy riding ring, so every night we put him in the ring, where he can take his own sweet time eating his senior feed, and can eat all the lush grass he can hold overnight. During the day, he's back out with his senior buddies, Joe and Holly. There's grass in their pasture too, plus some supplemental hay, but he seems to be doing better with the extra grass and plenty of relaxed time. He's still on the thin side compared to where he used to be, but not the bone-rack he was a few weeks ago. BTW, I suspect that Thunder has Cushing's now - I think most older horses eventually get it - but I still have him on lush grass. I know that's counter to the going wisdom, but this worked well with Sundance in his final couple of years, and he never re-foundered. I think there's a point with Cushing's where the tendency to lose weight outdoes the risk for laminitis. I think Thunder has passed that point now - I have to keep weight on him somehow. I hope he doesn't founder, but frankly, at this point, it's a risk I'm willing to take. I hate for him to waste away like he was doing, and if he should founder, I'll put him down, and know he went out happy until the end. I'm not recommending this to everyone, but I have a strong gut feeling this is the right thing to do for Thunder. I want him as happy and healthy as possible during his final days. Karen Thomas, NC ------------------------------------ IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
