This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN)
Great discussion yesterday everyone! Good questions and answers both.
-Sharon - From what you wrote, your three horses were drinking
approx. 50 gallons total per day, sometimes less. But when the new mare
came, the water started disappearing at the rate of as much as 200
gallons per day. Is she doing something to waste water, or causing the
other horses to do it? A horse simply cannot drink that much. Even if
they were all sharing equally, each of the four horses would have to
drink 50 gallons; They would all float away! : ) Does she play in the
water? Is it possible to separate her to find out exactly how much water
she is drinking per day?
-Ingrid - Yes, feeling the ribs without too much trouble but not
being able to see them is definitely the way to go. This principle
applies to almost any horse, any age, in any situation.
If your 3-month-pregnant mare is just slightly overweight (example - can
feel ribs but it is a little difficult) then probably your best thing to
do is to try to maintain that weight. As the baby inside her grows
bigger, she'll need more calories, and the weight problem will most
likely take care of itself. It is better for a pregnant mare to be just
a little on the heavy side than on the thin side - just a little. In any
case, some exercise would be better than a diet. Marsh Jo's warning
about Hyperlipidemia is a good one. When this syndrome starts it often
results in the loss of the mare.
When your gelding still acts studly it may either be learned behavior or
he may still have slightly higher than average testosterone levels.
Geldings still have testosterone circulating in their system and it comes
from the pituitary gland. It is thought that some may still secrete
enough to act a little studly. Take away his copy of the Ken Starr
report and see if that helps! : ) Regarding whether or not he may be a
cryptorchid, If you saw two normal-looking testicles being taken out of
him when he was gelded, then he can't be.
Regarding the weight tape, some very good comments were made. It is best
used to keep up with trends rather than exact weights. Jon and Mary O.'s
comment about the scales vs. the weight tape was very interesting. I
have wondered if the tapes didn't under-weigh Fjords due to their more
substantial bone than most horses (and the fact they probably have 50
pounds more hay or grass in there than most other horses! : ) )
-Linda L. - Regarding how to measure the hay, Marsha Jo was right on
the ball. If your gelding is very overweight (can't feel ribs), try
feeding 1% of his body weight (if it's good quality grass hay). I bet
you'll find that ends up being about what Julie W. described. If he's
moderately overweight (hard to feel ribs but they're in there), maybe
1.5%. Or, you may be able to keep him happier and feed him more if you
can find some year-old, clean, average-to-fair quality grass hay. He can
eat more of it but won't get as many calories from it. Feeding 3-4 times
daily is great if you can do it; It's more natural and does relieve
boredom better.
Cynthia - Very good point!! An "easy keeper" really is not easy to
keep! They're actually more work. We're putting you in charge of coming
up with a better term.
-Pamela and Barbara Lyn - Interesting about the red raspberry leaf.
We don't get much training about things like that in vet school. Where
can someone get it, and how much is recommended to give a mare?
Thanks to everyone for contributing. Thanks to Steve M. for a good and
dedicated job running this list!
Brian Jacobsen, DVM
Norwegian Fjordhest Ranch
Salisbury, North Carolina
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