Question about horses out of work for a long time?

It's pretty common to see a horse get a little ribby when he's out of work that long, especially at 19 years old. Their muscles just weaken and you'll see the belly sort of "drop." Once he's back in work and re-gaining condition, you'll see that hay belly disappear. No worries.

Since he's not working, maybe consider doing some back stretches with him to keep the muscles a little more toned. Particularly, ask him to lift his back by pressing your fingertips under the center of his belly and "lifting." You can also have him lift his back by standing behind him and pressing your finger into him on both sides, drawing a line from his flank to his hindquarters. Just be careful because some horses don't like this much. Others love it.

Has he had his teeth floated in the last two years? I would ask about worming but it sounds like that is something you would have done. The lack of muscle may be making him look thin. I would do ground work with him and work on his neck. If he has a leg or hip injury, I would go easy on the lungeing. You might try ponying him from another horse so he can go for a walk and stretch a little. The muscle in the top of his neck will build back up once you can work him more.

Happy Trails

HorseFeatherZ

Given his age and that he has not been able to graze for a long time due to box rest it is not surprising that he looks a little worse for wear, but I think if he is otherwise well, apart from the injury - what on earth did he do? Mine was in for 6 months for a tendon strain and he went rather thin too, but put weight on slowly but surely (you do not want it to go on too fast for the risk of laminitis, horses can get it too, and late onset.) and when he was back in work he put it on with fittening (very slowly - 5 minutes the first two days walking, adding another 5 minutes every 2 days - building up to 1 1/2 hours only walking then walking like that for a week, but hey, it was worth it! As I am sure you will know.

What is his coat like? Is it thick and curly? I am wondering if he has been checked for Cushings Disease which can come on at that age. Is he hungry and thirsty now all the time? I only ask as mine went very thin when he started that. But then again he could just be stressed from being boxed in all the time. Some horses just do not do box rest. Mine did not terribly well, but we kept him entertained with stable toys and a radio on in the back ground, carrots and apples, no grain, just lots of tlc, grooming, and generally pottering around - when he was clipped the winter after they said he was the cleanest horse in the village!

We did take the precaution of sedating him before we brought him home to graze when he was ready to be turned out as we had to drive through the Dartford Tunnel and he was not good with lorries - not having seen a car or a lorry for those 6 months! He stayed indoors for another two weeks when he got home and was sedated again for the first time we turned him out, and after that he was fine. We did not think he would come back to ridden work and I was too ill at the time to ride, so we broke him to harness (at the grand old age of 14!) which was fine until he jumped a 5 bar gate with the cart, my mother and me. I called the vet, too scared to take the bandages off, so he did it and declared that if he could do the amount of damage he had just done and still be sound, he could start ridden work and jumping. As I said, it was a long slow process. He was sold on when my job became too demanding and despite the Cushings he became a leading Junior Event pony competing all over the country and abroad! Never broke down again.

I do think older horses take a bit longer than younger ones to heal and there temperaments can be one way or another.

But ask about Cushings, just to rule it out.

Most horses which are taken off work will gain weight. Especially the pony breeds tend to gain bellies quickly.

It is great that you worm regularly and he is taken care of but you may want to look at what you are feeding him.

Try adding more roughage and free choice hay and talk to a nutritionist about what sort of grain. If he is used to grain and has been taken off suddenly you may want to rethink that.

It sounds like you are doing everything right but look at what you feed him, he probably needs more roughage and some grain or concentrate.

Honestly, I think this is perfectly normal. As you've covered all the bases (teeth, worming, feed, etc etc etc) and his coat is in good condition etc then I would not worry too much. Could you post a picture? However it sounds to me like his lack of topline - and his age - will be the reason for this. Good luck with him and I hope he's on the mend soon.

it relatively is an ASB with some giraffe genes, i assume. properly, not relatively, yet ... The conformation is herring-gutted. we've got here upon the Saddlebred to be an fairly candy and usable horse. The mares are (of direction) opinionated. Ours enjoyed using, and have been for sure extremely joyful to be taken to new places. The long back does tend in the direction of swayback of their latter years. might i purchase that one? No. the fee of $450 is obviously comparable to "loose to good residing house" and that i'm hoping she unearths the the main suitable option residing house.

You should not be worried. When the horse is sound enough to be ridden again, have a VERY experienced rider get on him. Then once you figure out he is sound, you can get back on him. Horses tend to get fatter and look a bit different when they've had months off. It will take him a while to get back into everything. Slowly work him back into full work. 19 is pretty old for a horse. In about 3 full months of slowly pushing him back into work, he should be the horse you remembered. Remember not to over-work your horse! Good luck (:

he has been out of work for a year....he is bound to have lost a bit of conditon and muscle.....i am presuming he is getting enough feed and correct type of feed??.....are you riding him again yet??.....take things slowly with the work and if there is no improvement in his weight and condition i would call in the vet to check nothing is wrong.