Sick or troubled horse

Question
Hi, my mom owns a few horses simply for riding occasionally, nothing fancy. We have an older mare (about 27ish) who recently and drastically changed her eating pattern. We unfortunately live no where near a vet, nor can we afford one. She began to hold candy treats in her front teeth for a few seconds, and then dropping them, and seems to have trouble with hay. With every bite she 'chomps' down very hard at any food, but can't seem to successfully chew it and get it into her back teeth. There are no outward signs of trauma, we see no problems in the little bit we've been able to check her mouth (no weeds, bleeding gums/tongue, etc.). She has a very high metabolism, and despite our extra feedings of things like grain, senior feed, beet pulp, other grains and hay, she is losing weight rapidly. When she eats the grains, she takes an excessive amount of time, and after about an hour, she gives up on trying to eat it, and just goes out for hay. We are getting many differing opinions, such as snake bite (we have bullsnakes and an occasional rattler), allergic reaction, teeth floating (she last had them done around '05) etc. I know the best option would be a vet, but since we can't get a vet out, do you have any idea what might be troubling her? Or perhaps something we could try to keep her from starving to death before we can get help for her? I greatly appreciate any and all help in advance.

Answer
hi Pam,
well its a shame that there are no vets around and that you cant afford one. as far as the opinions you have gotten are concerned, i doubt it is a snake bite because you would see a wound and a bite would kill the horse. floating a horses teeth would be good but with her age i doubt her teeth are really long enough to be floated. since she is old her teeth have gotten grinded down to wear she is basically gummming the food. thats why she takes alot at a time. it makes her mouth more slimmy and its easier to swallow. even with that being that its still a pain to eat. i think your best bet would be to water the grains down to a mash. make them as gooy as you want and over time you will see what she likes and what is easiest to eat. you dont want to make it to dry cause then she will have to chew it to much. but you dont want to make it o wet to wear she doesn't know if sheshould chew it or drink it. some other grains you should try are rice bran,. mare and foal, and get a weight gain suppliment that has a high amount of carbs. with the hay, try to get bales with small stems and more leaves. they are easier to chew. i dont know what kinda of hay you feed her but feeding an alfalfagrass mix would be good. it have enough carbs in it and is a sweet feed so she will like it. but it doesn't have to much alfalfa to wear she gets to much calcium and tie up or colic. make all your changes gradually over a few weeks and you should see a change. if not then i would sadly say it may be time to let her go. if she continues to loose weight that fast it would be inhumane to let her starve to death. how can you ask that of an old friend. i dont mean to disappoint you or make you made. im just saying if worse comes to worse that would probably be the best thing you could do for her. but try the mash first and the hay. let me know in a few weeks or so of how she is doing. i wish you the best of luck and i hope your mare gets more comfortable eating.
amanda groff