Tail hair loss, wt loss and knot on left hip

Question
I have a 5 yr old saddle mare who dropped a significant amount of wt quickly. My farrier came and said he noticed she had a small knot on her left hip. I have noticed she seems to favor that side while standing but doesn't limp while moving about. Following the drop in wt I noticed that she started to loose some hair at the top of her tail. I have wormed her recently and tried feeding her a wt booster. I spoke w my vet who is coming to check her out following no success with home management. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer
Hi Amy,

Thank you for your question.  I think you're started in the right direction with having your vet out to take a look at your mare.  A 5 year old with sudden weight loss has experienced some sort of metabolic upset.  A horse's digestive system can be significantly impacted from trauma or stress (and severe worm loads)...which can negatively impact the population of beneficial bacteria in the hindgut.  Sometimes the natural health of the hindgut can not regain balance without some additional help.  From a feeding standpoint, I would suggest that you try your mare on Alltech's LifeForce Formula as it contains ingredients that will help the hindgut re-establish the mircoflora required to help your horse re-gain her weight.  To support her return to proper weight, try feeding beet pulp and even a high fat high fiber complete feed.  It's hard to say what is causing the hair loss from her tail, although it could be linked to what is causing her weight loss.  Your vet should take a look at that as well, and perhaps re-visit the issue once she starts to put weight back on.

I hope that helps.

Regards, Corlena