Horse Down

Question
I am needing some advice/help concerning my 4 year old Shetland Pony, not sure of weight, his body condition currently is poor - skin & bones. He currently walks around just a little & has to have 2 people to stand him up once he is down. (Cannot get up on his own) His diet consists of sweet feed & hay as often as he wants, roams the pasture & eats grass also. Carrot/Apple horse cubes are used as an incentive to get him to walk. Yesterday he didn't hardly drink anything - today he's drinking fine. He seems to be unsteady on his feet & back legs get 'stuck' sometimes. I checked his gums yesterday & they were pale (not white) - today they are pink again. We're just wondering what to do? There's no indication that he is injured at all, he just seems way too skinny & his muscles are very weak. If you could please give me any advice on how to keep him going or to get him back to optimal health again, that would be great! Thank you in advance!

Answer
Dear Tracy,

My advice to you is call a veterinarian IMMEDIATELY! You don't give much background on this pony as to why he is in this condition.  Is he a rescue, has he been ill?  Also I don't know where you are in the world so I don't know what products are available to you I am assuming you are in the US somewhere? If he was mine I would take him off the sweet feed as counter to what you might think it is not a good choice for horses who are this thin.  Plus I would never feed a shetland sweet feed even when it is well as they can founder very easily.  Feed him as much clean hay as you can.  If getting him to drink and eat are a problem buy some hay cubes and soak them so that he is taking in fluids as he eats.  In fact alfalfa has been indicated to be better for very thin horses than grass hay because of the electrolyte balance in alfalfa. Horses also like alfalfa better than grass hay most of the time so if you can get some alfalfa and alfalfa pellets that would be good.  Typically you do not feed horses 100% alfalfa but in a special case like this it can be the best feed.  Do not be in a hurry to get weight back on him too fast that is just as dangerous.  If he is as emaciated as you say he may not be able to get up purely because he is too weak.

I can not stress enough that you need to call your vet who I imagine will put him on IV fluids and may also feed him with an IV too.  I know that vets are an expense but if you do not call your vet and your pony is in as bad shape as you say, you need to realize that he may die.  The internal systems of the horse start to run into problems very quickly if the horse isn't eating and drinking properly or is spending too much time down.  The longer you wait the less your vet will be able to do for him.

Please call a vet!
Good luck.

Clair Thunes, PhD.
Independent Equine Nutritionist,
Equilibrate Equine Consulting.
info@equilibrateequine.com
www.equilibrateequine.com