weight gain

Question
my mare is 25 yr an ive had trouble keeping weight on her this year, shes being wormed at the weekend , and im feeding her molli calmer,economy mix in place of 16plus,barley plus and speedybeet, does this sound ok

Answer
Dear Elaine,
I am not familiar with Molli calmer are you in England? It sounds like Mollichaff that we fed when I was a kid in England (I'm now in the US and less familiar with the UK feeds).  Older horses are less efficient at utilizing their nutrients so often need more calories to maintain weight compared to what they needed when they were younger.  It sounds like this is a new issue this year which makes me wonder whether your mare may have something going on that hasn't been an issue before additional to her age.  Cushings disease is fairly common in older horses even when they don't show the typical lack of shedding that typifies the disease.  Cushings horses have a hard time maintaining weight and unless the disease is addressed nothing you do will help very much.  Is she loosing top line, not shedding as well as in the past, have fat deposits above her eyes? If I were you I would have my vet come out and take a blood sample and test her ACTH levels which will tell you if she is cushings.  ACTH is elevated in horses with cushings.  There is a problem though that the levels rise naturally in the autumn so it can sometimes be hard to distinguish whether it is a seasonal high or really high.  But by now the seasonal rise should be disappearing.

My other question is why have you changed feed?  Was she loosing weight on the barley plus and speedybeet?  To be able to help you further I need to know how big your mare is her breed, what if anything you do with her, how much hay if any she gets and the amounts of what you are feeding.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Clair