Weight loss in this horse?

I went to look at a horse today, and she was a great horse, but she was skinny (some of her ribs showed). This horse has a big pasture with about 10 other horses who are all gorgeous and very healthy. She is very active (a former endurance horse) and shows no signs of sickness (no dull eyes, running nose, diharrea etc.), but she has not had her teeth checked in a long time. Another thing is that the horse doesn't get grain. I looked in the internet for possibilities for her weight loss, but I was wondering if anybody has any idea of what's going on. I can't get her checked out by a vet, so could you give me some ways to "diagnose" her visually? Thanks!

Weight loss in this horse?
Be sure to take a look at the horses teeth. I was also in a situation a little like yours. Even if you don't know what your looking for, surely you know healthy teeth. Make sure the horse has all of his/her teeth and the look to be normal size and not warn. Good luck!
Reply:First, never listen to what an owner tells you about a horses weight ;)





Could be teeth, you dont say the age on the horse





Could be getting run off of hay by the other horses





Could be health issues





Could be worms





Could be CHF





Could be anything





Without having a horse that is already skinny evaluated by a vet for a prepurchase, your already putting yourself up at a disadvantage. I would rather loose $200 and have a healthy horse, than loose $1000+ and bury one later.
Reply:could be cancer....what about worming?why can not a vet check her out....talk to the owner this is animal cruelty.....
Reply:She could have worms or parasites. These can be deadly. It could also possibly be stomach ulcers. Ask the owner if she deworms him or if she has any papers from previous vet checks.





Goodluck!
Reply:why would you be interested in a horse you "can't get checked out by a vet?" what? the current owner won't let you? i have an 1100 lb TB mare - some of her ribs show, too, but she eats like the proverbial horse, is wormed regularly, but she's also nearly 30 years old. could be age; could be worms; could be her teeth. is she a rescue horse? obviously you care or you wouldn't write, but most of us aren't vets so it's really hard to tell someone how to diagnose possible illness in a horse merely by saying she has a couple of ribs showing.
Reply:It could be that she is working herself more (cantering around in a field can burn a lot of calories-my mare is hard to keep weight on when she is in her 10 acre pasture w/ other horses).


If she is very active, she can also burn off calories from being ridden a lot as well.





How much do her ribs show? If they show when she is standing still- too skinny, but if they are visible when she moves- that is an in shape, active horse, and normal- they usually burn off the extra fat around their ribs when in shape.


Where do you live? The grass my area (wisconsin) gets poor this time of year as it is preparing for winter- there is less nutrients and calories, and therefore the horses have to eat more just to get the same benefit if she is not on any hay or grain. If they do get hay, what is her ranking in the herd? If she is lower, she may not get the chance to eat as much food as the others. Generally, a lower ranking horse will be skinnier.





I would say it is probably not her teeth, if you are sure the change is pretty sudden- that is usually a slow loss of food, unless she has a type of tooth infection, but it would be bugging her more (shaking head, etc).





Just a note: you say that the weight loss was sudden, but it is very hard to tell when you see your horse every day, it may have been gradual.





One more thing: is she regularly wormed on a rotation schedule? If you only use ivermectin, or whatever else, try switching types to cover a broader base of parasites/worms. A good one to use every spring and fall is Equimax, because that covers most of the parasites/worms.





If after this, she still loses weight, I would put her on some grain- her high activity level means that pasture is not enough for her and she needs some extra fat/protien. Most horses do not "need" grain, but it is a great idea for those horses that are worked hard, either by themselves or their owners.
Reply:Well what the seller said is bull because no horse would lose weight that fast that you would notice it... one of 3 things, either she's eaten up with parasites, needs her teeth floated, or is the "passive" one in the pasture so everyone else is running her around and making her take the scraps instead of the good food.





She also may have, and this is a longshot, some sort of bowel disorder that causes her to not digest her food properly.





Bottom line, pass on buying her, they're selling her for a reason, and not a good one, and the seller is lying about how she got in that condition.
Reply:NEVER buy a horse without a vet check


and Never believe everything the seller tells you
Reply:There are so many red flags on this horse deal that I don't know why you are NOT breaking speed limits AWAY from that place! All of the other horses are doing fine in the same pasture, so it isn't the care that they are being given. Were you able to move her around to see if she was in any kind of pain, because severe pain alone can cause massive weight loss. You didn't mention how old she was, do they have papers on her so that you can verify her age? It could be internal or external parasites, could be her teeth, could be that she is on her last legs...let me guess, they aren't asking much for her, right? Is the reason that you cannot have her vetted is that it would be too expensive or that the owners don't want to give you permission? If it is the latter, then that should be all that you need to know...if it is the expense, you could load her up and take her to your vet and it would be less expensive and you might even be able to pay it out. There is absolutely no sane reason why you should be buying a "pig in a poke" which is exactly what you are proposing to do. If they want to give her to you, it might not even be a good deal for you (vet bills, meds, etc) If the owners aren't more forthcoming with helpful information regarding this horse, my advice is to either have her vetted or walk away, don't look back.
Reply:Not having her teeth done could be the main culprit. Worms can also have a role in this problem. Ulcers could be an issue......Not getting grain *could* be a problem with the mare's weight, but only if she is also not getting enough grass/hay, in combination with having too much work, or possibly being a high-strung, fence-pacer horse that burns off too much excess energy.





I wouldn't listen to the owner when they say it's only been a week..... if that is true, the horse has some serious internal issue - like a heart or lung problem most likely, or severe over burdening with parasites.








If you are interested in getting her, just remember, any veterinary/dental advice you seek, you pay for. It's your bill, and you'r investing money in to a horse that you don't own, and might decide not to buy.





And, to add another note ---- if all the horses in the field other than her look fine - then why is no one investing any money into her to fix her up? Seems to me, they've decided (for whatever "bad" reason) that she's not worth the time/money/effort to make her look presentable.





Why can't you get her checked by a vet?? If you can't afford a vet check, then I suggest saving up longer until you can, and look for another horse at that time. If the seller won't let you have a vet check (or trial period), then tip your hat, say have a good day, and walk away and never think about it again.





Horses are such a MAJOR investment, and all they do is cost cost cost cost cost cost. Why buy one with issues from the start?
Reply:sounds like this guy doesn't know much about his horse, or he's not telling in case you report him, I'd say that the horse was and is sick, maybe it has a bad case of the worms also check for fly eggs, in or around the horses mouth and tail-section, it probably hasn't had the right kind of feed for awhile, in most cases your better off having a vet, check the animal out and find out the age, also check the inside of the upper lip, she should be stamped there with a number if she has raced anytime during her lifetime, other than that you might be bargaining for more than you can handle.
Reply:well it could be a lot of things it could be her teeth need to be floated-filed or has worms or could be getting beat up on by other horse or they might not be feeding her right well i hope i helped