Question
When I moved my filly to a new barn, she wasn’t finishing her hay or grain. That problem resolved itself with time. Now, even though she’s eating everything offered, she’s losing weight. Background: the filly retired from racing in November after a fracture to her long pastern bone. The fracture healed but lingering arthritis causes soundness problems. She was diagnosed with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) before she left the track, and she hasn’t been treated for that in a while. Her hooves are in good shape. Though timid around other horses, she is always pleasant, and when sound she is eager to work. The filly’s coat is somewhat healthy; she is occasionally afflicted with a skin condition presumably caused by her weakened immune system. Diet: hay in field during the day; a few flakes of grass hay in her stall at night; a pound of balancer pellet. I’d like her to put on some weight and maintain soundness. Any ideas?
Answer
From the information you have provided, it does sound like the current management (environment and diet) for your filly is not providing her the calories she needs to maintain her weight and condition. Several factors could be contributing to her weight loss.
Because she is a low-ranking horse in the herd, she may not be getting all the hay that is offered to her. Additionally, EPM can lead to both muscle and weight loss, and pain associated with arthritis can also cause weight loss or prevent weight gain.
First, I would recommend feeding your filly more hay when she is stalled individually overnight so you can be sure she is consuming it all. Offering alfalfa (lucerne) hay provides more calories per pound than typical grass hay or grass mixes, but at this point she will benefit just from an increase in hay. The forage goal would be to offer her free-choice hay or at least 1.5-2.0% of her target body weight (1,250 lb or 570 kg), so daily hay intake would be 19-25 lb (9-11 kg) per day.
Green grass is a great source of calories for horses. If pasture availability is limited, hand-grazing her on good-quality grass may also offer her a boost. Grass contains high levels of vitamin E, an important antioxidant needed for proper immunity and neuromuscular function.
The ration balancer you’re feeding her provides vitamins and minerals, but this is a low-calorie feed designed to be fed at a low daily intake for horses that are easy keepers or for supplementing an unfortified diet.
You should consider switching to a fortified concentrate that will give her more calories for weight gain or adding more calories to the diet via a fat source. Stabilized rice bran is the perfect way to add more calories to the ration without the risk of behavioral changes. The high-fat nature of stabilized rice bran produces slow-release energy. Just 500 g (1.1 lb) of stabilized rice bran is equivalent to 1 cup of vegetable oil in terms of energy, without the mess and palatability problems of oil. It makes a great alternative to the traditional fat supplements. In addition, fat in stabilized rice bran contains gamma oryzanol, which may help to build muscle.
Directions for feeding should be followed closely. Weight gain requires significantly more calories than weight maintenance. Because of this, you should probably feed at the upper end of the feeding range provided by the manufacturer, though no single grain meal should exceed about 5 lb (2.25 kg). Divide the total daily grain into two or three meals, whichever is necessary to keep meal size small.
In conjunction with the medication for EPM, providing a daily vitamin E supplement can help support proper neuromuscular function, improve clinical signs, and strengthen immune function. Nano-E has proven superior bioavailability over other forms of vitamin E because it is a water-soluble form of natural-source vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol) that is rapidly absorbed into the tissues.
The essential omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are also great immune-strengthening molecules. Anti-inflammatory properties can also help reduce joint inflammation and may reduce joint pain. Feeding a marine-derived source of omega-3s, such as EO-3, provides a concentrated source of EPA and DHA compared to plant-based sources, so this one supplement can offer support to several areas of concern: joint health, immunity, and skin problems such as rainrot and hives.
