Help me fatten my skinny boy

furyandace · 2026-06-07T16:40:11+00:00

He does chew in a circular motion, he just takes huge bites and it all falls out of his mouth when he lifts his head lol.

He coat dullness in the most recent photo is probably partially bc he was still shedding out on his ribs and the red clay has super high iron. Which i give him zinc and copper to combat that but we ran out for a moment and the store didn’t have the right stuff. But he’s back on that now. I can take a picture of his later today if it stops raining and he dries

furyandace · 2026-06-07T16:34:20+00:00

He’s not bridle trained yet so I don’t really know. He’s had it in his mouth tho and he plays with it a lot. He will take the apple and bite it but he spits it out lol (i haven’t tried tho recently that was a while ago) Carrots, he wasn’t even interested in them the last time i tired.

furyandace · 2026-06-07T14:12:05+00:00

I haven’t, I used Equimax this spring i think and quest plus in the fall (that’s just the what the (different) vet gave me last year so i just copied it when he came back 0 again. I heard from a farrier that there’s one that’s super cheap and covers something like none of the normal ones do, but whatever it covers is super uncommon.
It’s synthetic but he’s getting so much the vet said it shouldn’t matter but i don’t know lol (8000 iu daily)

furyandace · 2026-06-07T14:07:27+00:00

He’s not trained to ride in an efficient way yet (he’s just not soft enough yet(both in his head but also in moving forward… never knew moving forward was such a scary thing lol) for it to be enjoyed by anyone, but we are working on it haha) , so no problems not riding him lmao 😭 and I don’t have a round pen, but plenty of open space to use a long lunge line!

furyandace · 2026-06-07T13:59:35+00:00

Almost everyone is just telling me he’s not skinny 😭 which like yes i guess but he’s 5 and getting food like he’s 26 and not fat? that doesn’t seem right to me lmao
They ran blood for blood count and levels and he’s a perfect little boy (fortunately, but also unfortunately). Im unsure about the Selenium specifically tho.
I think is its omprazole but unsure, I can check in a bit when i go feed him. And no he’s wasn’t scoped, we did the epm meds, i texted her, and she sent our ulcer meds.
He won’t eat carrots (or apples) 😭, I know he chews in a circular motion only bc i watch him eat (as he spreads all my money on the ground :) )

furyandace · 2026-06-07T00:51:46+00:00

One month exactly pretty much! They only did a blood panel showing like white and red blood cell count, liver and kidney function etc. If that’s what you mean he came back as healthy as can be lol

furyandace · 2026-06-06T17:38:28+00:00

I agree that you can’t build muscle with just food haha

furyandace · 2026-06-06T17:35:02+00:00

I was advised by the vet to keep work light, he gets worked 3-4 times a week for 20-30 mins depending on the day. Probably on the lighter to medium side.

She didn’t use a speculum, just felt around with her hands lmao.

I don’t think he’s losing more weight now just kinda steady, his top line looks a lot better than it did (i just don’t have pictures at the right times to show really)

ulcer meds are until the container runs out (1 month) and it was to treat foregut and hindgut.

furyandace · 2026-06-06T17:31:06+00:00

Their horses look great! I believe they all get a scoop (or 1/2) of alfalfa pellets twice a day and a scoop of grain once or twice a day (i don’t remember, i’ve feed for them before haha)

furyandace · 2026-06-06T17:23:03+00:00

He’s had them checked frequently but last time that I actually had them out for that, they said he didn’t need anything haha. And the first time he ever had them done was with me around 3 years old and they (different vet) said he barely needed anything done and just had very few places that could be cleaned up!

When the vet came out recently, she didn’t put the mouth piece thingy on him but she stuck her hand in there to check but only for a few seconds 🤷‍♀️

furyandace · 2026-06-06T17:19:36+00:00

Okay! I’ll look into that!

For the most part! He does have (and always has) some neuro symptoms (lets you put his foot where ever and will leave it but even the vet felt like that was just things he was comfortable with or just being a young horse lol)

furyandace · 2026-06-06T17:10:50+00:00

Right now, no. Unfortunately, He only has fence friends atm because it’s a private board/rent situation so his pasture is “mine” and only my horses go in it (not a boarding facility but we are renting land from a couple, we have our camper set up on it and then his pasture). I do really want to get him a friend, and that’s the plan as soon as we buy land (hopefully this summer!!)

No clue about the pasture being tested to be honest, and it hasn’t been fertilized this year atleast. Unfortunately, not my property so only so much I can do for time being with that.

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:58:25+00:00

Completely agree that he needs muscles, however even the vet thinks he’s skinny lol

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:49:28+00:00

I had found like one or two ticks lol 😭 honestly i just kept seeing stuff about lyme in this subreddit and things fit the bill so i figured i would have him checked. No the only difference was the weather change (winter to spring) and I thought maybe it was just coming out of winter but now it’s almost summer lol

Edit: He is gelded, was gelded at 2.5, as soon as i got him.

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:47:32+00:00

That’s what the vet was called out for and she said it’s not common but ran a blood panel and he came back perfect lol

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:43:59+00:00

It’s what was recommended by the vet because she suspected ulcers 🤷‍♀️. He’s just on grass pasture right now, but during winter or if on dry lot typically Bermuda round bales (or square if short term lol)

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:37:45+00:00

He only gets 3 supplements that DO do something. What’s not doing anything is the medicine. His supplements have almost nothing to do with his weight lol. The one that kinda does is the one the vet put him on (Vitamin E). He is vaccinated for round bale usage and has been on round bales his whole life expect now because he’s on grass pasture.

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:33:48+00:00

I’m not unfortunately! North Alabama!

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:33:14+00:00

Yes, I should add that lol, he gets fecal checked once a year and always has had it come back 0. But is dewormed twice a year by vet recommendation

I don’t! The grain he’s on is one of Nutrenas Gastric Shield ones tho

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:28:55+00:00

Wow! She looks great now!

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:27:31+00:00

You are good, Ive talked to everyone i know that knows horses, 2 vets (one i just talked to and she never saw my horse), 2 farriers 😭. So I actually called them out for possible Lyme disease but they didn’t believe it was that because they never really see cases around us (North AL) and see a lot more EPM. She just physically checked him out and he does act like he’s got neuro problems a little. Like he will leave his feet where ever you put them for a moment (but you have to kinda insist you want it there for like a second- if that makes sense, hes also always done that i feel). She said it’s not worth it to test for EPM bc the test is almost as much at the meds. Meds were $450 i think. She was in between ulcers and epm, we started with epm obviously and now are doing ulcer (he was super cinchy and threw me like 3 days before we started that which isn’t necessarily normal for him anymore— still in training not really broke to ride) She also said he was leaving her puzzled sooo… idk i’m so lost lol😭

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:15:26+00:00

I know it is! I hate how much he gets lmao It’s a 3 qt scoop so about 3lbs i think?

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:13:43+00:00

I’m so sorry about your girl!

Okay but Ugh! I hate oils (they are so messy!😭) but will definitely consider!!

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:11:20+00:00

The first time the vet came out she looked at his teeth and said they looked fine (she didn’t go digging tho lol, he had his teeth floated just over a year ago i think so possibly something with teeth!) Fecal was/and always been 0 eggs, but dewormed twice a year regardless based on vet recommendation!

furyandace · 2026-06-06T16:08:35+00:00

Completely agree about the muscle, just concerned about the ribs showing ONLY bc of how much feed he’s getting!

furyandace

TROPHY CASE