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The tack room

Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

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Original poster

So, in a moment of weakness, I decided that ....

26 replies

itsthawooluff · 16/12/2012 20:38

..... what I needed in my life was a 12'2" hairy Dartmoor pony who rides (but obviously not me - I mean I'd squash the poor beast) and drives.

So reader, I brought it home, and it is a sweet little thing, but because of a story too long and predictable to repeat, it is 1) covered in lice 2) full of worms and 3) is very, very gaunt underneath all the hair with protruding hip bones.

I've deloused, and wormed, but wondered if anyone had any words of wisdom on returning it to decent condition without turning it into a barrel on stubby legs.

OP posts:

gondolo · 16/12/2012 21:00

I would take a vets advice. Something like dengie 'healthy hoof' (not too laminitis-inducing)? Blue Chip seems to be good - expensive though!
Good Luck!

Annewilkinson · 16/12/2012 21:14

I don't have any expertise to pass on but just wanted to say good luck :o

Kormachameleon · 16/12/2012 21:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lidlqueen · 16/12/2012 21:16

just non-stop forage really, ad lib hay or haylage.....

Original poster

itsthawooluff · 16/12/2012 21:23

Thank you all - he has been stuffing his poor little face on haylage so far, good job I bought a load in.

OP posts:

Eve · 17/12/2012 10:40

fast fibre is excellent as is calm and condition from Allen and page.

I've been adding linseed to my veteran's feed this year and he's in really good shape this winter with a lovely coat and a nice covering.

Callisto · 17/12/2012 11:02

Make sure he has access to a mineral lick too.

And why can't you ride him? Dartmoors were originally bred to carry big fat farmers around, they are very strong.

cq · 17/12/2012 11:07

Awwww what a lucky pony. He's having the best Christmas ever! I bet he'll turn out to be a little smasher. If you're in the south Oxon/Berks area and need a groom once you start driving, I'm home all week

SantaKissedBonkeyMollocks · 17/12/2012 11:12

I cannot recommend Alpha A oil more for conditioning!

And I ride my shetland - why can't you hop on!

Bet you'd look a damn sight less stupid than I do with my feet 5 inches of the floor!

Booboostoo · 17/12/2012 12:00

Talk to a rescue centre, they should be able to advise on building him up safely.

Good luck with him, he sounds lucky to have found a good home!

aamia · 17/12/2012 12:30

Lots and lots of forage is the key. Good luck!

CMOTDibbler · 17/12/2012 12:58

So, will we see you offering carriage rides locally? I saw someone on Preloved selling a little cart recently

frostyfingers · 17/12/2012 13:08

Be wary of the sugar in haylage - it may be too much. I'm using D&H Safe & Sound which is well balanced, but it's probably worth having a chat to the vet about building him up slowly and not overloading his system. Hat's off to you for rescuing him!

rogersmellyonthetelly · 17/12/2012 16:38

Agree with others, forage based feeds, avoid sugar (would go for good quality ad lib hay for now rather than haylage, it might be too rich given he's not had much in the way of grub prior to coming to you)
Speedi beet rather than molassed beet, a chop with oil in it for condition and possibly some nuts but as low cereal as you can get it for now. See how he goes on that and increase/decrease as required. You want to be heading into spring on the thin side of good condition or you will end up with a tub of lard by may (and possibly a laminitic one at that)
Check his feet for rings to see if there's any sign of previous laminitis attacks too, just so you know in advance if hes prone to it.
Slow and steady weight gain is better than piling a load of weight on all at once.

Original poster

itsthawooluff · 17/12/2012 19:15

Thank you all so much for your words of wisdom!

I'll give the vet a call tomorrow. So this evening he had a quite small haylage net (about a third of a medium sized net) but stuffed quite compactly and 2/3 scoop of Happy Hoof. He has been cutting the grass for us grazing on the lawn during the day.

I was a bit worried about slight colic post worming, with such a high worm burden, and he's not quite as frantic to graze as he was on Sunday, but he still seemed to manage his Happy Hoof and carrot batons OK.

Feet look clear and very neat, and he has lovely clean little legs.

CMOT and cq - I will own up to looking on the British Driving Society website and a little daydream about a smart little equipage and a lovely hat....................

OP posts:

CMOTDibbler · 17/12/2012 19:33

Obv not the priority right now, but this looks nice. And you would so suit the hat

50BalesOfHay · 17/12/2012 20:20

Our skinny but laminitis prone old pony keeps really good condition on Equi Jewel, it's fantastic, high fibre, high oil, low sugar and starch and very dense so you only really need a mugful a day to make a difference.

I love darties, can't wait to see some pics

Original poster

itsthawooluff · 17/12/2012 21:49

CMOT, just for interest, we've decided to call him "Binky" {snurk} - apparently he was originally Derek (Derek - I ask you) then Boycie (which is slightly better, but DDs hated).

OP posts:

CatPussRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 17/12/2012 22:19

I'd just turn him out to grass. If he is in at night, just hay. You dont want him to suddenly rocket. And you dont want to suddenly start feeding hard feed and shock his system. If you must feed, just a little chaff and a few nuts. Once he is a little better, get him doing some exercise to help build muscle. Muscle is better than fat.
Hard as it is, don't let him get too heavy before spring.

CMOTDibbler · 18/12/2012 07:44

I love Binky as a name

CatPussRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 18/12/2012 09:19

You do know that Binky is the Grim Reapers horse in Terry Pratchett!he was a real horse be ause the flaming skeleton horse kept burning down the stable!

ponymaloney · 18/12/2012 10:46

I second alfa oil and it's good for laminitis, in fact sunflower oil is almost as good and no sugar or starch but lots of calories

cq · 18/12/2012 17:44

itsthawooluff - I have a trap that's gathering dust in my garage that you can have if you're interested. It was built for my shetland but was a bit too big for him. Never kept the harness though.

Original poster

itsthawooluff · 21/12/2012 16:51

CQ - thank you very much for the kind offer. Would you be able to PM me with a photo (and how much you would like for it) please?

OP posts:

Zazzles007 · 21/12/2012 20:32

Hi there OP, don't forget to get a good equine dentist to do his teeth, as they probably haven't had any attention in a while. With all that food you are putting into him, you want to be sure that he can chew it well.

Also, I don't know if its been mentioned, but since you are in winter over there, a decent heavy weight, waterproof rug will help him hold onto those calories. The conventional wisdom is that 1 decent rug = 1 good feed, and is especially important to a underweight horse in the colder months. There are plenty of second hand deals on ebay if you are concerned about cost. If you're against rugging, please feel free to ignore.

If he is really that thin, another option is getting a steriod injection for him as well. If you are having the vet to him in the near future, then ask the vet about it then. It will help him pack on the pounds in a faster fashion and will make better use of the food he's eating, esp during winter. I had a chronically thin and older TB who got a steriod injection once every 10-12 months. You may only need one to kick start the fattening process. Be warned though, it may make him feisty, as they feel rather good on steriods .

Hope this helps

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