my horse is losing weight and i dont know why?

moving on

I have an 11 year old 15hh mare and lately i have noticed that she has become very skinny.
I can see the faint outline of her ribs and can also feel them. She lives with another smaller pony and three sheep and they are all fed together twice a day. They are fed quite large amounts of haylage and occassionally a large scoop of feed each.

Could she have got worms and this is what could be causing the weight loss?
i have only begun to notice it recently and i have had her for well over a year now?
Any advice greatly appreciated.

Alibear

I would put her on a worming regime (it should be done routinely throughout the year) and would also get her teeth checked by an equine dentist.

moving on

thanks very much:)

helibelly

Get a fecal egg count done before getting a broad spectrum wormer, so you can target the worms if they're present, and if you have any doubt, contact your equine vet.

moving on

Hi thanks, how do i go about doing that? Just collect a sample and send it off?

helibelly

There are many companies on the net that do a postal service, although I'm not sure if you can send poo overseas! Ask your vet for advice, but it usually involves talking about a yogart pot's worth of fresh stuff from the stable.

moving on

Great thanks very much :] i appreciate that

Theponylady

One big problem with doing fecals-showing no eggs in the exam does NOT mean the horse is not heavily infested with worms. It only means there are no worm eggs in the manure at that moment in time. If it DOES show worm eggs, it's helpful. But do not trust the results from fecals.

Putting your horse on a regular worm program is very very important. If the horse has not been wormed for a year, I would do a five day double dose of Panacur. That will kill quite a lot of worms, but most importantly, will kill encysted strongyles(worms that bed down in the lining of the gut, and prevent the horse from absorbing nutrients from it's feed). I wouldn't use any of the broad spectrum wormers the first time, simply because if there is a die off of too many worms too fast, it can cause colic, and even death to the horse.

After the panacur treatments, I'd move on to a regular worming program, using Ivermectin or Equest the next time.

Also, have the teeth checked by a certified equine dentist, NOT a vet(unless he's also a certified equine dentist-few are).

Ronan_Eoghan

If the weight loss has been gradual,could be due to worm infestation.Are there any other symptoms aside from the weight loss,such as dull coat,overall energy changes,laminitis,etc?