[JBandRio]

Ok, if distillers grain products are really in the 25-30% protein range, then 14lb of that a day is toooo much. Beetpulp and alfalfa are not nearly that high - half that at best.

[2manypetz]

I forgot to add you might want to have a fecal done, some wormers do not get tape worms, make sure he does not have them, or just get the good expensive wormer that will get tapes, you will need to read boxes.

[JBandRio]

Fecals are notoriously bad at detecting tapeworms.

I would go with a pretty aggressive deworming program, once past the initial "let's not kill him" deworming. This for me would for sure include the Power Pack followed fairly closely (ie not waiting 8 weeks) with either a strong dose of Anthelcide (ie 1.5 the "normal" dose), or Equimax (for the tapes, as well as what ivermectin does) or a double dose of pyrantel pamoate (ie Strongid paste, or TApecare Plus) for the tapes.

[lawfilly99]

i bought a tb from a rescue last may who was a minimum of 200 lbs underweight. She had a totally matted full winter coat. It did not shed out until well into june. His body is delaying shedding because of the lack of fat and meat on his bones. It is self preservation. I would not clip him and just have some patience. Remember, nutritionally his body says his coat comes last. He may not have devolped the summer coat yet. The other battle I had was thrush...again because nutritionally things are low man on the totem pole. I have mine on triple crown complete which is beet pulp based with fats and other things added. It did wonders for her weight and coat (the vet has complemented her coat on several occasions) and the feed was nice in that she is getting calories without getting the extra rambucshousnous (sp) some feeds cause. you may want to rty this for the next couple of months and then wean him back to what you are using. triple crown is a high fiber, low carb high fat concentration. it is pelleted and can be wet down. i think there is a lot less chance of colic with high amounts of beet pulp than other feeds.

[SunRock Sage]

May I ask where you got the first info? It is correct so I am not trying to argue at all. We ARE supplementing minerals especially calcium.

My grandfather is doing the research with the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is in ruminant nutrition but has worked up the numbers with some of his associates on the horse side of it. Gotta love him. I haven't specifically asked him about Jordan. I am planning to do the wormer. Not sure what exactly. I am still a little confused by all the names and types. I just need to go over this thread when I am a little more awake and write some stuff down.

Thank you all. This is all so very educational and I can't wait to show off pics of my TB when he is all sleek and healthy.

[shaiarabs]

Originally Posted by SunRock Sage

I have a horse that I rescued 2 weeks ago that isn't shedding at all and his hair is really long and shaggy looking. Looks don't really matter to me but I want to make sure that he is gettting what he needs.

Jordan is a 9 yr old TB gelding. He was really starved and has probably gained 150-200lbs in the last couple weeks. He gets 7lbs of distillers grain 2x a day, salt/mineral and calcium mixed in 1x a day. He has free choice grass hay and a sliver of alflafa. Yesterday I turned him out to pasture. He gets groomed every other day and he has tons of energy and as I said before he is gaining really well.

Is it just going to take time or should I consider clipping him to make him more comfortable? It got up to 80 degrees yesterday but is about 45 today. Love Nebraska spring

havent read all the posts

dont worry yet if the horse still isnt moving its coat in 3 months then worry....

this is a slow process, less is more if you overload with grains and goodies you will cause major health problems...

slowly lots of hay or pasture small amounts of grains.... and a good mineral suppliment

[SunRock Sage]

Something I forgot.... It seems that it is a given that he is wormy. I know that if she wasn't feeding him well that there were other areas of neglect but thin doesn't always = wormy, does it?

According to the girl that I bought him from the vet was out to check teeth and all that. Apparently they were fine and she claims that he was on a worming schedule with her other horses, which were all fat and happy. My guess is that they, the other 2 horses, were helping themselves to ALL the food. Funny that this wasn't noticed though. Anyway... don't really want to go there. I like the girl, just don't like how she was taking care of this horse.

[SunRock Sage]

Originally Posted by JBandRio

Ok, if distillers grain products are really in the 25-30% protein range, then 14lb of that a day is toooo much. Beetpulp and alfalfa are not nearly that high - half that at best.

I hear what you are saying about the high protein. I am NOT totally sure what the benefit would be to feeding him something different, that's costs more, when I could possibly feed him less of this. The question in my mind still is what does beetpulp or alfalfa offer that he isn't getting with the distillers. Again, not arguing just want to learn.

ETA: I forgot to let ya know what I wormed him with. It was some Ivermectin that I had here. I waited almost a week before I gave it to him and I brought him home on... March 30 so it was around the 6th the he got wormed. Any more specific insrtuctions on where to go from here with worming. Brand names and or what typ of worms to kill would really be helpful. Something really clear and concise. Or... I will try to read this tomorrow when I have gotten some sleep.

[Appylvr]

I didn't read everything... but just wanted to add something. If he's warm on sunny days (you said it reached 80) I would hose him off. It helps cool him off and I've found with mine hosing them helps the hair shed. I don't know if that will help him though. Mine are already starting to shed and when I hose them it helps the hair come off extra easy.

[Madick]

Originally Posted by JBandRio

then think seriously about a 5 day double dose of fenbendazole, ie a Panacur PowerPac, or another company's
Power Dose, or other methods of doing the same thing. As long as the product is a 10% fenbendazole solution, you can go with whatever works out cheaper. It's a double dose, based on the horse's weight, every day for 5 days. An alternative is moxidectin (ie Quest) - your choice.

I would never use PowerPac on a horse now that moxidectin is avaliable. PP hurts the guts in the way that we do the deworming to prevent... Moxidectin is much easier on the horses guts.

I would especially not use a PP on a horse in bad shape.