Foal Teeth

foal teeth

What would cause mare not to gain weight ?

She is a 8 year old reg. Belgian mare. Her foal was weaned at 3 months due to the mares lack of weight. Her weight was good before she gave birth to the foal. The foal has been off of her for three weeks now and still no improvement.
Her teeth have been checked, she has been wormed appropriately.
She has had more than enough to eat.
This is not my horse, but have been offered to have her given to me if I want to have the vet work with her to see what is wrong with her, (if they can find anything). I do not have unlimited funds, but would love to be able to help this mare.
So I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about her that I or the owner have not covered besides a lot of blood tests.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
She is out on pasture (knee deep), at lest for the last 3 weeks she has been. I can’t say what she was feed before that.
(She is not my horse, yet).

emerald; I am truly sorry for you loss, I know exactly how you feel.

Does…or did the mare have access to oak trees?

I had same problem with no weight gain even with double feed rations and hay ALL the time. Horse became addicted to the acorns. When those were gone…he ate the bark, leaves, and any branches that could be reached. Took about 4 months after getting him away from trees…to replace the weight. This also caused the coat to look dull and rough….and it really caused a weight problem.

Thinking ulcers too…

**edit…barring medical like ulcers…I used beetpulp, rice bran, and alfalfa pellets to put the weight back on…along with the hay. I didn’t use grains or supplements…and he came back beautifully. And the above mix wasn’t as expensive as graining them. Around $30 for a month’s worth of feed.

Research Reveals Origin of a Foal Killer / Dealing with Drought: 9 Ways to Protect Your Horse / What Makes Horses Grumpy? / Tooth Sleuthing / The Unlikely Recovery of Two Stolen Standardbreds (Equus, Issue 323, September 2004) …

A Treatise On The Teeth Of The Horse, Shewing Its Age By The Changes The Teeth Undergo, From A Foal Up To Twenty-Three Years Old, Especially After The Eighth Year $22.45 Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork….

Other articles you might like;

• Training A Foal
• Gallop And Ride Foal Training
• Foal Halter Training
• Foal Turnout Rugs