Weight loss in older horse

[Doc-t]

I enjoyed our phone call yesterday. You noted that the BCS was misrepresented here and should have been a 3 to 4.

The first question we did not discuss was why do you think he started to lose weight 3 years ago when before that he was an “easy keeper?” While a worse case scenario would include a disease, a more likely cause could be the effects of chronic inflammation from feeding inflammatory ingredients. The “easy keeper” becomes harder to keep body fat due to a reason I cannot fully understand. However whenever a horse loses body fat, the first thing seen is the lost muscle. I think this is where I 1st saw him and recommended the SBM.

In our phone call you said he was now being fed 2 cups twice a day which is a little less than 2 pounds (for most SBM it is about 2 ½ cups per pound). He is 1400 pounds which means the goal is 700 to 1400 G protein per pound body weight. His full access to pasture and hay should be 1.5% to 2% of body weight (21 to 28 pounds). At 10% protein, = 2.1 to 2.8 pounds protein. But with a bioavailability of 50%, this becomes 1.05 to 1.4 pounds. Converted to grams, this becomes 476g to 635g. 2 things: with pasture / hay he is still under his minimum goal of 700g AND this protein does not have all the essential amino acids.

1 pound of SBM = 174g of high quality protein (all the EAA’s). Adding 1.82 pounds of SBM (4 cups assuming 1lb = 2.5c) gives 317g protein. Added to the hay/pasture then the total protein intake per day becomes 793g to 952g. This is good.

His daily requirements for fuel consumption are being met with the ketones produced by the gut bacteria from the cellulose of hay and winter pasture. The added sugar from the hay may not be enough to turn of the use of body fat so he continues to lose that.

Our plan is to allow him free access to pasture to increase the glucose intake which in turn will add body fat. Then as winter approaches, add some Coolstance as a non-inflammatory fat source for him to maintain his summer weight throughout winter. As winter progresses we will try to keep ahead of body fat loss with the addition of some whole cleaned oats to “top off the tank” until spring come ’round again.

[User1630099143]

Hi Doc T. Update on Ben. It took me a while into spring to recognize that Ben was not shedding his winter coat. This has never happened before. In some areas of his body (withers, along spine) I actually pulled it off in clumps and in other areas (chest, neck, legs) I can not shed it out even with my manual attempts. He continues to drop weight and looks pretty thin at this point.

He is eating and drinking well, pooping, good mood and very sweet. He’s clearly not in any pain and seems to be enjoying his days of grazing and hanging out with his buddy. He does not seem to lying down frequently as I had observed a few months ago. Basically, his behavior seems good and normal. He’s just skinny with long hair.

I had a fecal egg count done which came back quite high-which was a surprise to me. I’m addressing that with herbal anti-parasitics.

My thoughts/concerns…

a)I don’t have much confidence in the Cushing’s blood test and don’t know I need a formal diagnosis anyway.

b)I have mixed feelings about giving Pergolide due to my feelings of pharmaceuticals as well as reviews from others who say it actually made their horses worse. (Not trying to get ahead of myself, just thinking out loud about what the vets will recommend.)

c)I really just want Ben to live his life out happily and normally-100% quality over quantity for me- IOW I’m not going to keep him alive on a small dry lot for example.

Any thoughts on other things that might be going on and if what the purpose of calling in a vet might be? If there is a purpose/advantage I will certainly call one but I want to have questions and goals before I do that.

Thank you for any thoughts!

Chris

[Doc-t]

Chris – Any changes with Ben with the warmer weather and better grass?

I can understand any hesitation with diagnosing and treating when there is a lack of confidence in vet care or “the system.” However, until making the diagnosis, it is hard to shoot in the dark.

Shedding a lot of parasite eggs is interesting (FEG or fecal egg count). Did you test the other horse? Have you tested the FEG in the past, either in spring or at any different season? Some parasitologists believe that shedding is a natural event and that screening for a shedding horse doesn’t correlate with a horse with a disease. Interesting. With your closed herd, it is safe to assume that your horses have been carrying a parasite population all along. Herbal remedies are not effective. The only “natural” approach to ridding the parasites is to pick up all the piles regularly, at least every 3rd day and throughout the year.

I agree with your doubt about the test for Cushing’s disease, as this is confusing. It varies with the time of year. Pergolide treatment has some side effects that don’t harm the horse, but it is effective in reversing the cortisol levels in horses. However, it doesn’t treat the root cause, the underlying metabolic syndrome, believed to be the cause in humans but may be associated in horses. While often confused with insulin resistance (IR), Cushing’s disease is not IR. However, decreasing dietary sugar decreases signs of metabolic syndrome in humans and horses. Also, horses reduce their need for Pergolide, according to horse owners working with their veterinarians on this issue.

One of the most obvious questions is whether Ben’s age is accurate. His chronic weight loss, despite your great care, usually indicates an underlying condition. Add to this the high egg count and lack of shedding, and you will need to look elsewhere from just a diet as a cause of the weight loss. However, a horse nearing the end of life does fit the bill. If this is so, and with winter coming in 6 months, you will need to adjust what you feed him so he can do well in the future, including providing extra calories.

Adding Coolstance adds calories and avoids starch, but adding starch isn’t bad if there is body fat loss. Excess daily glucose creates body fat, so adding some whole grains without byproducts may be needed in Ben’s situation. De-hulled oats (race horse oats) and corn are traditional grains and, when used for this purpose, should be OK as long as you don’t let him get too fat. Gut inflammation should be minimum, but you can keep an eye on that (behavior, squirts, gas, acting uncomfortable, etc.). I would consider this before winter but after seeing how the summer grass affects him. Continue the SBM as all horses still need high-quality protein in their diets.