I'm Susan Fine, I have been here since IHO days.  My daughter is grown now with a family of her own and a career as an advanced practice nurse with the Springfield Clinic trauma team.  I am still working-have a desk job now as a utilization review nurse, and my daughter and I work at the same hospital.  I moved from Mt Pulaski IL to Middletown IL over 9 yrs ago downsizing my home to a single level 2 br ranch and my equine population to 2.  My daughter's horse passed away about a yr after I moved so my buddy Cheyenne is the only horse left.  I am happily divorced since 2005.  I am so happy to see this forum come back!  Face book is fine for keeping track of friends and family, but it seems that every page I like becomes a sale page.

Yeah, I think she's in pretty good shape now. We use the same farrier as the previous owner, and he thinks she is doing a lot better. They never even fed her horse food. Just hay, and a mix of oats and corn....and doughnuts. LOL.

Thanks for the info about being inside. She has been inside all week, and I think she's going a little stir crazy. Its supposed to be super cold again this weekend, but I already thought I'd open her door for a bit and see if she goes out. The snow is pretty deep too, so we'll see how it goes.

I think she is about 900lbs. For some reason I was thinking she needed about 15 lbs of hay per day. So I wasnt too far off if 20% is 18lbs. Does the horse food count too? She gets about 6-7 lbs a day of the Nutrena Senior/Senior Pro mixed.

Here's a short clip of her in the barn with her coat on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fabWzGCTVRY

She's definitely looking better!

No, she shouldn't be staying in. I know it feels unbearably cold to us but it's not to them, especially if they have a shelter and hay. If you can keep the door open to go in and out, keep doing that. It's best to let them have access outside and give them a choice.

As far as hay, she should be getting probably close to 25-30lbs per day, without knowing what she weighs. All horses should be eating approx 20% of their body weight in hay or grass (or combination of)  per day. In cold times like this, free choice hay is best. I know it always seems like a waste but that is the basis of her diet and keeps digestive issues like colic at bay. Fermentation of the long stem fiber is also how they generate body heat, so it's super important in winter.

Cozmo, where do you live? If you are close to me, I'd be happy to stop by one day and help you. It sounds like you really are trying your best but don't have much info. I'd love to help you!

OK, thanks a lot. I've had a blanket on her all weekend. But she is completely inside, and 100% out of the wind. Up until this past week or so I'd leave her door open so she could get out to the paddock area. She'd be in and out all day. But I figured when its below 20 it would be better to keep the door closed and keep as much warmth in as possible. So you think that I'd be better off with no blanket if she is inside 100% of the time? I've never noticed her shivering.

She doesn't have 100% free hay, but pretty close. I have a hay net I fill a few times a day, but otherwise if I just leave it on the floor, it gets mixed in with the poop too, and it seemed like I was throwing a lot of hay in the garbage. She goes through about 2 bales a week.

Here she is after losing a little weight.

Space heaters in a barn are not a good idea. Does she have shelter from the wind? If so, that and free choice hay is really all that's needed for a horse to keep warm. Hay digestion is how they generate internal body heat. It is the most important part of their diet.

The problem with Cushing's horses is they have disruption in body temp regulation. Keep a close eye and only blanket if she has no way to get out of the wind or appears to be shivering. Never allow a blanket to stay on of she's sweating or the blanket is wet.

Hi,

So this is will be a thread where I ask a lot of questions. This is our horse, Sarah. She is 24ish years old, and we just took over caring for her last year. She was fat, but I didnt realize it at the time. The PO fed her all kinds of crap, and the realtor that sold the house told us she regularly gave her a dozen Dunkin Doughnut holes as a treat.

Its going to get really cold this weekend. How do you know when to put a jacket on the horse? We have a bunch of them, and last year it we'd put on on her, and she'd roll around on the ground as if she didn't like it. I put one on yesterday, then she was out in the snow all day, and was soaking wet. Should I leave it on her overnight? She has a barn she sleeps in, and the PO has a few space heaters laying around.

How cold would it need to be to need a space heater? Would it really help in a barn?

 

I don't know if this is a feature you can turn off on the backend or not, but it looks like I have the ability to edit and modify anyone's post, and I imagine we all have that feature {insert evil grin}. 

Also, I tried to send this via PM but when I click on your profile, it says "you can't just view anyone's profile" and there's no link for PMs.

Ditto!   How did I not know this?   How long have you been in FLA?

Sarah, I think you can only do it one way...


Paste the web address, where the picture is located then  surround it by   [ img ]   [ /img ]


(No spaces around the endcaps    [   ] 's)

I’m back!!!! But I had to create a new account??? So I lost all my stats.        Still riding Win the Wonder Pony.   Down to just one big dog, one house cat, 4 barn cats and one horse.  Still have the hubby, but DD is at college.