This rain is ridiculous! Foxy is going to either float away or get stuck in the mud. The mud is downright ridiculous.......if she stands in the spot by the back porch to eat, she is so deep I can't even see her hooves! That is ridiculous! It is less clay there and more manure dirt mud.....which is actually a lot better for her. Not that standing in manure nastiness is better, but the regular clay mud is like damn quicksand.
I have actually start looking for temporary boarding for a couple weeks to get past this weather. It is supposed to rain another 5 days, 2 days without and then start raining again. It has POURED tonight. I keep thinking at some point, since I live on a hill, the water has to start just running away since it is so deep....but I don't know, it is just nastier and nastier.
I have started Foxy back on beet pulp, but rinsing to get the molasses off. Beet Pulp itself should not be bad for her. I have kept her off the Triple Crown Complete as that may have been part of the issue. I did take the partial fence down, so as long as she can stand in her huge ankle deep mud/manure puddle/pile, she is relatively calm. I had fenced her out of it to keep her in the dry area but with this weather there is NO dry or mudfree area. Literally, me walking across the yard creates mud. It is like soup out there. We were getting 2 inches a day last week and this week may not be as bad but it is still quite a bit, I think.
I am going to have to stick her in the shed again one night, just to give her feet and legs some time to dry...even if only for an hour! I'll just have to stay out there with her. She also needs some time to lay down, too bad she refuses to lay down out there. I don't doubt that damn white leg will have scratches again, with all this wetness and mud. It took months to get rid of last time (and that was in dry southern california).
That is about it! I found some better bales left from one of the first loads I bought, so am feeding that instead. That should help with the weight too. I am just keeping her hay tub full.
Her new waterproof turnout is....not! I had to switch it out for her thick blanket that keeps her dry.....she kept shaking like a dog and I couldn't figure out why...then realized it was because she was soaked even underneath. Damn it. So switched her out and she is just having to wear her thick blanket in this warmer weather. She has almost no winter coat and with all this rain her neck and head and legs are soaked, so I think she will be okay with the thicker blanket. Shame she won't go in her shelter and stay there! That would totally solve these problems. Matted graveled shelter......versus nasty muddy mess.
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3 comments:
When her lighter blanket dries out get some Camp Dri and spray the entire outside. It will renew the waterproofness. It is scotchguard X10 and that should help.
Have you looked into SafeChoice by Nutrina It is made for horses that need less carbs, so it is lower in sugars. Triple Crown also makes a Low Starch feed. That may work for her, and Uckele Horse Health has a oil that my vet suggests for putting weight on a horse with out adding hype. Cocosoya Oil, will add the fat back into her diet without making her hot.
Looks like plan "B" is going to have to be put into action sooner than I thought. If your farrier thought she had dropped weight I'd be taking notice of that. The wet and cold won't be helping either. The feeds suggested yesterday and today sound as if they will do the trick without hotting her up too much.
It worries me slightly that she hasn't finished her hay up, has she had her teeth floated recently ? She may have some hooks on her molars which are preventing her from eating properly.
Ideally she will need 2 turnout rugs so you can dry one of them off, you may also need to put another rug under the turnout to keep her warm (I use a Dress Circle Sherpa fleece from UK ebay, its wonderful), she will lose more weight if she is cold.
I haven't been able to find SafeChoice locally unfortunately. I have upped her beet pulp a bit and will continue to up it daily. I have started rinsing it as well, to get any molasses off.
Her weight loss is pretty obvious.....she has perked up a bit since I have returned her to the area I fenced off originally. She just really enjoys being able to stand at the front fence by the road and to come to the back porch and stick her head over the railing.
I am less worried about her not finishing her hay as I am giving her all she can eat so if it gets low I fill it up. 40-50lb bales, so I don't expect her to eat an entire bale a day. but I think she is near the 30lb range? Hard to say right now....
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