Ok so my horse has had some weight problems the past few months. I'll just make a long story short and say I believe its a horrible horrible case of parasites. My horse was, oh, about 200 pounds underweight and it happened in a span of about 4 or 5 months. I just bought a wormer yesterday and it was once that I've never used before. Unlike my usual wormers, this one treats tapeworm. So I gave it to my horse yesterday evening and today it looked like he gained like 50 pounds over night. Granted he eats 2 pounds of grain and 6 flakes of hay every day (we increased because he's a big horse and I didn't think he was eating enough) but overnight? Really? Is it maybe my wishful thinking happening or did he have some sort of tapeworm that this thing killed in once dose? It seemed like it was a bit harder to tighten his girth today but again, my wishful thinking can sometimes go crazy.
What do you all think? Is he better?
Note-I also bought an extra wormer in case he needed another dose in a few weeks.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Also, I don't see any need for it but I'm gonna say it anyways. No rude answers please.
Actually, if it's a new wormer, he could have gotten a little bit bloated from it. That can happen sometimes, and usually isn't a big deal, just watch out for signs of pain and colic. Tapeworm could deffinately have caused his weight problems, but if he doesn't start gaining weight soon you should have a vet check him out.
Another thing .. How old is he? Sometimes geldings can get wolf teeth, two K-9 teeth that can interfear with the bit when riding, and with eating. He may need a vet to float (file down) his teeth. Almost all horses can end up with jagged edges on their teeth which can cause sores and make it painful to eat.
If he doesn't start gaining weight, then deffinately have a vet check his teeth.
He cannot have gained that much weight overnight. It sounds like he's bloated with gas or retaining water, either of which could be a side effect of the treatment. Keep any eye on him, if he is eating normally and doesn't seem to be in pain, it will probably go away on it's own.
I wouldn't say that he was 100% percent healed .. .. but I would say that he is on the mend!:)
