Hungry horses?

[bkwits]

My granddaughter, age 15, and I have been looking for a riding stable for her for quite awhile. She started riding at 8 and has been at a few different stables. Her last trainer quit giving lessons about a year ago. Even though she and I both live in a semi rural area (but not the same town), it has still been difficult. Some stables have closed because of the economy. Anyway we found a stable that is between my house and hers so it is convenient. I take her most of the time. She liked the trainer and she likes the fact that she gets to tack the horse and groom etc. Here's what is troubling both of us. The horse's ribs were prominent. It was a good looking horse other than that . I noticed another horse there with prominent ribs. I have never really seen this before in all the stables I have been at. Can anyone advise me about horses?

[warhorse46]

My granddaughter, age 15, and I have been looking for a riding stable for her for quite awhile. She started riding at 8 and has been at a few different stables. Her last trainer quit giving lessons about a year ago. Even though she and I both live in a semi rural area (but not the same town), it has still been difficult. Some stables have closed because of the economy. Anyway we found a stable that is between my house and hers so it is convenient. I take her most of the time. She liked the trainer and she likes the fact that she gets to tack the horse and groom etc. Here's what is troubling both of us. The horse's ribs were prominent. It was a good looking horse other than that . I noticed another horse there with prominent ribs. I have never really seen this before in all the stables I have been at. Can anyone advise me about horses?


The ribs of a horse should never be prominent. What about the hip bones? Are they sticking up? Here is a photo of a horse that I estimate to be about 250 lbs underweight.
http://tinyurl.com/ng7dka

Here is another photo of a horse I estimate to be 175 lbs underweight.
http://www.katu.com/news/6002476.html

Do the horses @ the stabel look like these? If so then the Humane Society or your county sheriff needs to be contacted.

[bkwits]

Years ago, I used to volunteer with the SPCA and took calls from the public about possible animal abuse.

A vet in town trained us what to look for in different animals, and I was struck by how truly sick horses are if they even look a little thin.

Dogs and cats can be VERY VERY thin and recover completely and quickly.

Horses, on the other hand, if you see their ribs are in dire trouble, we learned. You should only be able to see the suggestion of a ribcage - viewing actual ribs with flesh sunken in between them is a really bad sign.

Do you have a local SPCA or better yet, sheriff's animal control you can call?

Yes, I know about dogs being skinny. I adopted my Brittany from American Brittany Rescue in Feb. She only weighed 25 lbs and her ribs were showing. She was soon up to 31 lbs and now weighs about 32or 33 which the vet says is right for her. She was lethargic and never barked when I got her. Now she is a good watch and warn dog and chases birds and squirrels all over.

I will have to check about animal control. The stable is in the next county from me. Thank you. I am worried.

[bkwits]

I went back to the stable yesterday. My grdaughter likes to ride there. The horse doesn't look as bad as I remembered. His ribs do show, but his hip bones do not stick out. I asked the stable owne who is the owner of this horse, about the ribs showing. She said it is because he has been lazy and not working. Does that make any sense. The other horses look okay. There is that one other one that has ribs showing. I don't like the stable because it is ickier than most but the horses are quite nice really. We are going again next week, so I will see how it is then. My grddaughter keeps saying, it's a barn, when I complain. She was a little concerned about the ribs though.

We gave her horse some fresh shredded carrots. He loved that.

[warhorse46]

I went back to the stable yesterday. My grdaughter likes to ride there. The horse doesn't look as bad as I remembered. His ribs do show, but his hip bones do not stick out. I asked the stable owne who is the owner of this horse, about the ribs showing. She said it is because he has been lazy and not working. Does that make any sense. The other horses look okay. There is that one other one that has ribs showing. I don't like the stable because it is ickier than most but the horses are quite nice really. We are going again next week, so I will see how it is then. My grddaughter keeps saying, it's a barn, when I complain. She was a little concerned about the ribs though.

We gave her horse some fresh shredded carrots. He loved that.


That statement makes absolutely NO sense @ all. Horses, like people, will get fat & flabby if they do not exercise, they do not get skinny. I think the stable owner is trying to cover up some sloppy care.

[warhorse46]

She'll know how...my son taught me when he was 10! lol They know how to do everything!

Ask when they were last wormed & had their teeth floated too. Are they grain fed? pasture? what kind of hay?

Skinny horses break my heart....sometimes it's not a lack of food.


I agree with you, sometimes it is not the amount of feed offered to the horses but the type of feed, the wormings &/or teeth floating that can be the cause of weight loss.

[bkwits]

Thanks you all. I can see there are some horse lovers here. Now this horse isn't really what I would call skinny. He has a round belly but you can see his ribs. The stable has some fine looking horses. In fact, this horse is a nice looking paint. It may be kind of old though. I'll have to ask Kelly if she thought he was lethargic. It's just that I've never noticed horses in other stables when you can see their ribs. They are not that noticeable from a distance but up close you can see them.

Does it make a difference if it is an older horse. They have one horse (the stable girl told me the name but i forgot it) that weighs 2,000 lbs, she said. Again thanks.

[bkwits]

bkwits..You have received some very sound advice and information here..I just cant for the life of me figure out just why you need to know..Are you wanting to purchase this paint, 2000 lb rounded belly horse?..or are you concerned for its well being?...I am confused..

Sorry, to even ask, but I am just confused..

LMS:wub:

No, the paint doesn't weigh 2000 lbs. That was another horse in the stable. I forgot what breed. My granddaughter has taken two lessons here (she has been riding 7 years) at this stable. I noticed the paint which she has ridden and one other horse had ribs showing. In seven years of going to stables with her, I never had noticed horses ribs showing. I was worried about it. My grdtr likes the stable and the trainer and it is the most convenient for both of us. I am not sure if we should continue going there. That is why I am asking. :smile:

[warhorse46]

Thanks you all. I can see there are some horse lovers here. Now this horse isn't really what I would call skinny. He has a round belly but you can see his ribs. The stable has some fine looking horses. In fact, this horse is a nice looking paint. It may be kind of old though. I'll have to ask Kelly if she thought he was lethargic. It's just that I've never noticed horses in other stables when you can see their ribs. They are not that noticeable from a distance but up close you can see them.

Does it make a difference if it is an older horse. They have one horse (the stable girl told me the name but i forgot it) that weighs 2,000 lbs, she said. Again thanks.


Sounds like the horse may be wormy, which is a sign of negligence on the caregiver of the horse & the stable if they are not the primary caregiver. They should notify the owner & insist on the horse being tested & treated.

<<Another easy way to tell if a horse has worms is to look at its overall condition. Does its tummy appear bloated, yet there are ribs visible? Does it have a dull hair coat, sometimes with long hairs mixed in with the short--even though it's mid summer? These are prime examples of what a horse looks like with a heavy worm-load. The worms are getting all the horse's nutrition. The horse might be eating all the time, but half, if not more, of what it eats is feeding the worms.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2310173_tell-horse-has-worms.html >>

[drip~drop1]

Thanks you all. I can see there are some horse lovers here. Now this horse isn't really what I would call skinny. He has a round belly but you can see his ribs. The stable has some fine looking horses. In fact, this horse is a nice looking paint. It may be kind of old though. I'll have to ask Kelly if she thought he was lethargic. It's just that I've never noticed horses in other stables when you can see their ribs. They are not that noticeable from a distance but up close you can see them.

Does it make a difference if it is an older horse. They have one horse (the stable girl told me the name but i forgot it) that weighs 2,000 lbs, she said. Again thanks.

What Co. are you in bkwits? I know of many fantastic stables in Il. Some large, some quite small and personal with their guests.

[bkwits]

What Co. are you in bkwits? I know of many fantastic stables in Il. Some large, some quite small and personal with their guests.


I am in Kane County. My grddaughter is in Sandwich (the western edge of Kendall. A small persoan stable would be great.. Kelly likes to have of interaction with the horse. She rides hunter/jumping and has done a little horse training. We can't afford a horse but I'm thinking of getting her a saddle.

[warhorse46]

Try contacting some riding clubs in your area. See what comes up when you google your county or state. Ask around when you're at horse shows, etc.

The thin horses would concern me enough that I'd be asking the owner of the stable what the deal was. You have a right and an obligation to an innocent victim if such is the case, to find out what the deal is. Please don't just go to another stable w/o trying to help those horses one way or the other.



I am VERY suspicious of the fact that the stable owner has lied to her saying the horse's ribs are showing because he is lazy & not excercising. That is just not true & if she is lying about that what else is she lying about? I would have already contacted the local spca or humane shelter or animal control or sheriff. I think the horse is being neglected @ the least & possibly abused. Lack of proper maintenance ie timely wormings, teeth floating, shoeing, vaccines, proper diet, etc are neglect.

[Debb]

I agree Warhouse. I would also specifically say that only 2 of the horses are in that condition. If an investigator shows up, the stable owner may just show them the healthy horses and keep the skinny ones hidden.

I was visiting in my childhood hometown awhile ago and saw a very odd looking horse or mule, inside a fence in a person's yard. It was a large yard in a rural area. The next day I called the anminal control officer in that county. I had to leave a message and I described the location and the horse. They called me back soon afterwards and told me that they regularly get calls about that horse, but that it is a very old horse that is sway back. I still don't know what that means, but anyway, they appreciated me being concerned and following through with it.

A few weeks ago I called 911 because an owner had left a dog in a parked car in front of my office for over 2 hours. We didn't know who left the dog or when they would return. I can't stand to see animals mistreated or neglected. I feel it is MY job to get help.

[bkwits]

My granddaughter Kelly and I again went to the stable. We had agreed beforehand that when she returned she would call her former teacher/trainer about this stable. The owner says she knows Kelly's former riding teacher/stable owner. Maybe she can give us some info about this stable.

Both Kelly and I noticed that the horse's ribs were not showing as much as before. When the horse was saddled (English), you couldn't see the ribs at all. Kelly asked the stable owner about the horse and the owner said that the horse had not being eating well and now that he was getting exercised, he was eating more (a fuller explanation than she gave me). I took particular note of the horses in pasture and they looked good. I saw one horse in barn, and he looked okay.

Dinky, the paint that Kelly has been riding, is nine years old. He is a school horse.

[warhorse46]

My granddaughter Kelly and I again went to the stable. We had agreed beforehand that when she returned she would call her former teacher/trainer about this stable. The owner says she knows Kelly's former riding teacher/stable owner. Maybe she can give us some info about this stable.

Both Kelly and I noticed that the horse's ribs were not showing as much as before. When the horse was saddled (English), you couldn't see the ribs at all. Kelly asked the stable owner about the horse and the owner said that the horse had not being eating well and now that he was getting exercised, he was eating more (a fuller explanation than she gave me). I took particular note of the horses in pasture and they looked good. I saw one horse in barn, and he looked okay.

Dinky, the paint that Kelly has been riding, is nine years old. He is a school horse.


9 years old is young for a horse, so why did she tell you the horse was old? Why wasn't the horse getting exercise before? Why did he/she just now start getting this so called exercise when you mentioned the poor condition to the stable owner? Sure you could not see ribs with a saddle on, the saddle covers most of them, even an English saddle.

[bkwits]

9 years old is young for a horse, so why did she tell you the horse was old? Why wasn't the horse getting exercise before? Why did he/she just now start getting this so called exercise when you mentioned the poor condition to the stable owner? Sure you could not see ribs with a saddle on, the saddle covers most of them, even an English saddle.

She didn't tell me he was old. I may have speculated on that. I guess Kelly riding him is giving him the exercise, maybe other students riding him. Kelly said he is a school horse, so maybe she has more students in the summer. We had extremely hot weather in June. Kelly didn't start riding again until the first week in July. But Kelly is going to call her previous instructor. They are still good friends and she will tell Kelly the truth. She is very, very protective of the horses she owns and the horses she boards.

[warhorse46]

She didn't tell me he was old. I may have speculated on that. I guess Kelly riding him is giving him the exercise, maybe other students riding him. Kelly said he is a school horse, so maybe she has more students in the summer. We had extremely hot weather in June. Kelly didn't start riding again until the first week in July. But Kelly is going to call her previous instructor. They are still good friends and she will tell Kelly the truth. She is very, very protective of the horses she owns and the horses she boards.


Oh I misunderstood re the age of the horse, sorry. But the fact remains that horses who do not exercise get fat & flabby, they do not get skinny. She has misled you on that issue. It doesn't matter if the horse is a school horse or a plow horse or a family pet, it is the responsibility of the stable owner to see that it gets the proper care ALL the time & that includes exercise.