# New Horse Very Overweight - Bulging Eyes HELP!



## AppleBon12 (4 September 2017)

Hi all I am looking at buying a beautiful Welsh D mare but am slightly worried. She is very overweight - big belly, slight crest to neck and fat deposits above her eyes making her eyes look swollen and bulgy (puggy eyed). I am going to have her vetted and need her bloods taken for strangles to move her. But I was wondering if any of you are able to advise at all?


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## ester (4 September 2017)

how old is she? filled in eye hollows can be a sign of PPID - as can all the other fat deposit situations. 

My welshie wobbled when I bought him but he didn't have anything eye wise!


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## Amye (4 September 2017)

Was just going to say the eyes are definitely a sign of Cushings - I asked the vet about signs of cushings when I last saw them and they pointed out that sign.


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## AppleBon12 (4 September 2017)

See photo attached!


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## AppleBon12 (4 September 2017)

Have attached a photo but can I add she's also only 9yo


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## be positive (4 September 2017)

aston08 said:



			Hi all I am looking at buying a beautiful Welsh D mare but am slightly worried. She is very overweight - big belly, slight crest to neck and fat deposits above her eyes making her eyes look swollen and bulgy (puggy eyed). I am going to have her vetted and need her bloods taken for strangles to move her. But I was wondering if any of you are able to advise at all?
		
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I would proceed with caution, if she is that fat you will have a long road ahead to get her weight down and she will have exclusions put on any insurance you may want to take out relating to anything that could be caused or causing her weight issues, so that needs to be taken into account along with the purchase price.
Any weight loss needs to be done very slowly so ensure the yard you are moving to is suitable to allow her to go out and move about and that she does not end up shut in too much, I had one come here a few weeks ago he is out 24/7 with 2 other good doers and they move about constantly, that combined with light work most days has helped him drop some weight without him being shut in or having to wear a muzzle.


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## MagicMelon (4 September 2017)

If you're having her vetted then surely the vet will tell you everything you need to know. Id be asking the seller if the horse has ever had laminitis (are there any rings on her hooves?) and probably a print out from their vet of any treatment the horse has needed before I would go ahead an pay for a vetting.


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## Pinkvboots (4 September 2017)

It is also a symptom of ems which is often a condition they have alongside cushings my mare had both and it was a constant battle to keep her weight down she could not be ridden due to an injury.

has the mare been in any kind of work at the current home?


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## ester (4 September 2017)

I do think you also need to look at the whole picture a bit, is she in work, is this long term weight or been acquired more recently. We don't really have the research yet but it seems that keeping horses significantly over weight can increase the chance of metabolic issues occuring in the future (it's a bit chicken and egg). 
My own chap I know was fit and slim when purchased by someone else in the March (I saw him then), by June he wobbled but it was a short term state.


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## AppleBon12 (4 September 2017)

The current owner has had her around 6 months and she hasn't been in any work just turned out. Looking back to photos when she first got her she does look slimmer


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## ester (4 September 2017)

That's good . Partly because it hopefully won't have stored up issues, partly because you know the management has been rubbish so it might not be that tricky to manage her weight in future. I've always had to be careful but Frank has never been appalling or got to anything like his arrival size even during enforced periods without work. 






He also slimmed up pretty quick as vet advised during vetting that his fitness wasn't that bad so to crack on!


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## AppleBon12 (4 September 2017)

ester said:



			That's good . Partly because it hopefully won't have stored up issues, partly because you know the management has been rubbish so it might not be that tricky to manage her weight in future. I've always had to be careful but Frank has never been appalling or got to anything like his arrival size even during enforced periods without work. 






He also slimmed up pretty quick as vet advised during vetting that his fitness wasn't that bad so to crack on!
		
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He is lovely!! The one I am looking at is a pretty large girl, she has the gutter along her back bone, fat deposits round her shoulder and the bulges around her eyes. I have been in contact with the breeder and found a photo of her as a foal and her eyes were quite bulgy then too?? Seems to run in her family as her Dad has the same eyes but is in tip-top condition. 

As it doesn't seem the weight has been on for ages (years and years) would you weight and see what the vet says... taking a chance on a slightly larger lady with a lot of potential?


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## ester (4 September 2017)

Absolutely see what the vet says. I'm a big welshie fan  I am not currently doing very well in my efforts not to get another!

ps photobucket still being a pita so can't see your pm picture there either (And yes totally understand your reasons!) 

He was 12 then, he is 24 now, barefooted and still in regular hacking and some light showing work. He hunted into his 23rd year. His confo has meant that unless working he always looks to have a belly as his rib cage is so wide. 

This is what he looks like more 'normal'


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## Pinkvboots (4 September 2017)

aston08 said:



			The current owner has had her around 6 months and she hasn't been in any work just turned out. Looking back to photos when she first got her she does look slimmer
		
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I think this is the issue then it is regular work that will keep her weight down being on grass and being basically a retired horse is the worst thing you can do with a horse really, I think in your shoes talk to your vet tell them your worries and see what's they say, but I am pretty sure after a few months steady work and a strict diet she will look so much better, good example pictures from ester and just goes to show how the right work and management can make all the difference.

milliepops who posts on here bought a very overweight sec d mare from a field but she looks completely different now and competes at high level dressage, if you look back at her posts she did put some before and after pictures on of her.  Please let us know how you get on.


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## ester (4 September 2017)

yup she was even worse than Frank!


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## AppleBon12 (4 September 2017)

Hi all just had a look at Milliepops update and that is just the boost of encouragement I needed thank you all so much! I'm off to see her again now and am booking her vetting and bloods in for this week. Being new to this forum I didn't know what to expect but you've all been a fab help so far and will definitely keep you posted with her progress!!


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## milliepops (4 September 2017)

ester said:



			yup she was even worse than Frank!
		
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hahahahaa Kira's ears were burning!

Yes she was. I've never seen such a fat horse, I couldn't put a saddle on her for a good while as she was SO round and SO wobbly.  I figured if she didn't have laminitis then, she probably wasn't going to get it  
She's dead easy to keep now, she's in loads of work and not a great deal of grass and looks fab.


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## AppleBon12 (10 September 2017)

Update and help needed! 
Went to see her again this weekend and she's come in from the field hopping lame - swollen fetlock with heat and swelling up to her hock &#128546;
Hosed off and the owner gave her some Bute. Cooling gel on the leg and turned her back out. Apparently when she was trotting round the field this morning she was sound so they think it happened at some point before I got there? 

She was due the farrier tomorrow for her overdue feet but doesn't look like that will be going ahead. 

What do you guys think?


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## be positive (10 September 2017)

As long as she is weight bearing there is no reason to cancel the farrier, if her feet are overgrown they wont be helping if she is lame and need doing sooner than later, as for what you do if she has not yet been vetted/ paid for I would see how it goes, she may just have knocked herself, been kicked or even got a tiny scratch that has become infected, possibly something and nothing but worst case scenario it could be more serious. 

If she is yours now then you need to make decisions and not let the former owner bute her without a vet being involved.


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## AppleBon12 (10 September 2017)

No not mine yet! I've had her bloods done for strangles test as the livery yard I want to move her to need this. She's not mine yet, once the bloods have come back she was going to moved to this yard and I would have her on a months LWVTB.


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## be positive (10 September 2017)

That's good, the owner needs to get the feet sorted asap and also ensure the leg is 100% before you take her as there is no point you having a lame horse arrive that requires veterinary care, insist on her being sound otherwise you are taking a huge risk, you may find it is serious and end up spending a lot of money to sort her, waste the trial period if you cannot ride, you may end up falling for her and taking her on even if she is not right , try to be patient, she is not your responsibility yet be careful you don't get too involved until you know what is wrong and whether it will be ok.  

I am always a bit suspicious of horses that have only been in a home a short time and done nothing for no real reason, why did they buy a horse to leave it in a field getting fatter, if they had owned her for ages and lost interest, life had taken over then it is easier to understand but my fear would be that she has been lame before and that is why she has been left to rest, I may be totally on the wrong track but it would not be the first time it has happened and certainly wont be the last, best of luck.


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## Clodagh (11 September 2017)

Walk away! Plenty of sound horses out there.


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## AppleBon12 (9 October 2017)

Sorry for being quiet recently! So we&#8217;ve had her on full loan for almost 4 weeks now and it&#8217;s been an adventure to say the least! 
Been working very hard with my instructor and already she&#8217;s starting to shift the weight and is much happier in herself &#9786;&#65039; Bulging eyes are reduced, no longer looks pregnant and swollen. Unfortunately our Thorowgood T4 Cob saddle with widest gullet didn&#8217;t fit so we are in a treeless at the moment for hacking and lots of lunging!

Only mishap to report is she&#8217;s proving to be a little Houdini, escaping from her stable recently and teasing a few of the stallions on the yard! So stable is now like Fort Knox and there is no way she&#8217;ll be having an more sleepovers with the boys! 

Thank you all for your help and advice, we have definitely found a diamond in the rough x


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## milliepops (9 October 2017)

naughty girlie!  Glad to hear she's settling in. I also couldn't put a saddle on mine for a good while  but now she is comfortable in my oldie's medium wide saddle. 
Any photos to share?


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## GirlFriday (9 October 2017)

I would be VERY careful about a mare around stallions when you don't own her - ownership of any foal could get very messy - might be worth a call to your vet if there is any danger at all?

LWVTB sounds like it may be a good way to reassure yourself about her lameness (which I take it is now resolved?) as well as getting to know her.


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