I recently had my 16-year-old Paint mare tested for polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) and found out she carries mutant alleles for PSSM type 2 (PSSM2). She has also been tested for glycogen branching enzyme deficiency (GREB) and is n/GBED. Is there a link between the two diseases? She is very irritable and uncomfortable under saddle. I suspect muscle-related tightness is causing these issues. Would the diet for this mare be different than a PSSM type1 horse? I am currently feeding a low-starch feed at 3 lb (1.4 kg)/day with 1 lb (0.45 kg) of a balancer pellet. She gets free-choice Bermudagrass hay, and I am wondering if adding alfalfa would be a good addition?

I have a 10-year-old Warmblood gelding. I think he’s in perfect weight for his 16.2-hand frame. He is fed 8-10 flakes of timothy hay and ration balancer. He doesn’t work very hard, just some light trail riding and arena work, though his workload will soon increase. He’s had two episodes of gas colic in the last three weeks, which coincides with his move to a new barn and limited turnout. He cribs while being saddled, using his own tongue as a fixture. He tries to do the same thing when longeing sometimes. Under saddle, he bites at his sides and doesn’t want to go forward. I’ve ordered RiteTrac, hoping this might help him.

Esmee is my 16-year-old, 16-hand Canadian Horse. Even though I ride her lightly, I would consider her fleshy and in need of weight loss. All in all, she gets about 18 lb (8.2 kg) of first-cutting grass hay—not the good stuff!—2 cups of alfalfa pellets, high-quality fish oil, pure biotin, and natural vitamin E. If I back off the amount of hay I feed, she will chew on boards and pick at her manure, occasionally eating it. I put the hay in a slow-feed net with 1.5-in (3.8-cm) holes as a way to curb her rate of intake. How should I proceed to encourage weight loss?

My Thoroughbred mare (5 years old; 15.3 hands [160 cm]; 1,000 lb [450 kg]) is very thin. I referenced the body condition score chart, and she’d be about a 3. She has 14-16 hours of access to pasture during the day, and she’s stalled at night. She’s fed 16 lb (7.25 kg) of a name-brand senior feed, 2 lb (0.9) of alfalfa pellets, and 40 lb (18 kg) of hay daily. With this diet, I thought she would gain weight quickly. She is in daily work of moderate intensity. She has been vet-checked several times and has been pronounced healthy though thin. I believe she has been stressed for two reasons: her transition from the rescue where I adopted her and an abscessed hoof. The hoof has healed, and she is sound. I think she could be dealing with gastric ulcers but shows no signs. Can you evaluate her diet?

My teenage Paso Fino mare Leonina is very thin. She is kept outside most of the time, so she has access to some pasture. Her current ration includes alfalfa hay, straight oats, and rice bran oil. Leonina doesn’t have much appetite at all. Any ideas?

I have an orphaned 30-day-old colt. He is not drinking the liquid milk replacer but is nibbling at orchardgrass hay and chopped alfalfa hay. I am also feeding a milk-replacer pellet and some textured feed designed for growth. What else can I do for this foal?

I have an eight-month-old foundation-bred Quarter Horse with an expected mature height of about 15 hands. I am currently feeding a three-pound coffee can of low-starch feed and one-half cup of ground flax twice a day. She has free-choice good-quality grass/alfalfa hay, salt blocks, and fresh water. She seems to be barely holding her weight; though no ribs are showing, she is very lean. I do not want her to get heavy, as I’d like to protect her joints. Is this body condition appropriate? Do I need to increase her feed? I don’t want to cause unnecessary issues with her in the long run.

I have a proliferation of purple deadnettle in my paddocks this spring. I watched as the horses grazed, and at least one nibbled at the weed but then moved on. Will it hurt them if they eat it?

My five-month-old Connemara filly’s hooves are falling apart. The walls seem to be partially detaching from the underlying soft tissue. My veterinarian deferred to the farrier. The farrier is at a loss and suggested feeding her biotin as a way to toughen her hooves. She’s been weaned a few weeks but this problem has been ongoing since she was a month or so old. She seems a little footsore at all times, a result of all of the breakage, I assume. Can I feed biotin to a weanling? Should I just feed it to her with her ration balancer?

I own an 18-year-old Thoroughbred broodmare (15.2 hands; 1,200 lb or 545 kg) due to foal in two months. She’s in moderately fleshy body condition. She spends about seven hours on pasture now but will get more as daylight hours increase. Her current ration includes about 20 lb (9 kg) of grass hay (some left uneaten), 7 lb (3.2 kg) of an all-purpose concentrate, and 1 lb (0.45 kg) of beet pulp. Recent bloodwork came back with low protein. Can you evaluate her diet?