Thank you for sharing and congratulations on your 3 weeks re-married!
I’m feeling good. There were a lot of circumstances that led to this, and I just received word that my apartment rental application was approved . So I’m excited to start this new chapter and proud to do it alone.
Oh, and ms Honey the queen will be moving to horse paradise (but staying with me of course) and going back on pasture board on a lovely 60 acre farm. I’m very excited for her and I bet she will absolutely love it. 
She will benefit being on grass 24/7. She does need to add on more groceries, and heading into Fall and Winter ( I don’t recall where you are) She needs some junk in her willowy trunk.
What is she eating, BTW? If you care to share.
I agree.
I’m in IL. So it will be brutal here. But I got her tons of blankets so we should be able to keep her warm
She gets hygain showtorque for the protein and fat content, 2x a day with alfalfa pellets. Plus her “soup” of alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, farrier formula, fat cat and a dash of molasses. Plus lots of hay.
Please keep in mind, it hasn’t even been 3 full months yet. And she’s come a long way. But we aren’t stopping.
I have no doubt that she will be as fat as Bo is in another 6+ months 
sometimes it can feel like it’s going SO SLOW, but the progress is still there, however small.
I feel like I’ve been watching her story for much longer. She is looking good for such a short time. Sounds like you and she are going to be in clover pretty soon.
24/7 Turnout may really benefit her, especially if there’s slope to her pasture.
And if its grass so she has unlimited access to forage
OP if she’ll be on a round bale consider a botulism vaccination.
Do you track her weight, even with just with a weight tape?
Does the new place offer segregated feeding of grain? That was one issue I had when my hard keeper lived out, in a herd.
Thank you! Ha, everyone says that, in my personal life too, because Honey has just instantly become someone I love so much!
I totally agree. She was on it her whole life, but where I live it’s hard to find pasture board that isn’t on a crummy dry lot. But now that I"ll be moving about 45 min west into the cornfields, I can find her that. There is slope and lots of varied terrain. I’m excited for her!
I’ll look into that vaccination. I’m not sure that it’s a round bale, but I’ll consider that. Thank you.
I don’t track her weight. That’s a good idea though, I should start doing that.
They do feed bags for grain, thank goodness. That was my concern, too. She apparently was bullied from eating at her last homes, but now she’s feeling good and is a bit of a bossy mare. So I’m hopeful she keeps her newfound confidence and thrives out there. But I’m a little nervous.
Good luck on the new boarding barn. How do you feed mash in a feed bag??
I’m not sure that you do. She’d just get her grain in the feed bag. Her “soup” (mash) is just an extra thing. I could pull her out and give her that.
Honey’s horse show field trip was a success! She loaded like an angel, practiced standing tied at the trailer without a mishap (she hates standing) and even managed to doze off, she listened to load speakers, saw goats, watched lots of horses and people go by and received a lot of attention. Very positive outing for her, and my friend did well in her classes. Good day!
Have you started to introduce the feed bag?
If it were me, I’d do that now, while she’s in familiar surroundings, in a stall un-pestered by other horses she’s just meeting.
Her going off feed, or not getting her full meals cause she has too much unfamiliar to get over, would be something I’d want to avoid.
I’d also consider asking vet about ulcer guard or other support for stress related to new farm, and drastic change in management (herd living).
I imagine your vet has already suggested it when she initially arrived, right?
I’d also suggest asking how the new farm conducts the introduction to the herd process, in general.
That photo from Saturday is concerning.
No one should be sitting on a horse with a SHELF on top of their ribcage.
Invest the time and effort now to getting her up to a decent weight with some measure of a topline. Please. I know you didn’t show Saturday, I know that. I am pleading with you to stop sitting on her in this gaunt condition. It’s( removed: cruel). Replaced with : Unkind to an apparently sweet, willing, ASB.
I have been following along reading, you are a very loving horse Mom. I commend you for that. But I have to agree, I don’t like what Honey’s topline looks like. From the spine there is a substantial dip to the rib cage. I would like to see a lot of filling in this area. In weight and muscle. Honey needs probably 100 to 200 pounds to fill out her back and haunches.
In my opinion, there is no way, even with shims, that a saddle is going to be comfortable for any horse with this lack of weight and muscle.
Honey does look better and has gained ground since she came into your life. Keep on keeping on, there is more ground to make up. She will get there.
I also agree to getting her used to the feed bag before moving.
What happened to her that she ended up in poor condition when you got her? It seems like you mentioned finding out some about her past. As I recall (without scrolling back up) from her young pictures she looked good but something must have happened to her between then and you. Maybe you mentioned this and I’m just not remembering…
Is she continuing to eat better? She looks much happier and healthier to me under your care but her weight seems to be coming up very slowly when I look back to the beginning of July. IME/IMO, which isn’t the end all/be all by any means. I know you’re doing the best you can for her and that she shouldn’t bulk up too quickly but I’d be tempted to up the feed, remember to do those carrot stretches, etc. I couldn’t sit on her right now in good conscience; her spine is too exposed.
I agree that maybe Honey shouldn’t be ridden. I have been quiet in my opinions because OP is really doing so well, and pictures can be deceiving. I also have no experience with these types of horses, just a ton with TBs. But the pics from the show are concerning. That “shelf” between the spine and ribs means this horse isn’t just lean, or the saddlebred type dippy back with no muscle. This horse is THIN.
Please OP, keep working with her. Keep doing the best for her, but keep people off of her back. Even a very lightweight child at this point would be too much for her back right now.
I think that sometimes we stare at a horse or have a barn full of similar horses and we lose sight of how our animals really appear. For comparison, here is my 0 muscle absolutely unfit OTTB who has been standing in a pasture for months doing nothing (and doing nothing before that). He is heading into the handwalking stage of going back to work.
I would be much more comfortable sitting on a horse that looks like him vs one with very little muscle or body fat.
I’d probably consider adding an additional feeding, rather than increase the amount of the meals she’s currently getting.
But there are many roads to Rome, and Coth members have a wealth of knowledge to help the OP and Honey .
OP have you been following the Matilda thread? That has been a lovely education in refeeding a dramatically underweight horse. I know she’s kept at home vs boarded, which makes a huge difference, but still.
We are all rooting for you OP, and for Honey, don’t take this advice the wrong way!
I thought about not posting that picture, because of the shadow. Yes, shadow.
It’s a shadow. Here’s 2 days before.
I’m fine with people offering their opinions, but I simply won’t stand for someone saying that something I’m doing for Honey is cruel. That horse gets everything she needs and is gaining weight beautifully.
As a reminder, she hasn’t been with me for 90 days yet. She gets hygain showtorque, gets grass in the pasture, gets her soup and lots of alfalfa pellets, gets fat cat and farrier formula, gets more hay than she knows what to do with, and had been ridden a handful of times. Mostly, we walk over poles or do lunging or ground work. None of those with a saddle.
I’d love to know what happened between those early pics and when I got her. What I do know was she had her feed changed all the time and other horses would steal it. She was largely ignored and lost a lot of weight.
I’ll say it again: I appreciate peoples help. I can take opinions and value the wisdom. But I won’t stand for someone saying anything I’m doing with Honey is cruel. That’s where you cross the line. It’s a shadow, she’s gaining weight beautifully, she’s happy and getting healthy, and the people who see her day in and out, including professionals and vets, have approved us for what we’re doing now.
I’ll look into trying a feed bag. Thanks for that tip.
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