And where is she on the henneke scale? Do you have pictures that show her condition?
I canāt figure out how to share pictures here. I will keep trying. Iād say she is a 4 or maybe between 4 and 5. She isnāt too bad but has lost weight and her topline, when she really shouldāve gained. There is something off and I havenāt figured it out yet.
It sounds like perhaps sheās lacking muscle, rather than lacking weight.
Getting her on a good senior feed should help. Getting her out and doing somethingālike a nice marching hand walk every dayācan also make a big difference.
I currently only take her trail riding on the weekends. Weāve done some flat work, mainly just teaching her leg aids as she wasnāt restarted off the track so had no clue what leg aids were. One more thing that resonated when someone mentioned ppid, which I never wouldāve thought of because of her age and lack of other symptoms, is she runs out of energy on trail rides doing nothing but walking. She is a tall, gangly mare so stride is long and Iāve encouraged her to go long and low, and she does, but acts so tired after a half hour. And how would she lose the top line she had when she was coming from a stud farm? She wasnāt ridden at all, no work at all. Maybe she cribbed on a post more and worked her topline that way, idk. I feel terrible that maybe I caused it with the rich alfalfa and grain diet. Her cribbing has decreased from what she was doing. The only thing Iāve done differently other than where she was, is she isnāt out 24/7. She is in a big pasture but no shade or shed, so in during the day in the summer and in at night in the colder mos. She wants to come in and doesnāt display any other bored habits when she is in. Iāll have the vet out for more testing but for now Iām changing her diet to see if it helps and also to see if it will clarify what tests I should do. She doesnāt act stiff or lame at all, not thinking Lymeās. She is coordinated and not at all clumsy so hopefully not epm.
Going out once a week is doing nothing for her overall fitness. It is not unexpected that riding a horse that hasnāt been ridden in years without building a base level of fitness is going to give you a horse that runs out of gas. Riding a horse that hasnāt been ridden in years only on the weekend for longer than 30 minutes is really unfair to the horse.
Iām not sure what āgrainā you mean? According to your previous posts, youāve fed zero grain. A hay pellet isnāt grain. Have you fed her grain you havenāt mentioned here?
Yes, absolutely, going from full time turnout to being in a stall a solid chunk of the day can lead to a significant decrease in condition, especially in an unfit horse thatās not getting any other work.
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You are riding multiple days a week but only trail ride on the weekend or she is only ridden on the weekends and when she does itās a trail ride?
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I hardly think an easy trail ride on weekends would be considered unfair, at all. Not strenuous. I think that until I know she is feeling good and Iām maintaining her perfectly, Iām not going to ask too much of her.
I did feed grain when I first got her, whole oats added to 12% sweet feed, as she was just a little ribby then, along with first and second hay, grassy pasture. Once she displayed obvious signs of ulcers, which was soon after, I bought 50 lbs of oat bran, a hay pellet
My horses arenāt in for the majority of the day, theyāre out as long as itās comfortable for them to be out, which is the majority of the time. Theyāre in for the worst hrs of the day and happy with that schedule. In my experience with tbs, they actually maintain weight better being in part of the day.
My initial post was asking for supplement advice and ideas as this is the first tb Iāve had that doesnāt respond predictably to my program, and Iāve had many, as well as worked with them a lot, including on the racetrack. Iām grateful for the suggestions. I donāt want any more advice as I have no more questions.
The fact that she runs out of gas means that you ARE asking too much of her.
This is not a hard thing to address. Take her for a ten minute marching hand walk every day to build the fitness to carry you.
Best of luck, I hope she improves.
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She will. Thank you for the suggestions
Try looking into Paddock Tree Concentrate. No soy. No filler.
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How long are your trail rides? Remember, sheās carrying a rider, which she probably really never had to do before ā and if she did, it was long ago. Thatās a stressor in itself. She has been at your place for, what, four months? That move was a big stressor. Being in a stall for even a few hours a day when she was used to 24/7 turnout is a stressor. So maybe she is dealing a bit with stress even in your nice conditions. Most ex-race horses lose their topline when they stop racing and have to start over with another riding discipline. I like Simkieās idea of a marching hand walk several days a week. Can you not get out to do this during the week? Under saddle, continue the trail riding, but seriously, ten minutes at a time. Uneven trail footing is more strenuous than walking in an arena. Give her time. I commend you for trying to figure out a way to make her happy and healthy.
ETA, I like Jec Ballouās books on conditioning. Here is an article that may be helpful. https://www.horsejournals.com/riding-training/english/dressage/spring-conditioning-your-horse
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I agree and think the same with the stressors. I think it takes all of a year for a horse to truly settle in at a new place. I absolutely have gone slow. Yes, we handwalk. Iāve taken her out walking our farm simply for preparation for riding, learning to go away from her herdmates which is brand new to her. The trail rides are sometimes simply walking with my daughter and her horse out to the jumping field and walking around, watching her school. Iāve never encountered a tb that tires so easily, which was why I remarked. And I have and will tailor any kind of riding, exercise etc around how she feels. My only goal right now is to find her best homeostasis. I feel she was put through the wringer in attempts to keep her pregnant. Like anyone with a new horse, Iām just listening to her tell me her story, little by little. Once I know how to maintain her best, and know she feels great, Iāll tailor a fitness routine just for her. In the meantime, Iām really just focused on figuring out her system. It has and will include testing. I thank you for your advice.
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iām listening to your request for only feed/supplement ideas. 
She should be getting ample protein from the hay sheās eating, so Iād think you either need to try a different protein, add fat, and/or address whatrever is causing the sour smell. Personally, I would start with the smell because if her digestive system is unhappy, itās possible she just isnāt absorbing all of the nutrition sheās already getting.
I would try a really good probiotic. Personally, Iāve had the best luck with Mad Barnās Visceral. It worked much better for my mare than Full Bucket, Equiotic, and other ones that I believe are well-regarded. You may also want to do a week of a psyllium powder, which will help clear out anything from her digestive system that needs clearing, plus is soothing to the digestive track. You could even keep doing that for longer than a week.
If after a month, you donāt see any results, I would consider adding in a good senior grain, like Triple Crown Senior, and seeing if that works better for her than hay.
Best of luck!
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I agree with everything you said, until this
psyllium is pretty poor at moving things out 
BUT, long-term, like 2+ weeks, it starts being digested, rather than just passing through, and can improve the health of the hind gut.
Really? I actually use it long-term with my mare (sheās a FWS horse when sheās not on grass) and have seen its benefit from long-term use. But didnāt realize it wasnāt that great short-term. My vet has always recommended it weekly for my other horses.
A friend has a couple of horses on a new Poulin grain, https://www.poulingrain.com/products/391/-new-e-tec-senior-low-carb-complete at her vetās recommendation. One of the horses was a cribber. He isnāt cribbing anymore. I donāt know whatās in it but it may be worth investigating.
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Iāll look into it! My mare is cribbing less than she was when I got her. Hopefully it continues as she settles more and feels better.
So SandClear is a scam?
āFor average size (1,000 lb.) adult horse ā give one scoop (5 oz.) to 1.5 scoops of SandClear Natural Psyllium Crumbles daily for one full week (7 days) out of every month. Give less to ponies, yearlings and foals, more to larger horses and draft breeds. Provide plenty of fresh water to horse when using this product.ā
Itās definitely been helping a lot of FWS horses! Your vet is among many who still operate on the assumption that psyllium would do for horses what it does for people. But the research shows that hay is far superior, and psyllium by itself not so much
As are most supplements 
See above
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And here I was excited that Poulin was making a soy free grain.
I have spoken with a couple of Poulin reps and theyāve all said people have been asking for a soy free Poulin option for years. So far no luck. I guess the response from up the chain has been thereās no real evidence that some horses canāt digest soy and therefore thereās no reason to develop it.
