15.3 standard bred regime

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Gabbadams22

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My gelding has been with us 6 weeks and we are hitting the pushing boundaries stage 😆
But I need a good feed regime. He’s underweight, low muscle. Rubbish coat/condition. Riggy in the field. Flighty and bolshy at the moment. Scrubbed head to toe with hibby and good old mtg to start managing his skin. But please recommend me a great feed for building, supplements for both skin/coat and behaviour THANKS IN ADVANCE
 
I think you'd be best speaking to a feed rep to get a rough idea as he seems quite a complex lad with his various things currently going on.

What was he fed before you got him as it'll be worth keeping him on the same diet to allow his stomach to slowly adjust to the new diet that you are planning.

Muscle comes from being worked, but I do know that you need adequate protein levels in the diet to help muscle growth.

Before going down the feed route, I'd be inclined to get a vet to give him the once over (I know you've only recently brought him but seeing as he is a stressy type he could have an unbalaced gut biome/ start of ulcers/something else) to make sure that everything is alright and there are no issues that could be causing the riggy-ness, rubbish coat condition etc. There is no point in changing the diet until you are sure that health wise there is nothing causing the issues as you won't get far with changing the feed if there is a health issue causing the problem(s).

Providing that the vet comes back with the report that nothing medical is causing his issues I would feed the below :

Alfalfa (which helps regarding protein and therefore muscle building)
Micronised Linseed (has your omegas in it which will help with coat health etc)
A good balancer (Pellet wise I tend to lean towards Baileys/Saracen as these are the only two brands I've used and had reportable results with. Powder wise there are companies such as Progressive Earth but it can be difficult to get them to eat the powder)
Ad lib hay/haylage (whichever you can get - feeding him ad lib will help pop some weight on and keep his tummy happy)
Mag Oxide (for the flightiness - but do bear in mind that some horses react badly to mag oxide if they aren't deficient - it's a trial and error kind of thing)


The above is what I've successfully used in the past and it was alongside a good slow work routine to help build muscle :)
 
AppyLover1996 said:
I think you'd be best speaking to a feed rep to get a rough idea as he seems quite a complex lad with his various things currently going on.

What was he fed before you got him as it'll be worth keeping him on the same diet to allow his stomach to slowly adjust to the new diet that you are planning.

Muscle comes from being worked, but I do know that you need adequate protein levels in the diet to help muscle growth.

Before going down the feed route, I'd be inclined to get a vet to give him the once over (I know you've only recently brought him but seeing as he is a stressy type he could have an unbalaced gut biome/ start of ulcers/something else) to make sure that everything is alright and there are no issues that could be causing the riggy-ness, rubbish coat condition etc. There is no point in changing the diet until you are sure that health wise there is nothing causing the issues as you won't get far with changing the feed if there is a health issue causing the problem(s).

Providing that the vet comes back with the report that nothing medical is causing his issues I would feed the below :

Alfalfa (which helps regarding protein and therefore muscle building)
Micronised Linseed (has your omegas in it which will help with coat health etc)
A good balancer (Pellet wise I tend to lean towards Baileys/Saracen as these are the only two brands I've used and had reportable results with. Powder wise there are companies such as Progressive Earth but it can be difficult to get them to eat the powder)
Ad lib hay/haylage (whichever you can get - feeding him ad lib will help pop some weight on and keep his tummy happy)
Mag Oxide (for the flightiness - but do bear in mind that some horses react badly to mag oxide if they aren't deficient - it's a trial and error kind of thing)


The above is what I've successfully used in the past and it was alongside a good slow work routine to help build muscle :)
Click to expand...
This is all bril advice. One suggestion I could add (based on food averse TB who stopped eating even grass at one stage) is that what saved him from starvation was contacting nutritionist at equine exceed. Following her advice I started him on their gut supplement which I had to syringe for first few days. He started to eat again in a few days and accepted it into feed. I still use it (jic!) several years later. He is now 19, super fit, happy and always keen to work. Though he’s still picky and goes on and off ‘acceptable’ hard feed with infuriating regularity - I’m now reconciled to that just being him🙄
 
As above, ad lib grass/hay (you can check protein levels but too much isn't a good thing either so don't throw protein at him willy-nilly) and a good balancer (eg forageplus). If you introduce alfalfa do it *very very* slowly as its digestion needs a different microbiome from one that a predominantly grass-fed horse will have and can in itself cause gut issues if introduced too quickly.
 
Standardbreds don't appear to build muscle like other breeds do. Poor topline, stringy hindquarters, often look very unbalanced when trotting. Some of the bloodlines carry a condition that alters or prevents the glycogen storage in muscle from working properly, resulting in poor energy levels, and a nightmare to keep weight on.
On the plus side, once you get to know him, they have fantastic temperaments and seem to like being around people. Hope it all works out for you.
 
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