A follow on from grumpy cob - what to feed now?

[WeeBrown]

Sorry am very new to the "fat horse" ownership and am so worried to do the wrong thing. My ISH mare can put on weight with a bit of extra grass but as quickly lose it again so I am not used to a fat horse that doesn't seem to shift from his fat state!

I have had advice on other thread (why is cob grumpy?) that cob might be hungry and a few suggestions.

What do you feed your fatty in winter to stop hunger but not add weight? The hacking/exercise is not shifting much of his weight at all (it has been sporadic at times when work has been busy hence the need to take on a sharer) so I need something lo cal but filling. I will write down the other suggestions given on the other thread...any other cob tips will also be very happily received!

 

[tangoharvey]

I was told that something like hi fi lite was good, mixed with a bit of garlic for taste! It certainly allowed me to feed my fat new forest all last winter and didnt add anything to him. Another one you might like to try is dodson and horrell fibergy, I emailed them to ask for a free sample and they did better than that they sent me a £5 voucher off a bag of any of their feeds. So this winter I am going to try Fibergy....I would always rather the problem of keeping a fat horse thin, than keeping a thin horse fat!

 

[OrangeEmpire]

Personally I'd just feed something like Happy Hoof or a low calorie chaff with vitamins&minerals and give him hay through the winter. This should give him something filling to chew on without adding masses of calories to his diet!

If you under-rug him so he's a tiny bit chilly he'll burn calories keeping warm which should help keep the weight in check.

 

[finefeathers1]

Welcome to the fat cob club, or as I call my darling 'Fat boy'.... Mine sounds just yours, and his exercise can be a bit sporadic due to work commitments.

Basically bear in mind if you are not used to a cob, they do tend to carry a little bit more fat and other horses. Only when mine is totally hunting fit and as a consequence totally wild, is he a lean, mean machine. Cobs should look well covered but not necessarily fat. I find with mine he looks best when he is in work, as he then has a nice topline, seeing as he is hogged and trimmed he can look stunning, he is black with four white socks and a large white star as well - he is one handsome chap. If I am not working him regularily, he tends to get what I call a bit 'upside down', with his belly flopping down around his knees and no topline. Mine gets as much turnout as he needs, but at the moment is a bit restricted to quarters for various reasons. We feed him two pretty good sized haylage nets a day and he gets a quarter of a two pound scoop of a mix our local feed merchant makes up. I am sorry I dont know the consistency apart from some maize, nuts and split peas, but it keeps him happy and healthy, and he wolfs it down. Our WB/TB also gets fed the same feed, but him a much higher quantity.

We are in the process of getting him fitter to go out hunting, as I've not been able to ride him much recently. I have found that adlib hay or slightly more limited haylage keeps him happy and does not pile the pounds on too much when he is confined to quarters. One thing I have found is that he does the same as your horse - he gains weight fast but loses it just as fast. If he has been out in the field he can come in with what we call his 'grass belly'. Leave him in for a few hours and it goes down.

I do find with him, that extra food can equate to fizz, even though he is normally a laid back boy, and I know cobs are not known for their fizziness. So we have to be careful how much we shove down him, even when he is in full work as a hunting cob. As regards grumpiness, I dont think cobs are any more grumpy than any other breed of horse. In my experience they can have very strong, dominant personalities, mine certainly has - he is the equine equivalent of Phil Mitchell - all beefy and burly, but loves him mum to death. Unless they have been taught otherwise, they can be bolshy and bargey, or as a friend of mine calls it 'A touch of the cobs'. They are definitely an acquired taste, but I love them. I love their cheek and attitude, and a handsome, well put together cob is definitely a joy to behold.

Welcome to the cob owning fraternity - you will find that lots of people will be swift to criticize your cob, for some reason they are fair game, I dont know why. Just ignore them, enjoy your fatty and have lots of fun.

 

[Theresa_F]

Feed 50 - 50 good quality straw and hay in a small holed net. A scoof of chaff with Benefit for his vits and mins, nothing else is required. Don't feed molassed chaff, lucie stalks or ruff stuff from Simple System or Dengie Good Doer (which is nice as it has mint) will do the job.

You can soak the hay first to remove more of the goodness and try to find stalky late cut stuff. Avoid hayledge and rich hay.

If you give him plenty of low cal fibre and nothing else he will have a full tummy, not put on weight and be happy - bit like me.

Don't over rug, keeping him cool will help shift the weight.

Finally, cobs are meant to be chunky looking they should not look like TBs - they should have a good bum and neck but you should be able to feel the ribs and they should not be wobbly.

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Mine is fed 1kg Happy Hoof and 2 pints of soaked speedibeet twice a day all year round. When she needs hay she gets 12lbs (soaked for 30 - 60 mins). It is the 'diet' recommended by the Laminiits Clinic when she had lami - it helped shift some extra weight while she was on box rest and she has maintained her weight ever since. Happy Hoof is a balanced chaff so no need to add any extra vits and mins - its all there.

 

[_daisy_]

personally hun you need to give him plenty and plenty of fibre to keep him full. id give him plenty of old (meaning last year or year before - but still quality) soaked hay and a good vitamin/mineral like benefit advance.
change his feed so he isnt getting any extra sugar, change to something like simple systems lucie nuts/stalks etc.

 

[Echo Bravo]

I feed mine winergy low energy plus hay.

 

[WeeBrown]

Wow - thanks everyone, didn't expect such a great response!
I'll be writing all these tips down as my memory is useless! I'm going to the feedplace tomorrow so shall check out the ones mentioned.
Our hay is not the greatest quality (sorry yard!

) and I was intending to soak it for a good few hours - am buying a huge tub from b&q tomorrow - to take out any goodness. So far he has only been in two nights and even then he goes out from about 8am - 6pm. I would put soaked hay in the field for him as there is really no grass but the person I share the field with won't put out hay and my cob is the last in the pecking order (her horse is first - typical!). He has 2 big hay nets at the minute. I'm not a big fan of hay nets and my mare has a hay bar but I think hay nets might be better for the fatty ...bless him! I think mine are small holed - definitely not large holed - but will see if I can get smaller holed ones.
I'll keep him lightly rugged. At the minute he is not hot underneath...a slight warmth nothing more but will monitor this.
I am really grateful for all this advice...feel a bit out of my depth with this new boy! It has taken me two years to feel sorted with my mare!

 

[Kallibear]

once his clip has grown back just take off the undersides of him and he can go out unrugged unless it's horrible wet. He needs to use energy to keep warm!

try putting a bale of good quality straw into the field. It's not expensive and they'll only east it if they're hungry. Or find a nicer fieldmate!

ditto the mixture of hay and straw.

Small holed net, double bagged, is ideal. Is he shod? If not you could hang them low in a corners (i.e also touching the ground) and clip the bottom onto the wall too, so he has to stretch down to eat but doesn't have to yank the whole net upwards to get stuff out. If it's attached top and bottom (and he's not shod so no shoes to catch on the net) the holes will be too small to get a foot through and drag about.

Soaked hay (will a little straw mixed in to bulk it out) works well too, tho many horses (mine included) don't like it.

As for feed I'd give nothing other than a handful of non-mollased chaff (none of the mollichop crap - try Dengie's Good Doer (mint flavoured) or HiFi lite) with a general supplement in it. Balieys Low Cal is good - fairly cheap to feed and in a pelleted form so he thinks he's getting fed! Any 'general' supplement is fine though, powered or pelleted. It comes down to choice, avalibility and price. They're all pretty much the same.

 

[traceyann]

I feed my the same in winter as in summer because he a fatty cob which is handfull of safe and sound plus vit and mins two section of hay a night and hes out all day on poor grazing hes still far to fat but he is grumpy and given little nips when my back turned but until he loses at least 50kg i have to put up with the nips or move quicker im such a bad mother