A little bit of advice needed

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JHC

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Ok now your reading, I need a lot of advice!

So I've managed to collect a range of horses with issues :-| ..... not on purpose though.

Ill list everything I need advice on. I have been in contact with vets, physios, nutritionists and so on about these issues.

1. 4 yo TB mare is a very poor doer (vet has run blood tests showing she's healthy). After speaking to numerous feed companies I went for Topspec Complete Balancer, Topspec Cool Condition and Mollichaff Calmer. Im feeding the max allowance over 2 feeds with adlib hay if stabled. Although this feed is maintaining a fairly good weight, she needs more. What should I add?

2. Above mare has an abscess which is finally bursting out. However she has ridden issues where basically shell bronc as soon as a rider is on her. I finally cracked this before Xmas but hasn't been ridden since. So as she's a lot sounder I tacked her up and sat on her to remind her that she won't be living the life of riley forever. But she refused to move, reversed and tanked by to the yard - she did start getting nappy before I knew she had an abscess. Should I be worried that the napping isn't pain related and its becoming a behaviour?
She won't be worked until she is fully sound but if she does this again how do I address it?

3. Another TB I was given is very attached to his field companion and refuses to go anywhere without him. Would it be best to slowly start separating them - this could only be done by having one stabled and one turned out?

Phew I think I've included most of it!
 
The first tb. Try pure feeds. The conditioning cubes have been excellent for my tb.

Go back to basics, trying to establish if she us taking the p or its pain.
You could do a bute trial?

Has the other tb got plenty of other friends?
Could be hormonal? Try a supliment. Rig calm from global herbs is good.
 
Question 1:) in my view if you are feeding the recommended daily allowance of the cool condition the balancer is really just a waste of money as all the requirements should be met already.
I would add oil in some form, micronised linseed or veg oil, cut out the balancer and if the cool condition is a mix look at changing to the cube version as the cereal content will be more easily absorbed.

Leaving the others for someone else:D
 
The Cool Condition is a cube. I was told that it needed to be fed alongside a balancer so hence why Im feeding it. I've seen good reviews on linseed so ill look into that more, thankyou.

I also rang pure feeds but they recommended feeding double the amount (around 3kg?) a day which means a bag would only last 5 days. The mare is very fussy and tends to only eat a small amount at one go. I tried A&P CC but she never ate the recommended amount
 
1) 4yr old TB. Try Dengie Alfa-Beet. In a separate bucket, given as part of the fibre ration in the stable.

2) Napping. Wait until the horse is sound, go back to basics and address the napping or any other problems as they crop up (if they do). Sound or not, letting a horse get away with that behaviour is not a house idea. Hope you got the horse back into the field (or wherever you was riding) for 5mins work, even if it was only in-hand work. Otherwise you've possibly added to the problem. Make a point of never getting off by the gate after riding, or worse, riding through it and back to the yard. Dismount in a different part of the field or arena each time, to stop the gate being associated with the session ending.

3) Separation anxiety. Start with taking one out of the field, but still in sight of the other, for 5min. Wait until they both become settled with this, then gradually start increasing the time apart. Progress to moving one out of sight of the other, using the same principal of gradual adjustment.
 
Could you feed the mare 3 feeds a day therefore making portions smaller?
On returning to work, I wouldn't have sat on a 4 yr old if she hadn't been ridden since before Xmas! Start again with groundwork, lunging and get her back in work mode
 
This may sound counter-intuitive, but I would suggest taking her off any cereal at all. Feed grass nuts and no alflalfa either (a lot of mares can have problem because of the phyto-oestrogens) The grass nuts can be fed alongside ad lib good quality forage. We are keeping weight on our 30 year old with a mix of grass nuts, ready grass and speedy beet. We tend not to feed cereals much after we had a TbX WelshD who had awful behaviour problems when fed cereals. We have found that this works well and keep weight on the poor doers.
 
She's only been ridden a handful of times but I couldn't let her resort back to broncing which happened after she was broken as a 3 yo then turned away.

I will admit to getting off but I made her walk around the yard being led. after about 2/3 mins of planting she gave in and happily zig zagged her way around.

I shall look into going back to basic feeds if that makes sense. I was worried that it wouldn't have enough calories to sustain a healthy weight.

3 meals a day isn't an option as the yard is 10mins drive from my house and with work I can't get there
 
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