Advice on feeding skinny warmblood

J

JodiUlyssa

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Hey everyone... Nedding some advice on keeping weight on a slim belgian warmblood. She is a nightmare for dropping weight in the drop of a hat and can be quite fussy. We used to feed Equilibrium Growth but after she had a sore back we didnt see the benefits. After trying some other feeds she was on flaked barley, apple chaff and economy mix. She started rearing so our new instructor suggested she came off the barley. We have tried Baileys No. 4(i think) cubes but they blew her brains. A friend suggested a slow release mix but i dont know what else to feed her. Any suggestions welcome

Thanks Jx
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First of all I would make sure she gets as much good quality hay or haylage as you can get into her. If she is stabled overnight then ensure that you give her enough so that there is a little bit left in the morning. Aside from good grazing, good quality hay/haylage is usually the most cost-effective way to get calories into them. The more hay/haylage she eats, the less you will need to supplement with expensive bucket feeds.

It sounds like she doesn't tolerate cereals well, so you could try basing her feeds on highly digestible sources of fibre like alfafa and beet. My personal choice would be Alfa Beet or Fibre Beet, perhaps with broad spectrum vit/min supplement if you want to ensure she is getting all her vit/mins. If you find that is not enough on its own then you could add an oil source of some kind - cheapest option is supermarket veg oil but some people prefer to feed an oil-rich supplement like Outshine or Equijewel, or using an oil-rich chaff like Alfa A Oil.

Personally, I prefer this system of feeding to complete feeds, as you can increase or decrease the amount of feed according to condition, but still ensure the amount of vit/mins stay the same.
 
As TGM says, you need to give her good quality hay or haylage, if you can get it, seed haylage will be more fattening than regular meadow haylage or meadow hay.

Dengie Alfa-A or Alfa-Oil will be fattening/conditioning feeds and ought not to make her go bonkers. If you add something like TopSpec or Dynamic pro which are both designed to provide vitamins and minerals and are also sold as "conditioning" supplements. SugarBeet whether it is Alfa-Beet (added Alfalfa is another high fibre, slow energy release product. I prefer the one's that have no added molasses.

If you looked at photos of my TB when I got her at 7yrs, - after 18 months in a field - and now, as a 14 year old, you would not recognise her, now she has muscle on muscle. So with work and age their physique will change.
 
thanks.... She gets 2 huge haynets of really good quality haylage a night that she doesnt finish. A friend suggested the Alfa -oil but she has only researched it on the internet and thats why i left this post to see if anyone had tried and tested. She is 11 but was very lean when we bought her and is only now just putting some weight on. She gets a decent amount of speedi-beet but do you think the fibre beet would be better??
 
I'm surprised that baileys no.4 cubes blew her brains as my mare hasn't changed at all on it, even though she has gradually changed onto double energy feed! Alfa A oil is good and can also be used as a forage replacer mixed with beet I think. Good luck!
 
Alpha oil certainly seemed to put weight on my skinny warmblood, however it also made him very itchy (to the point of pushing the fence over). I had to take him off the alfafa which stopped the itching so I now add some soya oil to his D&H build up mix and apple chaff.
A plentiful supply of good haylage seems to keep his weight on now.
btw, I'm sure you already have but make sure his teeth are ok!
 
AlfaBeet/Fibre Beet is not necessarily better, but personally I find it more convenient to feed, as it is alfafa and beet combined, so I don't have to buy alfafa and beet separately. Last time I looked at prices it seemed cheaper to feed AlfaBeet than buy Alfa A and Speedibeet, but prices have changed since then, so don't take my word for it!
 
I have a german WB who struggles to keep weight on but can be very sharp/spooky. Ditto what others have said about as much access to hay, haylage and good grazing as possible.

During the summer months he gets alfa a oil, pony cubes and small amounts of Baileys Competition mix (no 9) - it works really well for helping keep weight and 'spark' without blowing his brain!

In the winter he comes off the mix and goes onto Alfa Beet - I can't recommend this stuff enough. Last winter when I started feeding this was the first year he has kept his weight on and he looked really well. I also recommend Baileys Outshine - expensive for a bag but you only need small amounts to help put weight on
 
Good grazing, adlib haylage and as much turnout as possible. Be careful of conditioning feeds if she is a bit fizzy as they can actually work against what you are trying to do.
 
Ive got a 17.2 warmblood that can drop weight very easily. I have been feeding him "middlings" in with his feed of calm and condition, speedibeet and alpha a over the last 2 years. Middlings is a cereal based and cheap feed which will make her put weight on without any fizzing. He definately keeps his weight on since Ive added this to his feed.
 
Alfa Oil, Topspec balancer and Topspec cool condition cubes or Alfa Oil and Allen and Page Calm and condition. Both options are low in starch, high in fibre and oil, and have enough good quality protein to build muscle. Alfa is excellent for foot quality aswell
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