Balancer for topline!!! HELP!

[hayleymyles]

Hello, I currently have a tb that needs to put weight on but i'm struggling... mainly looking for topline specific weight gain...

Just wondering about peoples opinions on different balancers for this? At the minute she is on topspec balancer but doesn't seem to be making a difference. She is also lunged twice a week and ridden twice a week... only really in ligth work and to build her muscles up really.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[AmyMay]

Work and correct feeding will increase muscle and top line - not balancer alone.

 

[dianchi]

What is your full feed regime at present?

 

[hayleymyles]

What is your full feed regime at present?

AM & PM:

Chaff
Spillers horse and pony cubes but now on soaked calm and condition - allen and page.
topspec balancer
hoof supplement
baileys outshine
Hay

I was advised by vet to just add a balancer instead of a mixed hard feed for building topline..?

 

[wench]

Bit of a strange combination tbh...

 

[chestnut cob]

That's 3 different vit/min and/or balancer supplements isn't it? You will be duplicating, waste of money.

You can put weight on with feed/ calories, but you will only get muscle (topline etc) with a combination of the right feed and the right work. TBH if the horse is skinny then for now I'd probably be feeding something like Speedibeet with micronised linseed and a balancer.

 

[AmyMay]

I thought she looked a good weight in your photo's of her on 10th when you posted your thread about her.

 

[dianchi]

Sorry what quantities are you feeding?
Chaff- What/which?
soaked calm and condition - allen and page. How much?
topspec balancer
hoof supplement
baileys outshine
Hay- how much?

Personally I would replace outshine with linseed- cheaper and just as good
Hoof supplement- which one and why?

I would lose the top spec also.

With your work- what lunge and ridden work is she doing? I find using poles makes a difference whilst lunging.

 

[hayleymyles]

I thought she looked a good weight in your photo's of her on 10th when you posted your thread about her.

she struggles to maintain it and the vet has said she needs to put more on...? My gut instinct is to trust the vet..

If anyone could sugges any ideas? Might try linseed...

 

[hayleymyles]

Sorry what quantities are you feeding?
Chaff- What/which?
soaked calm and condition - allen and page. How much?
topspec balancer
hoof supplement
baileys outshine
Hay- how much?

Personally I would replace outshine with linseed- cheaper and just as good
Hoof supplement- which one and why?

I would lose the top spec also.

With your work- what lunge and ridden work is she doing? I find using poles makes a difference whilst lunging.

Chaff - Mollichaff extra 1 scoop each feed.
calm and condition - 1 scoop each feed to 4 mugs of water
topspec - 1 mug each feed
hoof supplement because my friend gave up horses and had half a tub left for free so tried it... off the top of my head not sure of the name.
outshine - 1 mug each feed but again this was to use up and try for free and has now all gone (well by tonight)
hay - about half a bale a night... she has LOADS of grass so try to avoid giving too much hay as she just gets too greedy!


I feed her exactly what my vet had said to, quanitites and everything but I just don't see any improvement..

riding: Lunge using John Whittaker system, walk, trot, canter, pole work... mostly do it to build up trust etc..
I hack about once a week.
I school once a week which I have been trying to keep an outline going mostly.. not started much jumping with her yet, the odd one for variety as she loves it.

So I should avoid topspec, go for linseed instead of baileys? Recommendations on hard feed? Or a better balancer? Just so she gets all her vits... As chestnut cob says 'the right diet' but my vet has given me my diet and it doesn't appear to be making any difference.. if anything shes losing weight so im unsure of the correct diet anymore.

 

[AmyMay]

I feed her exactly what my vet had said to, quanitites and everything but I just don't see any improvement..

I agree, trust your vet. But you have only had the horse a short time, and what you should be looking for is a steady improvement.

Do you weight tape her weekly?

And if you really are concerned about her weight etc. then personally I would feed something like Dodson and Horrell Build up Cubes along with Alpha A Oil.

As it will be the combination of correct feeding and work that will put on muscle and topline. And there's nothing better at doing this than hacking, hacking and hacking some more.

 

[hayleymyles]

I agree, trust your vet. But you have only had the horse a short time, and what you should be looking for is a steady improvement.

Do you weight tape her weekly?

And if you really are concerned about her weight etc. then personally I would feed something like Dodson and Horrell Build up Cubes along with Alpha A Oil.

As it will be the combination of correct feeding and work that will put on muscle and topline. And there's nothing better at doing this than hacking, hacking and hacking some more.

Thank you. Yes I've only really given it a month so im probably just being impatient!!

Thank you for your nonjudgemental advice I really appreciate it!

 

[be positive]

What size is the scoop? Calm and condition soaks in twice its volume of water, are you sure it is correctly soaked?
The chaff is just a sugary filler offering very little to the diet and possibly with the molasses in it doing harm to her condition.
I would stick to the c&c for a while to see if it suits her, add linseed and grass nuts instead of chaff, this is what one of mine gets and competes on it maintaining a good topline.
If she wants more hay let her have it, the best way to hold condition is to let them have adlib, proper adlib not slightly restricted, forage, most horses will stop eating once they have filled up but if restricted often bolt it faster rather than pick on it through the night.

 

[AmyMay]

If she wants more hay let her have it, the best way to hold condition is to let them have adlib, proper adlib not slightly restricted, forage, most horses will stop eating once they have filled up but if restricted often bolt it faster rather than pick on it through the night.

Really good advice.

 

[JillA]

Really good advice.

Yes, I think so too - anything in a bucket is only a tiny percentage of the overall diet. Good quality fodder is the key, and then you need to be looking at protein levels and sugar/cereal levels in the feed you do give her in a bucket. Protein builds soft tissue and the immune system, so you need that to build muscle, which then needs work to develop it.
Too much sugar and cereal (which breaks down to starch) tends them towards insulin resistance, the equine version of diabetes, if you like. Check labels or web sites to check the make up of the feeds you are buying, - look for protein (Speedybeet = 9%, grass nuts = 12%, alfalfa nuts = 14% as a few examples or you can get lysine, the protein they need most, on its own) and sugars well below 10%, the lower the better. Cross examine your vet - TBH your vet can't really determine your horses diet without knowing how much and what quality the forage is, so yes, take his advice but evaluate it and understand what he is trying to achieve.

 

[Me and Bo]

I recently brought a tb with topline issues. My vet recommended Alfa a, baileys no. 4 and small amount of speedibeet twice a day and as much hay as she can eat at night which is currently 2 hay nets. In a week there is already a huge difference she is gaining weight and improving her topline. Currently not ridden due to being in poor health but walked up the lane every day

 

[meesha]

I agree good quality AdLib forage is the key, and as much turnout with company may help if horse is stressing it off. Topspec balancer should give you all the vits/mins so you can then just add something for weight gain (no idea on this as I have porkers)

 

[Cortez]

As far as I am aware there is no "balancer for topline": a balancer is a vitamin/mineral supplement to fill in the gaps in regular feed/pasture. These are micro nutrients, not major calorie suppliers. It sounds like you need to review the main building blocks of your horse's feed, so ad lib hay would be the starting place, followed by other sources of higher calorie fibre such as beet pulp (speedybeet), hard feeds and oil based feed (linseed) or straight vegetable oil.

 

[Izzwizz]

Fibre Beet is good for adding condition and as others have said Top Spec is to fill in the gaps. My gelding has Top Spec and has never looked so good, shiny coat etc. Hacking out is the best way to gain top line, hill work and lots of walking, marching on and in the bridle with a break every so often. Steady build up is the best way, make sure your worming is up to date too....

 

[Tnavas]

Work and correct feeding will increase muscle and top line - not balancer alone.

With the amount of work your horse is getting you will struggle to get any good topline. As Amymay says - topline comes from working the horse correctly - not from any feed you can give it.

To build muscle you do need a good source of protein along with an adequate supply of Lysine which is an amino acid that is needed to utilise the proteins in any feed. Some extra weight will give a better optical illusion of top line but it is the work that truly develops it.

Many TB's are extremely hard to develop topline as their necks come out low from the withers compared to the Warmbloods.

 

[Spyda]

Work and correct feeding will increase muscle and top line - not balancer alone.

This really is the case. I use balancers when my horses are already up-to-weight and holding their weight well. Balancers are designed to provide quality protein and vit/mins in a dense, low energy, form. They are ideally suited for good-doer's or as a supplement fed with additional calorie dense feed stuffs.

IME a decent Conditioning cube fed at appropriate levels with something like AlfaA Oil, Speedibeet and a mug or two of micronized linseed meal (along with ad-lib quality forage) works better than replying on a balancer. This, along with the slow and steady work you are doing with her already, will get a top line developing over time. Good luck.