Barefoot feeding and weight gain.

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thatsmygirl

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Hi just wondered if somebody could please help on the following.
My lad is currently on fast fibre, micro linseed, equimins advance complete, salt, calmag and ers pellets.
He does need more weight, and with winter coming close I'm starting to wonder what I can do to help that.
He's on 2 big heaped mugs off linseed a day so don't really want to add more so was thinking fenagrek ( spelling) or any other ideas?
Also he won't eat the fast fibre without some kind off nut added hence the ers pellets but would spillers high fibre be a better choice?
Also I'm interested in oberons thread on herbs, is there any herbs that could help him in general, just be make his dull boring dinner seem better? Since he's been on this diet, dinner times don't mean much to him which is a shame as he use to love his food. Now he eats it but is like " oh not this again"
 
Speedi beet?

Soaked oats? - My very sugar sensitive boy has been fine on crushed oats - soaking them is meant to make them 'live' and they are aparently very good for weightgain. will also add interest to his bowl ;)

Is he getting any hay?

As for natural treats, my boy loves thistle flowers, cleavers (bit late to find it now), rosehips (too early to find them wild at the mo) and hawthorn (bit late to find it at it's sweetest but try some leaves) ... I also have a tub of mint growing at the yard and I pick a few leaves and add to his feed.
 
I feed bran (but thats due to my forage being v low in phosphorous) and if needed Id feed thunder brooks organic live oats - non heating but excellent for weight gain in the 17 yr old i had living out in -15 with no forage!

Herb wise mine turned their noses up at mint, tumeric and fennel seeds which others seems to like but love spearmint! You can have a few pots of each and sprinkle one one day and another the next etc to make it varied.

http://www.thunderbrook.co.uk/mature-organic-oats/

http://www.naturalhorsesupplies.co.uk/p/product/0802242241-Spearmint+900g++%A3699%3C+font%3E/
 
I do add a bit off mint but it makes no different.
Speedi beet he won't touch. Soaked oats is a thought, how long do u soak them for? and how much water? And will they not add energy? Which I don't want. What do u mean by soaking them makes them live?
 
I feed speedibeet, linseed, bran (but as tigertail said need to know your phosphorous) and Coolstance Copra.
The latter is high oil and protein, no sugar and starch is 1.2 % high in calories and very palatable
 
My TB has always been a pain in the bum for condition, and really struggled for a while when I switched onto a barefoot diet. I tried heaps of speedibeet, oats, oil, saracen's re-leve, triple top up, you name it. Then I switched to the following:

Normal sugarbeet with the molasses rinsed off (1 soaked scoop per feed)
500g of micro linseed
a mug of oats
a mug of bran
Forage Plus winter balancer (it was winter at the time ;))

I was very worried at first that he'd look like a hat rack without all the hard feed, but he looks better than ever. He gained weight in the middle of winter, and has looked fabulous ever since. He doesn't even need hard feed now, but he gets some to hide his minerals in. Come winter I'll just up the linseed, and I'm sure he'll look fab :D
 
If he's struggling to maintain his weight with adlib forage and the bucket feed he is getting I would discuss with the vet if there is something else going on.
 
It's not that's he's skinny Oberon ( see pic in last thread) I'm just worried as I would like more on him just to start winter off with.
He's a chilled out lad with no vices.
Oh oberon I was waiting for your views on his feet :) please look at my other thread. I don't think u saw it
 
What about trying Pure Feeds Condition mix? It has pellets in it, and you won't need to add all your other seperate bits (linseed, salt etc.) as it already has them in it. All 3 of my horses LOVE their Pure Feed. Could be worth a shot?
 
Second the oats

I've rethought oats over the last year - I've found my cereal intolerant guy actually does OK on oats, and I even feed them at the rate of 200gr a day to my chronic laminitic and he is doing great on them

We are too used to horses being a certain weight in this country - I bet your horse is not really overweight :)
 
thatsmygirl said:
It's not that's he's skinny Oberon ( see pic in last thread) I'm just worried as I would like more on him just to start winter off with.
He's a chilled out lad with no vices.
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Fair enough. I can see what you mean by wanting a bit more weight for the winter but I wouldn't panic too much.

If he has been lame and/or uncomfortable for a while, that in itself is very calorie demanding. You may find he puts more weight on as his hooves improve.

Did he take to copra?

I am going to try some Aloe Vera for my old boy's gut to give him a bit of a detox.
 
No oberon he wouldn't take to the copra, iv got 2 bags sat doing nothing if anybody wanted to pick them up if local to me ( east Devon area)
so soaked oats, how long do u soak them? How much water? And they aren't heating? Cause iv always thought of oats as heating.
 
I'd buy the copra from you if I was near enough. Mine is addicted to the stuff (blame Nic barker for that) to the point that he's out of work atm but I give him a sprinkle to avoid the tantrums.

What about adding some timothy haylage to his forage, horsehage in the purple bag is one.

Oberon what are your thoughts on rice bran , seems to be in fashion with some ex racer people adding it as a non heating conditioning feed for tbs but don't know much about it.
 
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criso said:
Oberon what are your thoughts on rice bran , seems to be in fashion with some ex racer people adding it as a non heating conditioning feed for tbs but don't know much about it.
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I looked into feeding rice bran a while ago but it was

a) Hard to find locally

b) High in fat - a horse's natural diet is a naturally low fat one, so it didn't sit well with me.

c) Rice - which just felt wrong to feed :o
 
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