best feed for weight gain?

H

htobago

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 March 2007
Messages
2,937
Location
Oxford and London
Visit site
What have you found to be the best feed for putting weight on without 'fizzing up'?

Young stallion (3yo) just started stud duties - all a bit too exciting and having difficulty putting weight on for the show season.

He's not thin or anything - bursting with health and energy, coat is so shiny it's dazzling - just looks like a fit racehorse rather than showing weight. First show 3 June (if we can get the weight on...)

Already on Baileys Topline. His show trainer/handler has recommended yearling cubes. Any other thoughts?
 
If he looks dazzling and fit - that is the weight he should be surely? There has been a lot of talk recently about "show condition" actually "meaning far too fat". If he is the Arab in your signature - he is absolutely stunning
smile.gif
You could try looking at simple system feeds -Jane has been breeding and competing on Arabs for years.
 
Thanks Jay2!

The pics in my sig were all taken last year, when he was a 2yo - before all the added excitement of becoming a breeding stallion...

I do totally agree about not liking overweight show horses - but he honestly is a bit too light at the moment, despite the dazzling shine!

Will investigate SS - thanks!

Any other thoughts? I should have said he's on pasture mix and sugarbeet as well as the Baileys. Maybe one of those oil/linseed-based supplements?
 
If he's standing at stud this year then maybe a stud balancer (Bailey's) or a form of stud mix as they are geared towards horses in that form of work and endeavour to keep condition on without 'fizzin' them up too badly. Ring the Bailey's helpline if that is the feed you're currently on - they are very very helpful
 
You could add more oil to his feed? We used to use quite a significant amount of stud mix on stallions that were covering mares. It can be very hardwork for them
 
Calm and Condition is my fav at the moment it has transformed my boy!
He is also getting boiled linseed and chamomile sp tea
smile.gif

someone suggested eggs yesterady but I am not sure baout that one...
N
x
 
my mare is on Baileys Stud Balancer and instand linseed and she has a fantastic shine to her. However shes a good doer so i cant comment on the weight thing - only in that shes now being fed VERY minimal amounts as she was getting a bit porky
blush.gif


My other horse is on calm and condition (Allen&Page) which i really rate. i feed him that along with alfa-oil (which i had to introduce very slowly as he didnt like it to start with) and baileys outshine - hes putting on weight and condition slowly but surely now.
 
My horse was very poor when I got him so i fed him build up cubes and sunflower oil and alfa alfa, he looks great now, over only a few months has pu on loads of muscle and though he is naturally fizzy these feeds certainly didn't make him any worse.
 
I would be tempted to pm SallyF or HenryHorn. Both have stallions, and Sallys are now in the covering season and so will be able to help enormously.

The amount of energy taken up with covering is enormous isn't it?? And it's so easy for them to drop weight.
 
Id have him on a stud mix of some sort but have sugar beet and alfa-A oil mixed in with his feed. How many times is he getting fed a day? If only once then have you thought about giving him two slightly smaller feeds rather than one big feed?
 
I have fed all of mine at some point or another on Build Up from Dodson & Horrell.

My aged TB has it all of the time now and it never seems to produce any fizziness, my young horse had it for a while before being taken to some county shows with never a problem.

WOuld highly recommend it!
 
It does depend on the stallion alot and his temperament.
High Tension TB is pretty laid back and has Alfa a oil 1/2 scoop ,Baileys stud cubes flat scoop ,Baileys stud Balancer 250gms plus speedibeet twice a day .
Also ad lib haylage and short amount of turnout.
May I also TB is Mr laid back and tends to be the exception to the rule as he lives on 1 scoop happy hoof ,500gms of stud balancer plus speedibeet twice a day plus ad lib haylage and short amount of turnout.
They are also both lunged quite hard every day and then obviously the covering and although we dont cover hundreds of mares they both cover between 20 and 30 a year.
So do work reasonably hard.
Temperament is the key and keeping him calm try something like the Nupafeed magnesium supplement i have a friend whose stallion does really well on it .
 
He is naturally very lively and full of himself, whatever one feeds him, although very sweet-natured and affectionate.

Update - I had a long talk with the nutrionist at Baileys and she recommended losing the pasture mix and just feeding a larger amount of the Topline, plus lots of Outshine (along with the sugarbeet and ad lib hay he's already getting). Apparently Outshine is non-fizzing, and very high calorie, so probably the best thing for weight gain. And also unlike cereals won't carry risk of azoturia, which we were concerned about.

His trainer recommends working him twice a day, which they are now doing. I'm thinking we should back him and start riding him out, to get him out and give him a change of scenery, away from the sight and smells of all those mares...? Give him something else to explore (he's insatiably curious) and think about...?

So maybe will try this - thanks so much for telling me about Outshine, oils, etc. This has been a really helpful thread! I'll try to do some 'before and after' pics to assess this regime...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top