Condition Needed Welsh x New Forest

3OldPonies

3OldPonies

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I have a 25 yr old, 14.1 hh, Welsh x New Forest pony. Usually I have trouble keeping him slim, but this winter the weight has dropped off. He's probably about a 2 on the condition scoring scale. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can build him back up a bit - I don't want to go too far too fast as with spring (hopefully) around the corner I do have a concern about the dreaded laminitis. At present I've just switched him from an own brand light mix and chaff onto Spillers Senior Conditioning Mix and Dengie Alfa-A Oil. He's turned out 24/7 with a couple of cosy rugs, but my grass is really poor after all the wet weather and although he likes his hay and has as much as I can get into him I don't think it can be up to much nutritionally.
 
If you are worried about Laminitus then I would not have him on a Mix (Sugar content). I would put him onto a cube such as Baileys No4.

Of all mine it is only my New Forest Mare that has not lost weight over the winter. She is on Alfa Oil , Baileys Lo Cal Balancer and Baileys No 4 Conditioning Cubes.

She looks really well.
 
paulineh said:
If you are worried about Laminitus then I would not have him on a Mix (Sugar content). I would put him onto a cube such as Baileys No4.

Of all mine it is only my New Forest Mare that has not lost weight over the winter. She is on Alfa Oil , Baileys Lo Cal Balancer and Baileys No 4 Conditioning Cubes.

She looks really well.
Click to expand...

Baileys no4 for a laminitic??? it's about 25% sugar :eek: personally, I'd stay away from all cubes/mixes/nuts in general.
 
Have you have his teeth checked recently? Old horses often have dental problems and this can lead to them chewing hay more slowly and therefore losing condition.
 
He's due a teeth check at the end of the month - time for the annual MOT! But I think in the main he's pretty much OK in that department, he's not dropping food or taking ages to eat.

Thanks for the suggestions about the Baileys No. 4, I'm starting him on to A&P's Calm and Condition with the Alfa-A oil and hay after a suggestion from a nutritionist - so will have to see how we go. He seems to be quite happy to eat it and has perked up a bit, maybe he is now getting the extra energy he needs to put on some weight.

One other question though - how long would you guys keep trying with a feed before changing to something else. I'm getting through my first bag of C&C quite quickly, so I was thinking maybe if nothing is happening by halfway through the second that I should start to look at something else.
 
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