Conditioning feed suggestions

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Astra

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I've got a 16.1 TB that's looking a bit poor coming out of the winter, who is also quite a fussy eater.

Currently he is on a cool mix (because he likes it) with Baileys No 4 conditioning cubes and speedibeet. He has adlib haylage overnight and is out during the day on not great grass.

He gets a small hard feed for breakfast as he is a slow eater (handful mix, cubes and beet each) and I need to get him fed and turned out before work, then a larger feed when he comes in (3/4 a large round scoop of mix, 3/4 mix of nuts and 3/4 scoop of beet). He tends not to eat this in one go, but most of it is gone by the morning.

In the past few weeks he has gone off his cubes and is leaving as much of them as he can pick out (I mix them in well with his mix and beet for this reason) and he has dropped weight since he started doing this. This behaviour isn't that unusual for him. He has gone off other feeds in the past.

I was thinking about swapping him on to a conditioning mix but he was quite sharp when I had him on the Baileys conditioning mix in the past, which is why I swapped to the cubes. He is being very laid back on his current diet so I am considering swapping the cubes and mix for a conditioning mix instead. Does anyone have any suggestions for a mix that won't send him over the top?

I can't feed him oil as it gives him the runs and he won't eat chaffs/alfa. He loves his haylage and I give him as much as he will eat overnight.

He has got a clean bill of health from the vet and no worm/teeth problems. So what does everyone suggest?
 
If he does not like hard feed much, buy him some seed haylage, rye-grass haylage is much more fattening than meadow grass haylage. Try upping the quantity he gets, ad-lib means as much as he can eat. Does he get so much that there is some left in the morning ? if he leaves some, then he gets enough/too much. if it is all gone, he probably could eat more.

Best quality seed Hay or Haylage is more fattening than hard feed.
 
Yes he does have a small amount of haylage left in the morning. He has it adlib in the stable all the time he is in. The haylage is of good quality but it is meadow grass, rather than rye grass. It's what the whole yard is on and it would be difficult (although not impossible) for me to buy in my own. I'd rather try a different hard feed first, but I'll certain bear that in mind for the future.

A
 
My boy did not like Baileys conditioning cubes and they turned him into a loon (and he was completely fine with mix). I fed Spillers conditioning cubes with success - put on a lot of condition and stayed sane.

I also feed linseed for condition.

TGM on here is really good on feeds - she can tell you what the DE and starch levels are in everything!
 
There are a few options - if you can afford to feed it the winergy range is really good but is about£12 a bag and it is only 15kg ,they normally recommend about 4kg a day for a 16.1hh but some people can feed less than that and still get a good result. If you want to change your mix/cubes so you are feeding one variety depending on the work load - if in regular work then the endurance mixes are good as they base alot of their energy levels (normally 13.5 - 14mj/de)in fibre and oil and they are slow release so you shouldn't get any unwanted behaviour !!! I found these better for my horse than the normal conditioning feeds but apreciate they wouldn't be the first port of call for most people.If in ligh work maybe go for a 16+ /senior mix even if they are younger as these tend to be palatable/extras like grated carrots etc to encourage eating but tend to be lower in energy(normally around 12 mj/de)or if you just want an additive to your current feed the top spec conditioning flakes give good,quick results and horses seem to find them pretty tasty. Pink powder by naf is pretty good as well as it ensures that all the right bacteria are in the gut.
 
How about adding in TopSpec balancer. It gets rave reviews on here and my horse looks fab on it. You feed it in small quantities too, so your hoss won't be overfaced by it either.
 
I would suggest Calm & Condition. My TB thrives on the stuff & now comes out of winter looking great!
He has this with Alfa A Oil.
In the depths of winter he also has Top Spec Conditioning Flakes - which he thinks are scrummy. They just add a bit extra.
All the TBs/wbloods on our yard are now on this diet & look fab on even & stay sane. Even the most bonkers TB we have.

I would be wary of TS Balancer purely from my own experiences of it sending several horses loopy - including my own. Although others have had good results as a maintenance feed.

Would also recommend NAF Pink Powder - I absolutley swear by the stuff!
 
Mine is also on Calm and Condition and I have found it very good. Search on here for TopSpec - there's definately more good than bad said about it but it is of course horses for courses!
 
I fed Winergy Condition all winter to my 4 yr old and she never dropped in weight, even when clipped. As was said above it's not cheap but as a complete feed the only thing you need to add is sugar beet. I found that I went through roughly a bag a week. She is 16.1hh Warmblood.
 
I would rec Blue Chip. My TBx is fed it with suger beet and alfa A oil and is slowly getting a litte more weight on. Hes a very fussy eater aswell but he eats it ok (slowly!) I quite expensive but seems to last. X
 
i too would suggest looking at the winergy range, email them for some info, they are very helpful
smile.gif
 
is he getting any kind of vit and min supplement or balancer? if not, he will be lacking in essential micronutrients. i have a fiery little chestnut and he is fine on the TopSpec. He is alo incredibly fussy about hard feed and a very slow eater - I struggle to get enough into him. Have settled on TopSpec Cool Condition cubes and Saracen ReLeve (a mix) - totally starch free so guarenteed not to send him loopy! He also gets full rations of TopSpec balancer and Bailey's Outshine. Have also recently started adding a handful of TopSpec Super Conditioning Flakes but they are pure cereal so am watching carefully for any loopy behaviour. He is hard work, hunting weekly at the moment.
 
My horse's appetite sounds very much like yours, he gets Calm & Condition, Top Spec Leisuretime balancer and Fibrebeet. He's come out of the winter looking brill - and he's 34!
 
Another vote for Top Spec Balancer. Tried various combinations but the one that put weight on my boy but didnt turn him into a loon was TopSpec Comp Balancer, speedibeet and Outshine. He is 16.1hh tbx 12 year old out 24/7 with adlib haylage. He hated AlfaAOil and is a slow eater and I needed to pack as many slow release calories into his 2 feeds a day. I think it was actually the Outshine that put weight on him.... but the Balancer made sure he has all the right vits/mins etc.

Having said that however, the Outshine might not suit your boy if he cant tolerate oil and I have had to stop TopSpec as the cost is so high (have switched to Equine Answers 360 supplement instead as seems to have similar ingredients)

Sorry bit waffly - but might give you some other ideas...
 
I have a TB mare who dropped condition back end of last winter, so this year I was more than prepared, she is on Calm and Condition, graze on and soya oil, she has a really nice covering, and is nice and sane. I would also recommend Winergy Equilibrium Condition, it's a completed feed., so all you would have to add is your speedibeet One of mine is a fussy eater and she has mint added to her feed. Contact some of the feed company they would be more than happy to help you and advise you on certain feeds.
 
[ QUOTE ]
How about adding in TopSpec balancer. It gets rave reviews on here and my horse looks fab on it. You feed it in small quantities too, so your hoss won't be overfaced by it either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto above
 
I took on a boy last summer who has always had problems keeping on weight. He dropped weight over winter which was expected but quite scary as I've never had a poor doer before!

With the help/advice of H&H forum-ers (and backed up by the feed expert at local mill) i changed him from calm and cond/alfa a/pony nuts and regular beet onto

baileys no 4 cubes
alfa-a oil
2 cups baileys outshine
pink powder (yakult for ponies to make sure their gut is doing all it should)
plus i kept the regular beet

it has performed a miracle and he put on weight pretty fast and is looking bloomin marvelous now. Outshine is expensive but is really worth it and i've only used 2 bags this year. As an added bonus it makes them gleam too!!!

This is quite a high oil solution, which yours might not take to at first but mine is also a fussy eater and turned his nose up for the first 24 hours after me introducing new ingredients but then got on with it and now loves it!

Pink powder could definitely be worth a try as it could be he is just not absorbing what you're giving him. I was advised to feed two of the little blue scoops twice daily to start.

Hope this helps and that you find the right solution for him.
 
I use winergu condition, swapped from the growth as i needed a bit more energy but both really good at putting condition safely and relatively quickly.
 
QR: The problem for suggesting Winergy for this horse is that the OP has said that the horse doesn't like chaff-type or alfafa type feeds - as Winergy is a chaff-like feed that contains alfalfa, it is highly likely that the horse won't like it!
 
Well spotted! I didn't read that bit. If OP can get hold of a sample might be worth a try. I've had a couple who wont eat Alfa A or HiFi because it is so course and bitter but will eat winergy. sorry i'm harping on again. I'll shut up!
 
Don't forget that balancers don't contain calories. If a horse is putting on weight while eating one, it is because you have either increased the calorie intake at the same time or the balancer is helping him utilise his feed better.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Don't forget that balancers don't contain calories.

[/ QUOTE ] Balancer DO contain some calories, for example Top Spec Comprehensive contains 14 MJDE/kg (more than a lot of conditioning mixes and cubes) - however, because they are fed at a comparatively low rate (ie 500g a day rather than several kilograms a day), they won't make a huge difference to the calorie content of the diet.

However, I do see the point you are trying to make, it is just not based on totally the correct facts!
 
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