D&H Build up VS. Baileys Topline & Condition mix - opinions please

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lexibell

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I have a loan horse who has lost quite a bit of condition this winter. My vet has visited him and done bloods and hes upto date with worming so no underlying problems that we can find.

Ive only had him a fortnight, When I took him on he was on Baileys topline & Conditioning No. 4, but I've always used D&H and so am considering changing him to build up - anyone any experiences of either brand, or any other better alternatives they can recommend?? or any other advice for building up a poor horse???

Thanks Guys x


(ALSO POSTED IN NL)
 
I've used both (Baileys No.4 mix & cubes) and Build Up Mix - the D&H worked much better than the Baileys for my lot.
 
A horse will only put on weight if it is fed more energy in its diet than it needs for day to day living. So any feed can put on weight if it is providing more energy than the horse needs just to live. Some feeds are higher in energy per kg so you can feed less to get the same effect. Your horse has obviously not received sufficient energy in its diet, so it has used up his own sources to live.

Feed ad-lib hay/haylage, including in the field. Rug appropriately so the horse isnt using his fat sources up trying to keep warm. Whatever hard feed you choose should be kept to as low starch as possible to minimise problems. Any cereal based feed will have starch but it can vary a huge amount between brands, some leisure mixes can be 30% starch, which is high! Some weight gain mixes and competition feeds can be 40-50% starch. Mixes usually have higher starch than cubes.

I really rate badminton conditioning nuggets. They are 25% starch, so much lower than many others and they are also much cheaper than most other similar feeds. The energy level is 13.5 mj/kg, which is higher than build up mix, so per kg of feed you will get more conditioning value. This is important because hard feed should be limited to a max of 2kg per meal for a horse.

A base of unmollassed sugar beet and a decent chaff, such as alfalfa/grass or alfalfa with oil with a conditioning feed alongside ad lib hay should help. But introduce any new feeds gradually.
 
I had great results with my ex racing TB using D&H build up mix. He really did look fab on it. Have since changed to A&P C&C as I prefer his temprament on the latter.
 
Thanks guys.

He is an exracer TB and Im feeding him as much hay as I can get into him and hes having exactly what the baileys helpline suggested in terms of quantities. hes very underweight so I havent even ridden him yet, vets advicewas to build him up with lots of walking, so am long reining or walking in hand once a day for a couple of miles. hes has a HW rug with neck. teeth etc all been checked.


TT - I'd not heard of bad. cond cubes before so will have a look at those too,
 
Totally agree with TeddyT, Av (also exracer TB) can go very light in the winter. This year I have changed her diet to unmollassed sugarbeet, Alpha A Oil and build up and she is looking fab. I decreased her feed during the snow phase when she want doing much and havent really bothered to increase it again yet- she is still a little porky!
 
I know I may sound mad but any of those mixes go to my mares head. She is a TB, ex racer infact. Luckily she is actually a good doer and only needs one feed a day in the winter. I feed her Oats and Alfa A. Its the only feed I have found that keeps her looking good without sending her to the moon.
However if you have a fizzier TB, Allen and Page Calm and Condition is good for weight, but keeping them relaxed, people really reccomend it.
Any chance that you get get hold of some good hayledge? I find this really helps if you have a horse that isn't quite such a good doer, good quality hayledge makes all the difference.
 
I've used both with success. A horse I used to have was on "build up" for a few years, he would still lose weight every winter though but looked good the rest of the time. However, in the last year I had him (on the same feed) suddenly he kept weight on all winter! Very odd. I think that was just him though. I use Baileys on my current horse, he was very thin when I got him and it definately helped build him up and keep weight on him - he stays the same weight all year round now even though he's a naturally slim TB x who I thought I'd worry about. He competes off it easily. Id tend to go for the Baileys.
 
My mare is the same she heats up at the slightest sign of starch in her feed but equally struggles to keep weight on in the winter.
I think you need to be looking at the oil content in the feed if you want calories but not in the form of starch, i would suggest a cereal free diet but with at least 8% oil in, i use Oat and Barley free but then i love all Falcon products as they are all low starch and high oil. I would dissagree with the comment on most leisure mixes being about 30% starch as this would be very high for a basic mix, even a race mix is only around 55% starch.
 
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