Effective weight gain diet plan?

ImmyS

ImmyS

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We have had our new ex racer for about 7 weeks now who came to us quite underweight. She came to us on calm and condition so we carried on with this and although she has picked up a little she is not where I would like her to be, I think she's gone as far as she can go on the c&c so we are having a little swap around.

So after lots and lots of research I decided to go with baileys no. 4 and spillers conditioning fibre. Obviously I will swap the feeds gradually however once swapped I am planning on giving her the daily recommended amount of both feeds for her size work load etc.. Split into four feeds. She also has 75 ml of soya oil in each feed and garlic. So basically I'm asking for all your expertise on whether you think this will be effective for weight gain and top line. Also who has good experiences with these feed? And How long would you expect to wait before you see a difference? :)

Ohh and teeth, worming etc. are all up to date.

Thank you for reading!

Immy x
 
Sounds like a reasonable diet but if you have any concerns you could always ring one of the nutrionists, they're usually very good with advice and will help you taylor a feed regime for your horse.
 
Just a thought, but could she have ulcers? My ex racer wasn't picking up condition and had no other symptoms other than being a little girthy sometimes. I had a hunch and had him scoped and it turned out he had quite a bad case and had probably had them since he came off the track quite some time ago. Since they've been treated he's picked up weight nicely.

Vet's advice for my TB is that the most important thing is to feed little and often but to avoid cereals as they're heating and tend to upset sensitive stomachs.

Most importantly he has ad lib hay. He then has a scoop of chaff and a 1/3rd of a scoop of basic nuts four times a day. Little and often is crucial. He also has half a mug of sunflower oil added to his feed twice a day for fat.

In terms of top line the only thing that will build that is work as it's a muscle issue rather than a fat issue - lots of hill work, lunging in a proper outline and trot and canter poles are good for this.
 
Forget all the hard feeds. She only needs enough to ensure she gets all her vitamins and minerals. Just feed her ad lib haylage whenever she is in the stable or in the field if the grazing is not really good.
 
Hi, d&h ers pellets or stay power cubes r really good for weight gain. Alfa a oil, or hi fi senior, and quick beat with a good balancer such as spillers original. U can feed loads of quick beat for weight gain! Also baileys outshine is well worth the cost to help gain weight. The top line/conditioning cubes will.only help if horse is in reasonable amount of xexercise.
 
Yes doctor green is a horses best friend. We've got two horses on a 2.8 paddock of pretty good grass. Condition as in coat wise is absolutely fab, never seen such a shiny healthy coat, she's just lacking coverage over her ribs and buttock muscles! Lots of raised poles and hills I think!

Thanks for the advice everyone! (:

Immy x
 
She's been out of racing for two years. She had been left in a field all this winter and to my understanding was not particularly well looked after. Was bought from field in february by a girl who rescues horses who then started to rehabilitate her, feeding up, exercise etc.. And then we bought her in march still pretty underweight, I would say poor to moderate.
 
i bought my exracer in very poor condition and got him to what looked like a 4* horse (not muscly, not embarrasingly thin, but far from round/well looking) quite quickly - about three weeks.
However, it then took two years to get him up to a good weight. Admittedly this is mostly because I couldnt feed him too much hard feed because he was *ahem* quirky! :o

Protexin probiotic will do her the world of good, for at least one month but I prefer not to do more than two months on it at a time because they say you replace what they naturally produce, so they stop producing it if that makes sense?! but when mine goes girthy/drops weight/I can sense he is 'not right' I put him back on protexin for a month or two.

I think ulcers have alot to answer for when it comes to not gaining weight, (just opinion, Im not a scientist) but I have been feeding mine countrywide conditioning nuts for a year or two (did research, nutritious content is very similar to the brands you pay double for and can afford to feed them as much as what is recommended) and he did gain weight (two of the big round scoops a day)
I also fed one big round scoop of showshine chaff - amazing stuff, per day.
I have recently started feeding him less chaff in a morning because he is going in the field all day so no ulcer irritating behaviour and on an evening I put his nuts in a ball which takes him alot longer to eat, then his chaff in his manger.

I used to swear by C&C but agree with you, I think there's only so much it can do.
sorry for the ramble :o:p
 
Linseed is totally amazing for weight gain! I would also say which I hope doesn't sound patronising, but don't expect too much too quickly. Slo and steady with the gain is a great way to do it. The grass is also brillian a the moment so plenty of turn out again without sounding patronising lol.
 
amy_b said:
i bought my exracer in very poor condition and got him to what looked like a 4* horse (not muscly, not embarrasingly thin, but far from round/well looking) quite quickly - about three weeks.
However, it then took two years to get him up to a good weight. Admittedly this is mostly because I couldnt feed him too much hard feed because he was *ahem* quirky! :o

Protexin probiotic will do her the world of good, for at least one month but I prefer not to do more than two months on it at a time because they say you replace what they naturally produce, so they stop producing it if that makes sense?! but when mine goes girthy/drops weight/I can sense he is 'not right' I put him back on protexin for a month or two.

I think ulcers have alot to answer for when it comes to not gaining weight, (just opinion, Im not a scientist) but I have been feeding mine countrywide conditioning nuts for a year or two (did research, nutritious content is very similar to the brands you pay double for and can afford to feed them as much as what is recommended) and he did gain weight (two of the big round scoops a day)
I also fed one big round scoop of showshine chaff - amazing stuff, per day.
I have recently started feeding him less chaff in a morning because he is going in the field all day so no ulcer irritating behaviour and on an evening I put his nuts in a ball which takes him alot longer to eat, then his chaff in his manger.

I used to swear by C&C but agree with you, I think there's only so much it can do.
sorry for the ramble :o:p
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dont apologize for being a rambler, I'm one myself ;) haha.. noo all that info is great. I agree with what you are saying about the ulcers and of course it is a possibility, she doesnt tend to show any signs of gastric ulcers but if she doesnt come up to weight then it will definitely be investigated! glad you agree on the C&C note! :) thank you
Immy x
 
claribella said:
Linseed is totally amazing for weight gain! I would also say which I hope doesn't sound patronising, but don't expect too much too quickly. Slo and steady with the gain is a great way to do it. The grass is also brillian a the moment so plenty of turn out again without sounding patronising lol.
Click to expand...

No i totally agree, i don't want to rush her! I just feel that if the feed was really working with her it would have helped a little more! and yes 24/7 turnout on a nice big paddock! certainly helping i think! :)

immy x
 
ok guys, just to give you an idea...

The day she arrived..

skinnycil.jpg


Today..

Photo0298.jpg


Immy x
 
claribella said:
Linseed is totally amazing for weight gain! I would also say which I hope doesn't sound patronising, but don't expect too much too quickly. Slo and steady with the gain is a great way to do it. The grass is also brillian a the moment so plenty of turn out again without sounding patronising lol.
Click to expand...

yes heard good things about linseed aswell! will maybe make that plan b! :)
 
Also has anyone got any pictures of their horses weight gain journey.. Would be nice to see and compare! (:
 
Looking so much better! Have to apologise for my poor grammar in the earlier post. I'm using the eye pad and It misses out letters at times. Will have to make sure I check my posts before I submit them!
 
claribella said:
Looking so much better! Have to apologise for my poor grammar in the earlier post. I'm using the eye pad and It misses out letters at times. Will have to make sure I check my posts before I submit them!
Click to expand...

Thanks, no worries, I have the same problem! :rolleyes:
 
DifficultMare said:
Sounds like a reasonable diet but if you have any concerns you could always ring one of the nutrionists, they're usually very good with advice and will help you taylor a feed regime for your horse.
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Yes if I feel the feed isn't helping I will definitely get in touch with a nutritionist for a chat! (:
 
Thank you amymay! Glad to have reassurance... Still a bit ribby and poor on her top line but she's getting there! (:

Immy x
 
I think there is a lot of improvement there - not fully there yet but in May with good grass it will come quick enough, if she looked like that in September then you need to look at feed but in May let summer do the work for you.
 
Vodkagirly said:
I think there is a lot of improvement there - not fully there yet but in May with good grass it will come quick enough, if she looked like that in September then you need to look at feed but in May let summer do the work for you.
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Yeah the grass will definitely help, just think she needs a little boost along the way! (:
 
Looks loads better! Just to hijack sorry,do people who use the protexin use the gut balancer or the bio-pro?
 
ImmyS said:
Also has anyone got any pictures of their horses weight gain journey.. Would be nice to see and compare! (:
Click to expand...
I have a few!
My ex racer after an accident at the beginning of June last year:
266a43f0.jpg


Beginning of July after 2 bags of Rowan and Barbary Readymash (amazing stuff and not expensive!)
c70f8ca3.jpg


And beginning of August:
dc02d9d3.jpg
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
I have a few!
My ex racer after an accident at the beginning of June last year:
266a43f0.jpg


Beginning of July after 2 bags of Rowan and Barbary Readymash (amazing stuff and not expensive!)
c70f8ca3.jpg


And beginning of August:
dc02d9d3.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow looking fab! Well done, love to see a turn around like that.. Yes heard good things about ready mash and wanted the ready mash extra for my girl but nowhere around here stocks it! So ordering online would work too expensive unfortunately! :( x
 
ImmyS said:
Wow looking fab! Well done, love to see a turn around like that.. Yes heard good things about ready mash and wanted the ready mash extra for my girl but nowhere around here stocks it! So ordering online would work too expensive unfortunately! :( x
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Thanks! That's a shame, it really is brilliant stuff.
 
I wouldn't feed anything that is cereal-based.
Soaked grassnuts with dried grass chaff and linseed oil is a very effective weight gain feed and probably the least expensive option, fed alongside ad-lib hay/lage or 24/7 grass.
I , too, would be very wary of rapid weight-gain, having taken on a mare who had been 'fed-up' too quickly, who developed lots of digestive problems.
 
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