Feed advice new horse underweight

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Hayjay

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Hi, I have recently bought a new horse after a 15 year break from riding and would appreciate some feed opinions/advice.

She is a 15 year old ISH, 16HH. She is only used for light hacking a couple of times a week.

She is underweight but has certainly put on some condition since being on our decent grass.

I am currently feeding her calm and condition with a few handfuls of chaff - alfa a I think - its the non heating one suitable for laminitics.

She is a very steady girl to ride and I am keen to keep her that way, hence looking for a diet which will not have the potential to make her fizzy!

Is the calm and condition suitable as a feed on its own or should I be adding anything else to it? I was going to feed speedi beet and baileys no 1 as heard this is good for weight gain but also found some people saying it makes their horses fizzy.

Its all changed so much so some up to date advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
I thought baileys no.1 was pretty much breadcrumbs in lard so not sure how that would make a horse fizzy.

Don't underestimate the power of the grass, and that there will be another flush soon as well. I would keep as is if it is working and add either micronised linseed or a good sunflower oil if she needs it. Also make sure she is getting enough roughage and the vits/mins she needs. Sometimes the less is more approach works better with horses, especially if not on 24/7 turnout. I know several horses (including my old mare) who put on lots of condition just from feeding her hay, a handful of fast fibre (plainer version of C&C), vits/mins and as much turnout as possible. She had oil in her feed when she was competing.
 
I agree with the others try some linseed to start with, I always increase hay intake before putting up hard feed if its just for weight and most of the time its all they need to put on a bit extra, and as she is only lightly ridden no point giving her too much hard feed as it could make her silly.
 
Having had a mare who developed severe digestive problems after being kept underweight and then fed up too quickly (all before I got her), I am always very careful now to not overload any horse and to make sure that my horses only get feed they can digest easily. I would give OP's mare grass and hay and if she needs anything more, soaked grassnuts with chaff. As others have said linseed is good for weight gain if the grass doesn't work.
 
Some great advice, thank you. I think I'm getting hung up on the weight gain! She is on really good grass 24/7 and will have access to grazing all year - although I will stable her overnight during winter months. She is definitely gaining so I think I will be patient, carry on as I am going and let the grass do its work. I have bought some linseed oil so will add that to her feed. Thanks again for the advice.
 
If she is gaining, carry on with what you are doing, you don't want her to gain too fast. Lots of good grazing and/or good forage is the key, all the concentrates in the world are just the icing on the cake. 99% of the diet is grass or forage, you can tinker with the rest but the forage is the basics.
 
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