Feed for a new ex racehorse

[WannabeMum]

So, I am potentially bringing home an ex racehorse and have been researching what to feed him. He finished racing in June and the trainer has turned him out since then, so he's been mostly on grass. He definitely needs more food, as he's quite thin (more than the usual racehorse physique), due to the turn out. I don't think that there was any 'managed' change and so going straight from a racing diet to grass hasn't done him much good (in my humble opinion!). My question is, what's the best approach here? Increase his forage with hay/haylage for a couple of weeks and then look at conditioning hard feed etc, or some other approach? Would really appreciate advice! Thank you

 

[lynz88]

Keep it simples. Fibre and forage. Mine (TB that eats his weight in food and doesn't gain anything....more likely to lose) seems to be doing well on fibre cubes, linseed, hay (approx 8-12kg), oily herbs (it made a noticeable difference to his weight and maintaining!!!), and Equimins Advanced Complete (I will sometimes mix in other bits as well to this - he's currently starting back on extra Vit E for the winter months and MSM).

 

[Mynstrel]

Ours has Bailey's ease & excel cubes with linseed and calm and condition, plus haylage. We started with small meals and built up, and found that she very much objects to any kind of chaff in her feed to the point she'll leave it. Once we worked that out she put weight on much better

 

[P.forpony]

Ad lib forage, and ease and excel with micronised linseed suits mine.
Just be prepared to be patient and introduce things one at a time with at least a week invetween each addition. That way it's much easier to tell if you have any issues, what's actually the cause.
Expect him to be a fussy eater with a poor appetite at first. If not you're lucky!
But aim for slow and gradual improvement while they adjust.
Good luck and enjoy your speedy boy!

 

[criso]

Think about the quality of forage, both current and previous eats a lot of high nutrition value haylage and hay. I give over 12kg overnight, a net of each over winter on top of grazing and what he comes in too. Summer is less as he's out more and does so well on grass

Hard feed wise mine likes something chopped , won't eat mash or cubes on their own. So he gets grass based chaff, Sugarbeet, Copra for extra calories and linseed for the efas. Then a good balancer, I like forageplus or progressive earth.

I would be a bit concerned that grass hasn't helped as the best thing for mine has always been good grass and that's when they get almost fat.
But maybe what he was turned out on was rough and over grazed.

 

[TheMule]

If he has been on good grass then I am surprised he is underweight because he really shouldn’t be- it’s Summer, the weather has been good, the grass is growing well.
I would worm him asap and consider scoping for ulcers. He should be coming to you in good condition. The last thing I would suggest doing is pumping full of hard feed, as he will potentially be much more difficult to handle and ride!

 

[Barton Bounty]

Ad lib hay, never let him go hungry.

Depends on what type of feed your looking for. You could start with a mash and a chaff and/or nuts

 

[WannabeMum]

Thanks so much for all your replies - really helpful!!

I went to see him again today (three weeks after I first saw him) and he looked much better, he had a spring in his step and was being goofy! Was great to ride and am hoping my offer will be accepted, so I can bring him home and spoil him rotten

 

[Barton Bounty]

Thanks so much for all your replies - really helpful!!

I went to see him again today (three weeks after I first saw him) and he looked much better, he had a spring in his step and was being goofy! Was great to ride and am hoping my offer will be accepted, so I can bring him home and spoil him rotten

Very exciting for you! Can’t beat a tb, best horses in the world
You will see him change a lot if he recently finished racing , try and stay away from cereal based feeds that might aggravate a tummy.
There is an urban myth that people try to tell you that all tbs have ulcers, they absolutely don't but they do have delicate tummies.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Good luck.

Far from being an ‘urban myth’, Liphook Equine Hospital, who know rather more than some randomer on a forum, report that 93% of racehorses have gastric ulcers. So it would be well worth getting a horse fresh out of racing checked out for ulcers.

https://liphookequinehospital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/gastric-ulcers.pdf

 

[WannabeMum]

I'd already thought about ulcers, as I know they can be prone. If all goes well, I'll give him a couple of weeks to settle in and see how he's going and then have him checked out for ulcers if he's got any signs

 

[Barton Bounty]

I'd already thought about ulcers, as I know they can be prone. If all goes well, I'll give him a couple of weeks to settle in and see how he's going and then have him checked out for ulcers if he's got any signs

If he has no signs do not check it out. As that will go against you in any insurance policy you may or may not take out.
Any hint of any illness and they exclude it straight away

 

[TheMule]

If he has no signs do not check it out. As that will go against you in any insurance policy you may or may not take out.
Any hint of any illness and they exclude it straight away

But he already has signs as he's underweight despite being out at grass at an easy time of year. Plus, as quoted above, 93% of racehorses have ulcers. Most of those just cope with the constant pain as they become accustomed to it, so may not display any other symptoms, particularly to the untrained eye.

 

[Tiddlypom]

If he has no signs do not check it out. As that will go against you in any insurance policy you may or may not take out.
Any hint of any illness and they exclude it straight away

OP, please ignore this highly irresponsible advice. When you’ve been on this forum for a while you soon work out which posters are knowledgeable and which are not. This poster is not one to value veterinary advice from.

I’m sure that you would put your horse first, so scoping an ex racer for ulcers seems like a very sensible step to take.

 

[Barton Bounty]

But he already has signs as he's underweight despite being out at grass at an easy time of year. Plus, as quoted above, 93% of racehorses have ulcers. Most of those just cope with the constant pain as they become accustomed to it, so may not display any other symptoms, particularly to the untrained eye.

Is it though ? I don't think you can judge a horse being too lean and just out of racing and say that they must have ulcers. Some don’t. Some thrive in a 1 to 1 home better and an adjustment can affect that too, quality of grass can also affect that. Just because the grass looks good or does other horses well, does not mean it suits that horse
I certainly would not go scoping unless you have A FEW symptoms. Coming out of racing is a whole lifestyle change and a lot of adjustment is needed.
Number one being diet and downtime. I don’t see that comment but each horse is different so go with what you have in front of you.

OP just don't get dragged onto the bandwagon of because he is a tb and he must have ulcers.
Mine didn't and my new one doesn’t either.

 

[TheMule]

Is it though ? I don't think you can judge a horse being too lean and just out of racing and say that they must have ulcers. Some don’t. Some thrive in a 1 to 1 home better and an adjustment can affect that too, quality of grass can also affect that. Just because the grass looks good or does other horses well, does not mean it suits that horse
I certainly would not go scoping unless you have A FEW symptoms. Coming out of racing is a whole lifestyle change and a lot of adjustment is needed.
Number one being diet and downtime. I don’t see that comment but each horse is different so go with what you have in front of you.

OP just don't get dragged onto the bandwagon of because he is a tb and he must have ulcers.
Mine didn't and my new one doesn’t either.

So because you say he doesn’t have ulcers that’s good advice?

Because here is a small selection of the relevant published scientific studies available:

1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35187877/ 100% racehorses studied had ulcers
2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38672395/ 88% had at least Grade 2 ulcers
3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17339910/ 90% prevalence in racehorses
4) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10696301/ Demonstrating the 96% of horses diagnosed with ulcers showed no improvement if not treated with omeprazole

I could go on….

 

[Bellaboo18]

Please don't wait for 'a few symptoms', some horses will never show a few symptoms.

Get him wormed and on plenty of forage and see if he picks up, if he doesn't start looking for a medical reason.

Exracers do tend to look poor once they stop racing and drop their muscle *but* a young healthy horse should quickly pick up with plenty of good grass/hay.

 

[Bellaboo18]

Is it though ? I don't think you can judge a horse being too lean and just out of racing and say that they must have ulcers. Some don’t. Some thrive in a 1 to 1 home better and an adjustment can affect that too, quality of grass can also affect that. Just because the grass looks good or does other horses well, does not mean it suits that horse
I certainly would not go scoping unless you have A FEW symptoms. Coming out of racing is a whole lifestyle change and a lot of adjustment is needed.
Number one being diet and downtime. I don’t see that comment but each horse is different so go with what you have in front of you.

OP just don't get dragged onto the bandwagon of because he is a tb and he must have ulcers.
Mine didn't and my new one doesn’t either.

Have you had your current horse scoped?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Have you had your current horse scoped?

Here they come…


Why would I when there are no inkling of any issues of any symptoms, he is 4 years old as fine you know

 

[Barton Bounty]

You just cant say anything on the forum that the pack don't agree with

OP I would actually only take advice from people who are currently with horses not ones that have had them in 1950. Or have not had any for years
Times change, things change.

Thats all I will say on it as you lot would quote all day long if its not your opinion

 

[Bellaboo18]

Here they come…


Why would I when there are no inkling of any issues of any symptoms, he is 4 years old as fine you know

I'm sure OP will see then that you can't claim you know your horse doesn't have ulcers then

OP -as many on the forum know, BB isn't very knowledgeable. There are plenty of studies about ulcers out there, like the mule has referred to in her post.

Good luck with your new chap, hopefully plenty of forage will do the trick.

 

[TheMule]

Here they come…


Why would I when there are no inkling of any issues of any symptoms, he is 4 years old as fine you know

So your statement above is incorrect- your current horse could have ulcers, you have no way of knowing

 

[TheMule]

You just cant say anything on the forum that the pack don't agree with

OP I would actually only take advice from people who are currently with horses not ones that have had them in 1950. Or have not had any for years
Times change, things change.

Thats all I will say on it as you lot would quote all day long if its not your opinion

I have a veterinary related degree, my OH is an equine vet and I'm currently competing at a level you could only dream of achieving. Oh, and I currently have an ex-racer and have owned countless others.

 

[IrishMilo]

I would say don't underestimate the amount of hay these horses need. Seriously, they'll eat you out of house and home. I get the small bales, and my lad (16.2) probably gets 2 of those a day in the winter, plus a forage based nut or chaff (usually alfalfa as I really like its nutritional benefits).

I don't really feed hard mixes as they usually have too much starch and filler. If they need more energy they get oats and more protein.

 

[WannabeMum]

OK, so this appears to be getting a little out of hand - please be nice!!

Just for clarity, he's not young (he's 10) and had a long successful career, he was turned out in a poor field initially when I first saw him, when I went back to see him he had noticeably improved and was in a much better field. He will always come first and I'll see how he's doing after a couple of weeks before I worry about whether he needs veterinary intervention.

Sifting through the "varied" responses (LOL!), I shall definitely be getting him plenty of forage whilst he settles in.

Of course, that's all assuming he's mine ... offer in and then a vetting anyway - fingers crossed!!

Stay happy (and nice!) peeps x

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think knowing what I know now if I moved any horse or bought a new one I would have ulcers in my mind, the stress of a move or simple change can cause them.

So I would feed a supplement or aloe vera juice as a prevention for sure.

I don't have TB horses but I have Arab's they are hot bloods like the TB and the slightest thing can sometimes upset them and I know stress is a factor for bringing on ulcers.

They are also sensitive to alot of feed so my go to is forage abd plenty of it before anything else.

Luckily mine tend to be good doers so they don't have much feed.