Feed to gain condition

monkeynut

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I have a 3yo cob that has lost a huge amount of condition in just a month.
He is out in the day and in at night, unrugged apart from a rain sheet in the worst of the wet.
He has a big scoop of sugar beet, chaff and general mix, a huge haynet at night and a wad of hay in the field every morning.
The grazing isn't fantastic but it's not awful either.

I'm wondering whether I should start rugging him? And thinking of feeding linseed- I've never fed it as all my previous horses have lived off fresh air. Even my pregnant mare and my ISH are doing ok (though the latter is rugged)
Do you think linseed and more hay will help? Can I feed linseed along with the sugar beet? And will the linseed make him feel too alive (he's slowly being backed!!)?!
Any other suggestions (adlib hay in the field unfortunately isn't an option).
 

be positive

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Losing a huge amount of condition when we have had a very mild autumn would concern me, does he get adlib hay overnight and is it easily accessible, not in a small holed net that may cause him to struggle to eat if his teeth are coming through.
You can certainly feed linseed without it making him silly, in fact the molasses you already give him will probably be more likely to cause him to play up if he was going to, if he is cold that won't be helping but I still have several of mine out 24/7 without rugs and they are looking fab despite being fine coated and usually well rugged by now, I think I would probably want to do a worm count, maybe run bloods and get his teeth checked just in case there is something going on, as well as upping the forage he gets.
 

Palindrome

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yes, a cup of linseed will probably help. You could also perhaps swap the beet for soaked grass nuts and drop the mix. Grass nuts are a really good feed to keep the weight on in winter and you don't run into the same problems as when feeding grains or cereal mixes.
Probiotics/yeasacc can also help with weight gain/maintenance, as well as checking teeth, etc...
 

Equi

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A light weight sheet will make him colder even if it's just some times. I would up the hay and add linseed. Loose the chaff and add something more calorific like a dollop of oil.
 

glamourpuss

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Going from what you say he is getting to eat I would be very surprised at a cob losing weight.
My terrible doer TB is on ad lib Haylage (loose on the floor), hay in the field & the grazing isn't too bad.
His feed is literally a handful of alfalfa, a quarter scoop of soaked sugar beet, a handful of pony nuts, half a mug of linseed & pro hoof.
He looks fab.

He is rugged even though he isn't clipped.

Maybe think about upping hay or changing to Haylage & rugging him up a bit.
 

glamourpuss

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What chaff are you using? I use alfalfa because mine tolerate it & it's a good source of calories.
I wouldn't use a rain sheet but a light fill rug
 

Pearlsasinger

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I have used soked grassnuts, dried grass chaff and Speedibeet witha dollop of lindeed oil to put weight onto an edery cob after a nasty bout of colic. She had previously been a good doer but the colic put paid to that. We used a smaller amount of the above recipe to maintain her weight when she was back up to weight.
But, I have been giving grassnuts my Draft mare, who has been on a diet for the ast 4 yrs, ever since I got her, until this year and they really don't seem to agree with her, so do monitor any new food carefully. I never thought that we would have a problem with grassnuts!
 

smellsofhorse

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As lib hay is the best thing.
But linseed will help.
Try a fibre based feed, like Agrobs wisencobs with a general vitamin and mineral suppliment.
Also is he up to date with worming/worm count?

If he it still loosing condition quickly get him checked over and possibly blood tested.
 

Kat

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Make sure he has enough hay. Weigh what you give him tomorrow and give him more by weight each day until you have a decent amount left in the morning. Enough good quality forage is the most important thing. When mine was a 4yo she was shovelling down eye watering quantities of haylage.

If you still need condition try swapping the beet for copra and adding linseed. Mine also has alfa a molasses free but some horses don't do well on alfalfa.
 

sweepeep

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Be careful mixing Copra with linseed. There is a post on this forum about how the two do not agree well with one another and I have found out first hand. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?597806-cool-stance-copra-vs-linseed

Also, my horse has a bacterial infection and I'm currently administering antibiotics. He lost loads of weight in a month (is a TB but was being fed and rugged) so worth having bloods done. Not to say that is the case but better knowing.

I agree with the others though, pop a light filled rug on him as rain sheet is like wearing a plastic bag to us and doesn't offer much if there are winds, rain and chilly weather.
 

charterline

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I'd put a thicker rug on for a start. When were his teeth last done, if a while ago I'd get the dentist booked anyway. Is it possible to swap hay for haylage? It is possible to buy haylage in smaller wrapped bales so you don't have to buy an enormous one.

Is it possible that he can have two hard feeds a day? If so I'd look at getting some kind of conditioning cube and feeding the recommended amount of that per day, made up to 2kg per feed with the sugar beet you have.

If only once per day, I'd be looking at feeding a low intake balancer, such as top spec or Saracens bio life, and feeding with something high calorie such as baileys outshine, Saracens releave, or dodson and horrel build and glow.

Does you vet have a free call out day in your area? If so ask him to come that day and get bloods done. A worm count will also be a good idea!
 

paddi22

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i'm another one who would get vet to take bloods. Anytime mine drop weight suddenly I get bloods run and they usually turn up something. If he's never needed feeding up before then something gone funny with him, and i'd spend the money on the vet instead of fiddling with feed.
 

minesadouble

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Is the hay good quality? Switch to haylage if you can. Ad lib quality forage should be sufficient for a cob at this time of year unless it is a known poor doer.
 

willhegofirst

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Be careful mixing Copra with linseed. There is a post on this forum about how the two do not agree well with one another and I have found out first hand. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?597806-cool-stance-copra-vs-linseed

Also, my horse has a bacterial infection and I'm currently administering antibiotics. He lost loads of weight in a month (is a TB but was being fed and rugged) so worth having bloods done. Not to say that is the case but better knowing.

I agree with the others though, pop a light filled rug on him as rain sheet is like wearing a plastic bag to us and doesn't offer much if there are winds, rain and chilly weather.

Interesting, I struggle keeping my Connies weight on in the winter, he is also rather a fussy eater, a stress head and gets spooky, so have to watch what I feed. He won't eat to much linseed, just leaves his feed if you add more had about a quarter of a mug, so this year have tried copra, which is also not overkeen on either, and have tried a little of both linseed and copra, but won't again, it's just which one to stop!
 

Kat

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Be careful mixing Copra with linseed. There is a post on this forum about how the two do not agree well with one another and I have found out first hand. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?597806-cool-stance-copra-vs-linseed

Also, my horse has a bacterial infection and I'm currently administering antibiotics. He lost loads of weight in a month (is a TB but was being fed and rugged) so worth having bloods done. Not to say that is the case but better knowing.

I agree with the others though, pop a light filled rug on him as rain sheet is like wearing a plastic bag to us and doesn't offer much if there are winds, rain and chilly weather.

The thread you have linked to doesn't say that the two shouldn't be fed together it says that you need to be wary about the total amount of protein you are feeding and the mineral profile. As you do with any feeds.

Swapping speedibeet for copra has been brilliant for my horse, if nothing else it really helps her to eat up.
 

equa39

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yes, a cup of linseed will probably help. You could also perhaps swap the beet for soaked grass nuts and drop the mix. Grass nuts are a really good feed to keep the weight on in winter and you don't run into the same problems as when feeding grains or cereal mixes.
Probiotics/yeasacc can also help with weight gain/maintenance, as well as checking teeth, etc...

What problems do you mean specifically Palindrome? I'm curious and learning! i gave my new boy (tb) grass nuts, then added some alfalfa chop and he got fizzy - thought it was the high sugar content? that's my only worry with grass nuts - they are often high in sugar and starch.

Also what is the general issue with alfalfa for some horses? What are the negative impacts? :)
 

monkeynut

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Thank you, he has just been wormed with pramox.

Unfortunately haylage isn't really an option.
He is on 2 feeds a day already.
I will rug him up and up his feed for a week and then reassess I think.
 
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