Feed - weight loss! Help.

D

DezzyF

Member
Joined
21 September 2012
Messages
14
Location
Manchester
Visit site
Hi. I currently have an ex-race TB. 16.2 and 21 years young.
when i bought him he was in very poor condition, very thin. I've only had in since August. And he did put almost 150kg on when i weighed him about 3 weeks ago. I have currently weighed him again as he looked like he'd lost alot and was very ribby. He is now 455kg which means im pretty much back to the start with him.

His feed - he has as much haylage as he can eat but it more like hay at the moment. Very dry.
He also has, Alfa A Oil, Baileys No1, Spillers Conditioning Cubes, and a scoop of garlic.

He is only in light work. A little hacking and school work maybe once or twice a week.
Also he is on a medium weight rug stable rug - he doesn't go out much in the winter as he gets mud fever and the fields have took a turn for the worst this year.

What am i doing wrong?
 
Garlic and alfa a oil would be wrong for me. Garlic destroys the good bacteria in the gut making it hard for the stomach to digest properly - oil greases the insides so nutrients arent absorbed as easily.

Id be using bran, growing oats and micronised linseed across 2 or 3 meals a day. Make sure he is not over rugged so not sweating the cals off :)
 
I like Alpha - especially the Alpha A Oil. But agree completely about the garlic. Terrible stuff. I also wouldn't use bran, as it has little nutritional value.

OP you are using three conditioning feeds, the alpha, the baileys and spillers - I'd be looking to simplify it and reducing the starch levels.

PM TGM on here - she is fantastic with feed advice. But in the meantime, have you thought about feeding barley?

I wonder, also if the horse would benefit from being out more, and are his teeth OK?
 
He has had garlic from the start and Alfa A Oil and put weight on. Maybe im over rugging him, but he is a TB and is a desert horse so i would of thought he'd get colder quicker. - ive never had a TB before. Maybe I'll change the Alfa A
 
I do admit he loves being outdoors. But like a said he sinks in the mud definatly not good for his mud fever. I do try and get him out as much as possible though. I think I'll quit the garlic then
 
DezzyF said:
He has had garlic from the start and Alfa A Oil and put weight on. Maybe im over rugging him, but he is a TB and is a desert horse so i would of thought he'd get colder quicker. - ive never had a TB before. Maybe I'll change the Alfa A
Click to expand...

On what basis would you change the Alpha and keep the garlic:confused:
 
Looking at your other posts, I see this is your first horse.

I'd ring the feed companies and get some specialist advice.
 
amymay said:
I also wouldn't use bran, as it has little nutritional value.
Click to expand...

So you think wheat bran has very little nutritive value and is mainly used as a laxative rather than a food source? Think again! Here's some facts. Freshly milled stoneground organic wheat bran has:
higher total antioxidant capacity than many berries, fruits and vegetables (including some 'super foods' such as blueberries, raspberries, plums, etc).

It has an ORAC rating (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity!) of 80, compared to 62 for blueberries. Antioxidants are very important in 'mopping up' free radical damage during times of stress, disease and injury.

more protein than sugar beet and about the same as alfalfa (15.6% crude protein compared to 10.0% sugar beet pulp, 14 to 16% alfalfa)

similar levels of digestible energy to both sugar beet and alfalfa (10.8MJ/kg compared to 11.0 for sugar beet and 10.0 for alfalfa)

only 0.4% sugar (non-molassed sugar beet can contain up to 7% residual sugar in the pulp, molassed can contain up to 25% or more)

starch and sugar contents are low, and fibre content is high, making it a suitable feed for horses with metabolic problems such as insulin resistance, should the owner wish to 'bulk' the hard feed out.
Click to expand...

You learn something new everyday AmyMay!

Does he feel hot under the rugs OP? Up his neck on his shoulders etc? The horse should only ever feel lukewarm between his legs and behind his ears, never hot.
TB's generally have a fast metabolism and are designed to carry little excess so most do drop off, especially over winter which is when nature intended them to do so.
 
Has his teeth been checked recently? Older horses in particular often have compromised dentition which makes chewing hay/haylage difficult for them with the result they drop weight. Often these horses put on weight well in summer when eating soft grass, and then drop again when on coarser forage in the winter, which sounds a bit like your boy.

Is he on a proper worming programme?

I would actually weigh how much haylage he is eating each day to see if he is consuming enough for his bodyweight. If he is in a lot and prefers being out then he might not eat enough due to stress. If that is the case then ideally you need to arrange more turnout, but also try giving him additional sources of forage (such as soaked grass nuts) to tempt him to eat more.

I would also try feeding a probiotic yeast of some kind (Yea-Sacc or some kind of balancer) to ensure conditions in his gut are optimised for efficient digestion of fibre.
 
DezzyF, don't overcomplicate things. There are lots of veteran specific complete feeds out there designed for all the older horse issues - teeth, joints, weight loss etc. one of the best that I've tried is Allen and Page Veteran Vitality. They absolutely love it and it put weight back on my 16.3 TB really well last winter. Perhaps have a look some of the websites or give some of the feed lines a call but I would say that if you used one of these with your Alfa Oil you 'd see a real difference quite quickly. Best of luck!
 
Totally agree with TGM. I am a fan of sugar beet as its classed as a forage and easy for older horses to digest.
I thought sweating only removed water and electrolytes! Didn't think it burnt calories! Gonna get myself off to a sauna!
 
I keep weight on my boy by feeding him 3 times a day ,

1 scoop of pure condition
1 cup equi jewel
1 cup linseed

He gets that's I each feed and is glowing on it

I tried so many other difo feeds before and nothing kept the weight on, so that's my secret.
 
Feed looks a bit complicated to be honest. The best thing I have found for weight and condition is micronised linseed and I add that to fast fibre which is pretty much like speedibeet. Ive tried lots of combinations with my fussy poor doer and this really works for us. Also agree about the garlic, get rid of it.
 
Would also avoid feeding bran as it is high in phosphorus and will upset the calcium:phosphorus ratio resulting in calcium being absorbed from the bones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top