Feeding a horse on box rest

Halfpass

Halfpass

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Ok so Alee is now on 6 weeks box rest and has come back from the RVC having lost all her lovely summer condition.
She is beginning to resemble a whippet and I don't like it
frown.gif

Now I know she needs a fibre based diet with no energy but how am I going to keep the weight on? She is a highly strung 4 year old that doesn't just chill and settle and is constantly on the go. At the moment she is on Alfa A oil and basic nuts but I'm changing the nuts to Top Spec balancer as of the weekend.
Any advice or thoughts on the above very much appreciated.
 
Big bucket feeds of different types of forage will help with the condition and keep her occupied; you could keep with the Alfa A Oil and also try Readigrass etc.

Fibre-beet is great for conditioning too.

If she stresses I would put her on Coligone too, as ensuring that her gut is working efficiently will mean that she can actually use what she is being fed, rather than stressing the weight off - if she is stressed she is likely to have raised acid levels.

I had the opposite problem when mine was on box-rest as he is a porker but obv. needed all the vits + mins for repairing the damage he'd done and needed to be kept occupied, so he had buckets of chaff for fat laminitic ponies (with ad-lib hay) as opposed to tasty Alfa Oil!!
 
The winergy conditioning feed that we were trialling earlier in the summer is now available - it's fibre based so won't send her la-la - it's to be called winergy equilibrium condition. Other than that the other thing that might work is graze on grass in a bag.
 
I was on the trial and it didn't suit her at all TBH. She wouldn't eat it and it didn't really give her the condition that I wanted any more than grass would have done. I am going to buy today some Alfa A oil and some topspec balancer for her feeds, then I am going to buy some redigrass and some cheap chaff to chuck in her corner manager for her to munch on. Hope it works.
 
Just be aware though that both Readigrass (basically like lush spring grass) and 'cheap chaff' (full of molasses) will have high sugar levels, which could increase her excitability. I would give her ad lib hay, and a fibre and oil based hard feed (such as Winergy Condition, but if she doesnt like that, perhaps an alternative) maybe put some High Fibre Cubes in a snak-a-ball to keep her entertained??
 
Personally I would stear clear of any type of conditioning feed for a horse on box rest - especially one that is liable to be highly strung.

Plenty of good quality ad lib hay / haylage - tiny feed of hi fibre cubes, perhaps with a little alpha - and linsead (either pre-cooked, or cooked by you) - which will help to put some bloom back in to her coat.
 
My big grey is just coming out of 6 weeks box rest. He has just been on ad-lib hay and hi-fi lite and now looks as though he is going to have a hay foal :-)
Honestly, ad-lib forage should get the weight back on her. Kepp any kind of cereal to an absolute minimum
 
My 18yr old mare was on a month's box rest last winter and she tends to drop weight easily once she's clipped. She had Alfa-A with Oil mixed with Alfabeet (at the levels for rest/light work) and did very well all winter. She wasn't at all silly when I started to take her out for walks - they advertise Alfabeet as 'condition without fizz' or words to that effect. I gave her Top Spec Balancer on top of the fibre.

x
 
FAST FIBRE all the way! I always recommend this stuff from Allen & Page (maybe I should ask for commission, lol). But seriously this stuff is awesome. It is fibre, fibre, fibre, nothing more, nothing less. It will keep your horsey sane as there is nothing to heat or cause excess energy, it will keep the old gutty moving and healthy and you can feed loads of the stuff without breaking the bank. You do need to soak it for a a minute or two, but the pellets double in size turning into a mush - giving your horsey more to eat (and for longer). It has all the vits and mins they need aswell. There are three horseys on our yard on poxy box rest at the mo and two of them are on this stuff (3 meals a day) plus ad lib hay and they seem quite happy and sane.
Good luck with it all!
 
Can't offer any advice but I can offer sympathy. My (then) 11 month old went through a fence in the spring and shredded a front leg. After a week at the horspital she had to be on box rest. Previously I had been feeding her Mare and Youngstock mix and Alfa A but I had to cut out the mix as she would have gone stir crazy cooped up in the box. I did take her for a short walk a couple of times of day but she had to just have Alfa A. Excellent though it is, it was not really enough for a growing yearling and she dropped a huge amount of condition and looked quite poor. As soon as she could go out again, I put her back onto M & Y'mix and she picked up quite quickly, but it was a bit of nightmare.
 
Ad lib hay, hi fi nuts, chaff, speedibeet, or one of the feeds specifically for horses on box rest (think D&H do one). You may have to accept that she will lose some condition on box rest and try not to worry about it as you can't really feed anything conditioning.
 
Mine did 13 weeks of box rest on half rations of TopSpec with a chaff (it was a few years ago so can't remember what it was) with adlib hayledge as she never has hay, plus a SnakABall with plain fibre nuts.

I found a radio was really helpful as she tended to stand quietly and listen to it. However she is the type that likes to be in.
 
Went t our local (ish) feed supplier yesterday and they were very helpfulll.
So she is now on 3 proper feeds a day of 1 scoop (bid round) Alfa A oil half scoop of top spec cool condition. She also gets twice a day 3 big heaped scoops of hifi light in a corner manger with chopped up carrots and apples.
Added to her feeds she has naf youngstock supplement which will give her all her vits and minerals and help her healing and she has global herbs calmer.
Fingers crossed this works as it cost me a fortune!!!!
 
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