Feeding a poor do-er on box rest... Help!

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emmiec12

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Hi - i was recently given a very poor 10 yo TB, in the last 2 months i have got his weight up to over 500 kilos and he is shining and looking much better. (he was under 450 kilos when he came). he is out at grass all day and has 2 feeds of 1 scoop alfa-a oil, 1/2 scoop conditioning cubes and 1 scoop non-molassed sugar beet.

he now needs to do box rest for 2-3 weeks so i think i need to cut back on the sugar beet and nuts so i dont risk him tying up.

my question is..... is he ok to have increased alfa-a oil to keep the fibre intake up, or should i change to or something else while he's in?

Thanks!
 
Feed Fast Fibre with a sprinkling of non molassed Dengie Chaff, FF is a hay subsitute with mins and vits.
As a barefooter I feed a mug of micronised linseed every day, good for joints, hoof, skin and hair, just a teacup if on boxrest.
 
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lots of hay and something like fast fibre or calm and condition with something like readigrass for texture and maybe some linseed meal :)

I gave my poor doer on box rest last year three feeds a day of readigrass, C+C linseed and about 5 nets of hay a day (extra large ones) she was a TBx I also gave her a treat ball with some chaff and hifibre nuts in it for her to play with through the day.
 
As Amymay says as much forage as he will eat, in some ways you are at an advantage as alot of us struggle with horses getting too fat on box rest.


Some tbs can be a bit picky about tucking in so offering both hay and haylage can keep them munching. However use the hi fibre or timothy haylage, not the high energy ryegrass variety and introduce it gradually.

If it is just 2 or 3 weeks I wouldn't be chopping and changing to new feeds as by the time you have added them gradually it will be nearly over.

So of what you are currently feeding.

I would cut out the conditioning cubes for a horse not working and Alfa A is alfalfa which is quite a high protein source so I wouldn't feed alot of that.


Unmolassed sugarbeet is a good fibre source so I would keep that with a handful of the Alfa A.

The only thing I might add is a probiotic or yeast as the gut function can suffer from lack of movement. If you are already feeding a balancer or similar it may be included so check first.
 
Just to add, Micronised linseed is a good addition generally so you might want to look at adding that long term to help maintain condition.

For a horse on box rest it would replace the Omega oils present in grass but lost in hay.
 
Agree with Criso :)

Mine is currently fed the following on box rest twice a day: (15.3 TB approx 480kg and light weight version)
Large net of haylage (approx 6.5kg)
2/3 scoop of alpha a oil
large handful of high fibre cubes
1/3 scoop of made up speedibeet
Selenvite e supplement (vit e as on long term box rest but has lots of other vits/mins)
MSM (prev ligament injury)
Yea Sacc - digestive supplement
50g Micronised Linseed (good for coat, joints, weight gain etc)

He puts on weight at a rate of about 5-7 kg a week on this, normally he'll get a bit more alpha a but I don't want him to put on too much weight atm as he's just nice :) He also gets a large handful of the hi-fibre cubes sprinkled on the floor as a treat and a small bucket of just grass for entertainment value! More alpha a and linseed will beef him up quicker if needed, hope that helps :)
 
I have a similar type of horse on box rest at the mo but as he has to have antibiotics twice a day I am feeding him small 1/3 scoop high fibre nuts plus 1/2 scoop unmolassad sugar beet, hes been in for a week and has been ok on this plus trickle nets every few hours.
 
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