Feeding a young warmblood

N

Npsouth

Member
Joined
22 September 2021
Messages
15
Visit site
Hi hive mind….

I’m after some thoughts/shared experiences if possible please on feeding…. Having done the rounds with the feed companies I’m toying with speaking with an independent nutritionist but also appreciate there’s learning to be had from others experiences….

I have a 17hh rising 4 year old warmblood mare. She’s in at night, out for the day (usually out around 0630, in around 1630). Access to ad lib hay when stabled and when out in the field. We’re doing some long reining, and she occasionally comes out for a hack led from another horse (so not heaps of work, but she’s doing something fairly consistently).

She just looks really poor and isn’t ‘thriving’. She’s started to look quite lean (and pointy in parts) and whilst I certainly don’t want to fatten her up, I think she could look better than she does and needs some support for filling out….

So what are people feeding or products do people find good for this type of horse? I’m a bit boggled to be honest, she’s such a big girl and up until I’ve always been extremely conscious not to feed anything that encourages growth to try and protect her joints but something is missing now….

Many thanks (especially if you made it this far)!
 
She needs plenty of protein- she's growing and maturing and needs amino acids to do that. I would base my feeds around quality fibrous protein sources such as grass and alfalfa (I like to feed the pellets soaked, but it can be a chaff base too) with a rich protein sources such as such as linseed on top, and probably a balancer in pelleted or power form for minerals
 
TheMule said:
She needs plenty of protein- she's growing and maturing and needs amino acids to do that. I would base my feeds around quality fibrous protein sources such as grass and alfalfa (I like to feed the pellets soaked, but it can be a chaff base too) with a rich protein sources such as such as linseed on top, and probably a balancer in pelleted or power form for minerals
Click to expand...
Thank you, this is really helpful. Do you have any suggested feeds please?
I’m researching but have totally overwhelmed myself with options….
 
I have a 4yo french tb. Who seems to be a decent doer so far. I stay away from alfalfa.
This is his feed … twice per day, it has not changed all winter and he looks amazing. He also gets unlimited hay.

1/3 scoop(measured dry) of speedi mash, apple flavour
1/4 scoop of micronised linseed
1 heaped scoop of nuts
And a couple of handfuls of Chaff.
 
How do you feed wbs? carefully and not after midnight ["Gremlins"]. Ha, no. Seriously, ditto TheMule's post ... roughage/protein/fats/nutrients +micro nutrients all need to be in right balance, and The 'Speedi' beet products that BartonB suggested are all good cool energy sources and palatable.
I'm sure loads more in the 'hive mind' know more about horse nutrition than me but I've fed three warmbloods - two no longer on the payroll, and the first and oldest I still have, now 29, glowing but costing me a fortune in feedbills.

There's no point putting up his diet, as its all Australian commercial horsefeeds [except Speedi, seems to be international] ... I worked it out to be nutritionally and calorifically perfect on the feedxl database : which calculates for you what you need to add or subtract.

One thing I do know is that some warmbloods can be sensitive to carbs/grain. My old boy when in full work was on a wonderful grain free low sugar cool pellet that he thrived on, Prydes Easi-sport, with an NSC [non structural carbohydrate] amount of 8.1 %. When anyone tried to change him off this feed, like my bossy then barn owner, he turned into a fire-breathing dragon.

Keep that in mind when you go to the feed companies, keep quizzing them on ingredients and read labels.
 
We have a 17.3 5yo warmblood (AES) gelding. Similar routine to yours but in a bit more work. We've only had him 4ish months and it seems like he's had a bit of a growth spurt, but two weeks ago we've put him on the Rowen Barbary Ready Mash Extra. Scoop of that and a scoop of spillers conditioning chaff (yard chaff) twice a day is doing him very well indeed!

I've used this historically for my wb x tb who was an incredibly poor doer and the only thing I could use to get any weight on him, apart from grass. Will also start introducing this into the feed of my ISH, who is currently being rehabbed back into work after 4 months box rest following a ligament injury. He will have this with Alfa A Oil chaff, and if I could have the warmblood on this also I would!
 
Just in case you haven’t then a teeth check in case that’s stoping her getting the best from her forage and also a faecal egg count and saliva or blood tape test even if you worm regularly as youngsters can carry a high worm burden that a normal worming programme doesn’t always get rid of. You may also consider a blood test for encysted.

I’ve always found adding micronised linseed to whatever you feed is a good starting point. I do think it can be heating for some though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top