feeding advice for tb

[mitch.10]

Hi
I have just bought my first TB. He is 15.2 and around 540kgs according to his weight tape. The previous owner used to have him at grass and feed him once a day with 1 biscuit of hay, 2ltr scoop of wheaten chaff, 2ltr scoop of lucerne chaff and 2 ltr scoop of pony pellets.
Since I have had him 3weeks now he has dropped some weight and the ribs are beginning to show, I spoke to my feed supplier and he suggested a weightgainer as the grass is not as lush at my yard although he is out all the time. I have introduced this slowly and increased to 2 large biscuits of lucerne first grade hay plus upped his chaff scoops so he has the same amount in the evening and of course he has gone loopy on this. He is highly strung and dances around like a looney shakes his head around constantly. He has frightened my youngest when I was leading him with his dancing and swinging about.
When I viewed him he was a different horse very calm and easy to handle. Should I decrease the food and up the hay? He is at grass all day but it is thin at moment. I worried about the weight loss but also that he is fizzy and difficult to ride at the minute. This is my first TB so any advice would be great.
Is he just settling in?and what should I do with the feeding regime? I feed him twice a day at the same time for the routine. Am I feeding the wrong foods? Too much or little? I went by the advise of the original owner and then by the stockfeed guy not sure what to do now. What do you guys feed your poor doer TBS. I am in Australia

Thankyou Michelle

 

[ponigurlami]

difficult one maybe feeding haylage instead of hay but even then it could have the same effect but would make up for not so lush grass. maybe try him on build and glow 5 cup fulls in a feed puts a brill shine to your horses coat and puts on weight without the fizz i also feed alfa a oil good calorie content but still without the fizz. you could also try splitting your feeds up and really trickle feed him so he uses each dose of energy just being out in the field. do you work him? you could split your work load into two sets once in a morning and one on a night this will stop a build up of energy and hopefully make him a bit easier to manage .
then again it could be just him settling in i know my TBx took ages to settle in because he couldnt just fall asleep as he diddnt know my routine once he lent my routine for every step i took he turned into the old dozy donkey i bought.

 

[be positive]

Being in Australia you probably will not have the same products as in the UK but the principles are the same.
I would feed as much hay as he will eat, nothing too rich ideally grass hay, then a fibre based feed, such as the pony pellets, that is low in starch and sugars, [they would make him more energetic], chaff and if you can get linseed or sugar beet[unmolassed] and some vegetable oil, these are good for adding calories without too much energy.
A supplement to aid digestion can also help, I think the product we use called Thrive is produced in Australia it may be worth trying.
He will be settling in to his new home with you, try not to make changes too quickly and give time for a new diet to work.

 

[Firewell]

Are you working him??
Work him at least for an hour every day (but give him a day off each week.).
tB's love work, they are bred to run after all! Lunge him if you are worried about riding him and give him a good canter on the lunge.
Ride him, school him, hack him. Do activities that make you feel safe but make sure he has a good canter/ gallop every now and again! Even I it's loose schooling or lunging .
Feed wise maybe he is reacting to the lucern/Alfa? Can you not feed him grass hay?
If you can feed him grass hay ad lib do this and give him pony nuts morning and night when you work him.
TB's need lots of work and tons of high fibre feed (grass and hay), plus pony nuts if they are working hard. You can add soya oil, sunflower oil or vegetable oil up to a mug a day to the pony nuts for weight gain.
Work, fibre feed + oil, routine, keeping warm, worm, dentist and a prebiotic tummy supplement = happy fat TB

 

[mitch.10]

Thanks Guys for the advise. I do work him and I took him in the arena today he was great no signs of being fizzy at all. That was before I had given him breakfast though so maybe he had burnt his reserves overnight lol. He is a great horse when he doesn't jump around. I am wondering also whether he is settling in as when we go out of the paddock into the bush he acts out.
I will certainly have a play with the food and see whether something in that is setting him off I just want him to hold the weight and be a healthy happy horse. I haven't found a proper supplier that sells the lower grade hay yet. They all seem to just sell lucerne which I think makes him a little revved up. Other than that I can't see what would be setting him off in there its just chaff and pony pellets. The only thing I changed was the weightgain mix but he was fizzy before he went onto that.
I will try the lunging to reduce that excess energy and see how we go.



Thankyou again guys just a worried new TB owner. I have always had easy ponies and not for a while so am a bit rusty on the horse ownership front