Feeding advice-is this ok?

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PennywithHenry

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Hi all, I'm looking for some advice/suggestions please.

2 weeks ago I bought a 17 yr old TB gelding. He's quite underweight, ribs showing, backbone up, very angular bum.

The first thing I did was to get the vet to check him over. He was wormed with equimax then 5 days later panacur 5 day guard, on the vets advice. He also had his teeth done and bloodwork done to check there wasn't an underlying problem, which there doesn't seem to be.

I'm feeding him as follows;

4 times a day he has;

1/2 scoop of build up, 1/2 scoop allen&paige weight gain and 1 scoop of beetpulp with a double handful of alpha a oil, all soaked together with warm water. He's on a feed balancer with a live yeast extract and a cup of oil and fenugreek.

He'll pick at hay, but barely eats a net over 24 hours, if that. I give him a trug with a beetpulp and alpha mix, with a natural salt block in to slow him down as a partial hay replacer; he won't entertain the notion of haylage nor readigrass.....

He isn't doing any work, as I wouldn't even entertain the notion until he'd put more weight on. He's out for approx 3 hours a day, as the yard I have him on has limited turn out and hardly any grazing. He's got some sparkle, I take him into the indoor most evenings and he has a play and a roll....

I've found an acre paddock with stable just down the road from my house, which is available to me mid April, so I'm hoping the grass and more turn out will benefit him. He's plenty warm enough and the food doesn't seem to be fizzing him up.

So, opinions please? Is this diet ok for him? How could I improve it?
 
Try him on stabilised rice bran, Saracen Equi Jewel. I have had the best results with that. It is a little worrying that he doesn't eat hay or haylage though. Could be he has stomach ulcers, which is more common that one thinks, especially in stabled horses. (when I worked in racing, the yard I was at had 10 poor doers tested. 1/2 of them had ulcers!!)
Have a chat with your vet about that possibility and try to get him scoped or treated as a precaution.
 
Penny - 2 thoughts. I bought an ex-riding school cob who was underweight to the point of emaciation (vet said). He did brilliantly on Blue Chip Original which did exactly like the ads and photos say - before and after...couldn't believe it was the same horse! I'd also look for something that not only has the calories but is tasty and appetising and irresistable to the horse. Mollichaff Veteran chaff is amazing. Every horse on our yard would scoff the whole bag if allowed as it smells gorgeous and minty. You could use just a handful or 2 as a temptation in whatever his other feed is. Are his teeth ok? Thought no 2. My friend has a TB and she struggled to get/keep weight on him at her other yard. Where he is now he has tons of turnout (out all night, every night right through the winter!) and he has filled out and grown a woolly coat and he is happy and gorgeous! Remember that a TB will show some ribs - its the way they are. But when she was struggling with him before, she was advised to put baby's milk powder in his feed and that did the trick without fizzing him up in any way! Worth experimenting. Start off with a small amount to make sure he will eat it and up it to a sensible level and see what happens over a few weeks. I'd defo go for the max turnout you can give him though, although he won't ever put on weight if he is stressed out big time eg by being on his own. Would he have company in the new field? Good luck with him but it sounds like he's landed on his feet with a lovely caring owner x
 
Hello, thankyou for your replies.
I've spoken to the vet re; the ulcer possibility and he's going to look at it when he comes back to check him next week.

For when I move him I've borrowed a friends welshy youngster, who'll be equitaped his own paddock within the field, which seems to be the way Henry prefers his company, able to see them but not in his face.

Box of Frogs, he had his teeth done the da after I bought him, so that's seen to.

Spanishmustangs-would the rice bran be alongside his feeds or instead of? I've never come across this product before......

Thanks again, Penny
 
I'd stick with the Allen & Paige weight gain. My old TB was always stressing his weight off and it worked wonders. Give him time because if he's like most TBs he'll have probably stressed off weight during the move. Also I don't know whether it is possible but have you tried different haylages? Mine is very picky and if we get a new bale sometimes he won't eat it. Fussy eaters!
 
Stick with it...... some TB's take quite a while to get into the swing of eating hay/ haylage and other fibre foods. I've found offering them less, but more often with the haylage works as it's a bit of a novelty when a new net arrives. Also, have you tried offering it from the floor, or in a big tubtrug?

Topspec balancer and conditioning cubs/ flakes are all very good
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Spanishmustangs-would the rice bran be alongside his feeds or instead of? I've never come across this product before......


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You ad it to what you are already feeding, say a mug full with each feed, no soaking, just straight in. It is high in very digestible fat, also contains Vit E and Selenium. It is pricey though, but one bag has usually sorted mine out..but then they are a tad smaller!!

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can i ask why you are feeding 2 different conditioning feeds? you would be better off feeding a slightly larger quantity of one feed.

look to increase his fibre intake graduually - if he's not been used to getting much then it will take him a while to adjust. the more sugar beet or chaff you can give him the better. I leave any thin horses with an entire trugg full of soaked alfa beet or sugar beet over night and find that helps them to increase the fibre intake.
keep on with the feed balancer - be it blue chip baileys topspec or what ever - he needs to get all the vitamins etc that he can to help him put the weight on.
look for an oil content of 10% or more in the hard feed and try using full fat soya or stabilised rice bran to increase the oil content in his diet - oil is easily digested and much more calorie dense than starches etc.
assuming his ideal weight is about 500kg then you should be looking at his "hard feed" (ie everything that isn't hay or sugarbeet or chaff) intake to be about 2 1/2 kg per day (over as many meals as possible) plus as much fibre (hay chaff sugar beet etc) as you can persuade him to eat.

hope this helps. if you need any more help formulating a ration then PM me!
 
i think this is too much for a horse not in work, there may be a risk of potiential tying up probs ect, i think if you contacted an expert in food nutrition or nutritionalist(your vet should be able to recomend someone) you could save yourself some money , and probably stop any over feeding of certain proteins, vits and mins ect and to ensure the horse is getting the very best out of the feed !!
 
I agree with the end post you have to take it slowly ive been in that place before with my shire that i brought
he went through the stage of not picking up weight and i thought there might be an underlining problem but there wasnt
cause soon the spring grass hit he shot up inc me feeding him but grass alone should put the weight on aslong as he has good access to it.
 
A balancer - Blue Chip or Top Spec and lots of chaff and a beet pulp product. I'd go with Alphabeet and give this combination ad-lib (with balancer at recommended rate) alongside hai long chop - hay/haylage net. Dr Gree, when it arrives should really help and you seem to have addressed all the real issues (teeth, worms etc) already. Good for you and the very best of luck with your very fortunate horse.
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