Feeding advice (please)

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Gentle_Warrior

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Mr H, is a good doer in the summer months, restricted grazing etc, lives out 24/7, he is 20 years old, light work (hacked couple of times a week, occassional sponsored ride), large chunky legged cob x, gelding

In the summer he gets Baileys Lo-cal balancer (recommended quantity) scoop of Dengi Hi-Fi Lite and flax linseed oil

This will be his first winter in many years left un-rugged and unclipped (time for a rest for bothe of us !). He has little grass, and for the first time, I am in a position where he is dropping weight already ! far to soon

He is an ideal weight at the moment, but dont want him dropping anymore, and we are not even in winter yet.

I have started adding bailey's Top Line, and lessened his lo-cal nuts, scoop Hi-Fi Lite and flax oil.

Unfortuntely due to work I can only feed him once a day. What is the maximum number of scoops of nuts he could have in one meal ? he is only getting hay at night at the moment as I share a field and his meal is in the morning

I am saving the addition of speedibeet until later in the winter (not used for years, is it now ready in 10mins with cold water?) but dont want the situation where he drops too much and I cant get anything on him, rather he was a little heavier and had a bit of play to loose in the winter months

What would you be doing ?
appreciated.
 
I think he needs more hay. If he is just getting some at night, he is going all day without any and if the grass is poor he will drop off no matter how much hard feed he gets.
Can you not give him more hay at night so it lasts the next day as well? What about making a cover for the hay and putting in a bale every time he needs it? Or put in a large round bale of hay or haylage in there and letting him eat it adlib? At my old yard the owner used to put in a round bale of haylage in to the youngsters field and they would just eat that and get a new one when it was finished.
You can give up to 2kg of nuts in one meal (about a stubbs scoop and a 1/4).
 
If you share the field what about asking the other owner to give the horses more hay in the morning? Then you can give them hay at night and the other owner only need go up once as well?
 
He should have adlib forage - that goes without saying.

The Baileys balancer, top line and hi fi are very sugary - so cheap cals rather than good sources of protein.

Id be adding micronised linseed and bran + live oats, I get mine from charnwood milling and thunderbrooks respectively.
 
Agree with everyone else that you need to find a way to give him ad lib hay/haylage if there is little grass, otherwise you will struggle to maintain his condition, especially if you can only feed once a day.
 
I would add in the sugar beet now as it's easier to keep weight than add it.

Try replacing the balancer with a good conditioning mix or cube. Ideally not more than 1.5kg hard feed per feed as if you feed more than that it goes right through the gut and is digested in the wrong place causing problems.
Add in oil, either vegetable oil from the supermarket or linseed oil from a feed store - they can have up to a pint a day, just build it up slowly or he'll get diarrhoe. This is a good energy source which will really help keep his weight up.
You can also switch his Hi-Fi light to Alfa A Oil or I've had good results with Spillars Conditioning Chaff.

You don't necessarily have to throw all these in at once, you could just change one and see how he goes then in a couple of weeks if still dropping weight change another.

The other thing to do would be to try and work out a way for there to be hay or haylage in the field 24/7 if no grass available.
 
I would give haylage twice a day. By some means. Even if another person. And at his age I would rug in really awful weather. What about a veteran mix? I used one with my old welsh. Really helped him maintain weight
 
You shouldn't feed more than .5% of his bodyweight in grains / hard feed.

Horses need between 1.5-3% of their bodyweight in dry matter (not including the weight of moisture) fibre daily.

Horses need a constant supply of fibre passing thru there system to keep the bateria in the gut healthy, and to stop the gut collasping in on itself or twisting. All equines (ponies and horses) need a minimum of 1.5% of their body weigh in fibre (this is on a dry matter basis) it can be hard to get that much on over grazed paddocks in winter.

Horses and ponies should be fed an absolute minimum of 1% of their bodyweight in dry matter fibre per day, and ideally between 1.5-3%.
Why is fibre so important?
1. Fibre is a major source of energy.
2. Fibre keeps the hindgut healthy. The horse’s gastrointestinal tract is an enormous organ and it needs to be kept full. This prevents it from physically collapsing on itself or twisting up in a severe case of colic. A healthy hindgut is dependent on keeping the bacterial populations healthy and to do so, they require plenty of forage for fermentation.
3. Fibre provides hydration. Fibre soaks up and holds water in the horse’s gut, which then acts as a water and electrolyte reserve for when horses need it.
4. Vitamin supply. The bacteria in the hindgut produce vitamins which may be absorbed by the horse.
What happens if a horse doesn’t get enough fibre?
1. Colic – too little fibre, dehydration and fermentation of grains in the hindgut may lead to a serious case of colic.
2. Diarrhoea – low fibre diets very often result in loose sloppy manure, which in-turn affects the whole dynamic of how the gut works. Horses with diarrhoea digest what fibre they do get less efficiently and they are prone to problems with dehydration and electrolyte deficiency.
3. Dehydration – horses on a low fibre diet don’t have a readily available water reserve in their gut.
4. Weight loss – horses fed insufficient fibre are also most likely not being fed enough energy (calories) so they may lose weight or having difficulty gaining weight.
5. Boredom – horses on low fibre diets will often have a lot of spare time to fill in during the day that would normally be spent eating. This will often lead to problems like cribbing, weaving and chewing on strange objects or eating dirt.
6. Constant hunger – fibre is the part of the diet that provides the ‘gut fill’. A diet low in fibre will leave a horse always feeling hungry, which causes its own set of problems including behavioural issues.
7. Sand colic – when horses are fed low fibre diets it increases the chances that sand and dirt will accumulate in their hindgut and cause colic or severe diarrhoea.
8. Vitamin deficiency – lack of fibre can disturb the bacterial populations in the hindgut which in turn leads to reduced production of vitamins.
9. Ulcers – fibre encourages the horse to chew, which produces saliva. The alkaline saliva then buffers the stomach acid, which helps naturally reduce the incidence of gastric ulcers.
 
Gentle_Warrior said:
Mr H, is a good doer in the summer months, restricted grazing etc, lives out 24/7, he is 20 years old, light work (hacked couple of times a week, occassional sponsored ride), large chunky legged cob x, gelding

In the summer he gets Baileys Lo-cal balancer (recommended quantity) scoop of Dengi Hi-Fi Lite and flax linseed oil

This will be his first winter in many years left un-rugged and unclipped (time for a rest for bothe of us !). He has little grass, and for the first time, I am in a position where he is dropping weight already ! far to soon

He is an ideal weight at the moment, but dont want him dropping anymore, and we are not even in winter yet.

I have started adding bailey's Top Line, and lessened his lo-cal nuts, scoop Hi-Fi Lite and flax oil.

Unfortuntely due to work I can only feed him once a day. What is the maximum number of scoops of nuts he could have in one meal ? he is only getting hay at night at the moment as I share a field and his meal is in the morning

I am saving the addition of speedibeet until later in the winter (not used for years, is it now ready in 10mins with cold water?) but dont want the situation where he drops too much and I cant get anything on him, rather he was a little heavier and had a bit of play to loose in the winter months

What would you be doing ?
appreciated.
Click to expand...

having been advised buy I member here how good D&H is in Nutrition. I would say give Teressa Holland at D&H a ring
 
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