Feeding ex racehorse

[Missadelaide]

I’ve just purchased a lovely fella who last ran less than two weeks ago.
He’s a picky eater and not too keen on eating his hay. I’ve had a few ex racers in the past and haven’t come across this particular issue.
Has anybody overcome this? He’s not got a huge amount of condition, so I definitely don’t want him to loose weight.
Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated. Going forward he will be out during the day and in at night.

 

[shortstuff99]

Haylage? Is often more palatable to horses, can make some excitable though.

 

[paddi22]

equerry conditioning mash is great for putting weight on, and most seem to like it.

have you had his teeth checked? most of the exracers that have come to me have had bad teeth and it sometimes affected eating and condition.

 

[Missadelaide]

I haven’t had his teeth done yet as I’ve only had him a few days but it’s definitely something I will get done ASAP. He’s on haylage currently but I’m wondering if he’s a bit anxious.
I will try the mash as he does seem to enjoy his hard feed more than his fibre!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

If he has only just left racing his racing eating ways will still be with him. He sounds like he wasn't a fan of food when fit. Give him time and this will change. My guys love Equerry Mash.

Most racehorses are fed haylage and either a scoop of mix or cubes however many times a day. Some won't eat whilst there are people around but will polish off everything over night when it's quiet, others just won't eat much at all.

The ones that don't eat are harder to start with and you will probably dispair for a while but honestly time is the one thing you need to give him.

 

[Scarlett]

My latest exracer was the same when he arrived. Would eat bucket feed but not hay. It just took time for him to adjust and start eating a full net. 8 months along he's eating 12-15kg a day.

I recently started feeding him Baileys Ease and Excel along with his Pink Mash and he's thriving.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

If he only raced 2 weeks ago I would give him time to adjust. Hay wouldn't have played a big part in his diet. Even if he looks a little poor he will soon fill out in the spring. Give him time.

 

[ihatework]

Give him time, let him down gradually.
Try and find out what the trainer fed and feed him that brand, there is usually a low energy/out of training cube/mix equivalent.

Provide 3-4 smaller meals, don’t bulk it out with chaff/mash just yet unless that is what he is used to

Make sure he is warm enough - when they are fit & hard they feel the cold more.

Consider a course of gastroguard

Get teeth done

 

[fredflop]

My picky ex racer wouldn’t eat anything to start with apart from heavily molassed mix, so that’s what she got.

once she was a bit happier she’d eat most things