Feeding for condition - take 2!

madhector

madhector

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Thank you for all you advice last time, I put J on alfa oil instead of the original and he was fine (not any sillier anyway) He also has the alfa beet, and his balancer, linseed, plus corn oil. I tried the Saracen equil jewel, but he came up in bumps again, and it turns out it has molasses in, stopped feeding it and the bumps went away again. So have come to the conclusion that he is intolerant to molasses.

My query is should I just leave it as it is now, and just hope he picks up slowly, or start the hunt yet again for something to add that will help him put on condition. I cannot find anything that is both free from molasses and free from all cereals that isn't just a mix of Alfalfa, beet and linseed, all of which he has anyway!!!!

The only thing I can find that is different is soya bean meal, but I have no idea if this is a good thing for him, or how it would affect him (worried about the ulcers coming back)




Any thoughts? I am tempted to leave it as it is now and hope that he gradually picks up, but any suggestions appreciated
 
I'd be tempted to leave things as they are for a few weeks and monitor his weight. If he still needs more condition at that point you could consider a grass-based feed, something like Readigrass is non-molassed. You could give him a big tub of that overnight alongside his hay ration (which I presume is adlib). Studies have shown that horses will consume larger amounts of forage if they have a choice of different types.
 
Yep he has adlib hay in the stable and in the field
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what balancer is he on? someone has just recommended NAF pink powder to me, as im pumping my young horse full of food but he isnt particually well covered. she loves the stuff and finds it really makes a difference to the horses condition because it has all the vits/mins in it, and prebiotics ect to make sure the horse utilises all food he is given.
may be worth a try
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or ask about it on here
 
I second leaving his feed alone for a little while and see how he goes.
Why are you thinking about giving him something on top? Are you wanting to keep condition on him?
Sorry probably missing somting from a past thread
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Have you looked at any of the winergy feeds?I have only just started looking at them, but i think they dont have any molasses and are really lo in starch but high in fibre and oil?Thats what ive learnt so far!!(i could be wrong though!!)Im about to put a post up asking people who've tried it
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Stick with it. I'm feeding basically the same diet as you, but it does take time for them to put weight on. I've stuck with it for a year (having tried lots of other feeds) and he's put on 70kg!
Edited to say, how much oil are you feeding? I give 1 big'ish mug a day. I also feed redigrass (soaked) as I've found TB's and TB types do really well on grass based feeds. Or you could also maybe try adding some soaked grass nuts?
 
Thanks everyone, we will stick with it.

Aparently topspec has a small amount of mollasses in it too! So will stop that and give him the pink powder instead as sounds like it might help. He has had quite a lot of upset with the kidney problems and ulcers so would make sense that his gut isnt working perfectly.

I also checked the winergy and I sure it had mollases in it, the stuff seems to get everywhere!
 
ooo woops!!dont listen to me!!Good luck, im sure you will get there eventually. Im having the same probs and he isnt even molasses intolerant!
 
I second grass based addition. My two are fed similar to yours, but my mare who needs a bit more has 2kg soaked grass nuts a day as well, it has made a real difference to her condition over winter, and grass nuts are quite cheap.
 
Have to say Topspec makes everything on it look good...and if he isnt having any probs with the diet he is on at the mo, I would persevere with it...he seems to tell you when it doesnt suit
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mine sound similar, they are feed alfa a oil, sugar beet, soaked grass nuts and small amount of barley plus along with garlic and corn oil. one looks good, the other needs abit extra so was just thinking of ordering some instant linseed from simple systems??
 
I think the winergy do a have a bit of mollasses but no more than Happy Hoof or Health Hooves, think it's just a coating. Would be worth calling them and asking if they know the tollerance levels etc? I know they spoke to my friends vet about it when she found out hers had a barley and mollases intollerance and actually it was ok.
 
The best conditioning feed I have ever found is boiled barley, sugarbeet and 2 tablespoons of oil. I've used it on my silly, hugh strung WB and it didn't make her any different at all, but put LOADS of condition on to her!
 
copra meal (i should be brand ambassador - i recommend this stuff so much)theres no cereal and no molasses, its made from coconut and is a conditioning feed, I use it on mine and he can't have cereals and is not a good doer but is doing well on this. I've also heard of something called Sumo but not sure whether that is cereal/molassed!
 
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