Feeding for weight gain

[P.forpony]

First things first, don't be scared of a rib!
It will take a bit of time to adjust your eye to a tb after having other things.
My old vet used to say he'd rather see a rib than a roll and if I couldn't see one on my tb he would be vastly overweight.
On the lean side you're much less likely to be worrying about arthritis and lami in the future.

That being said, they do usually need a decent feed.
Mine gets a cup of micronised linseed in each feed year round and it does the trick and gives a beautiful shine

 

[SantaVera]

Micronised linseed and a feed balancer with Alfa oil chaff.

 

[Jambarissa]

I bought a skinny as hell tb at the sales once. He did really well on an alfalfa chaff, high energy grass pellets and linseed.

I liked simple systems stuff, they deliver for free around here.

 

[Kaylum]

Small feeds 3 times a day as they have small stomachs for continous food. Don't be tempted to give big feeds. Most racehorses have ulcers due to stress and high protein diets.

 

[TheOldTrout]

I add a tablespoon of linseed oil to my mare's feed when she needs to gain weight.

 

[Bobthecob15]

Thanks everyone I’ve ordered a bag of omega rice (linseed plus rice bran, lots of oils too) after talking to the company, it has more calories than just the linseed on its own. Will add to existing feed. They said it would be quicker at adding weight before winter hits, will then switch to micronised linseed once he’s at a more acceptable weight.

I’m quite tempted to also get some grass pellets once the winter really hits us as we don’t have a lot over winter.

Will keep working on the haylage, YO is going to stuff the nets more than they had been x

 

[khalswitz]

Thanks everyone!! We don’t have this issue with the Welsh ponies we’ve had My first full TB, previously had IDx and warmbloods so this feeding for weight lark is new to me

I’m the opposite - went from always having TB or mostly TB crosses to having a ¾ ID and this summer she definitely is a bit too porky as I wasn’t quick enough to cut the feed back!

I agree with all the micronised linseed recommendations, and suggest adding something like copra meal - takes them a moment to get used to the coconut flavour as it’s not something they normally get but most horses end up loving it and it’s a great high fibre feed for weight gain.

D&H ERS Pellets is another good shout. They’re designed for racehorses that tie up, so very low sugar/starch and very high calorie.

Another feed is rice bran, very high fat low starch - I had good experiences with Keyflow Keyplus.

Also, if you can’t have ad lib high quality forage/good grazing, a more expensive way of doing things is buying bales of high energy chaff like Alfa A Oil and providing buckets of that. Not all of them will eat it on its own due to the oily taste, I used to add a bit of mint and garlic or a little copra to my buckets for my TB when he was on box rest, but it’s worth a shot.

 

[Bobthecob15]

Quick update..he’s been on the Omega Rice for just over a week and has already put on some weight I noticed he was less ribby to the eye and the weigh tape says he’s put on so I’m very pleased!

 

[KatieDM]

Quick update..he’s been on the Omega Rice for just over a week and has already put on some weight I noticed he was less ribby to the eye and the weigh tape says he’s put on so I’m very pleased!

Great news! May I ask, is it more of a feed topper? Trying to estimate how long a 20kg bag of the Omega rice would last when adding to existing feed chaff/nuts etc. Thanks

 

[HBB]

So glad to hear there is a noticeable improvement.
I am another that would always use micronised linseed for weight gain. I wouldn’t touch Coolstance Copra with a barge pole!

 

[Bobthecob15]

Great news! May I ask, is it more of a feed topper? Trying to estimate how long a 20kg bag of the Omega rice would last when adding to existing feed chaff/nuts etc. Thanks

Yes it is, I am using 450g a day split between 2 feeds (if you email Omega they will advise how much based on weight and how much you want to gain etc). I've had mine for just shy of 2 weeks and have loads left! You can add it to any feed you have.

It's fab stuff I'm going to weigh tape him at the weekend and see how much he's gained in 2 weeks.

 

[Bobthecob15]

So I used the weigh tape on him and he’s put on around about 20kg on the Omega Rice, he’s looking very well on it Will keep going with it for a few more weeks then will reduce the amount for more of maintenance over winter x