Feeding horse on box rest.

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Hanz

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My mare has fractured her foreleg an inch below the knee and has to be put on box rest until at least the new year.
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At the moment I am feeding her soaked hay, as she is getting a cough from being in, she has a salt lick and gets about a handful of cool mix in one of those balls that scatter food when they are rolled about.

She is most definately a good doer but can anybody advise me on what I should give her to help her get through the winter?

Many thanks
 
Fibre, fibre and more fibre. If she can maintain weight on just the hay then do that, although you might want to feed a vit/min supplement in a handful of chaff to make up for what is lost from the hay by soaking.

If she starts to lose weight then look at fibre foods of some sort - fibre cubes, alfafa etc.
 
OK thanks, I thought she would be okay on just hay but didn;t want to be depriving her of anything essential that she is usually getting. Will have a look about for some supplements when I stock up feed this week.
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My boy is on box rest at the mo with a fractured splint bone. He has adlib haylage and I give him high fibre cubes with some chaff to keep him quiet when I feed the others. I haven't given him a horse ball to play with as think he would do too much damage to his leg kicking it around. Sueds hanging from the doors are always good to keep them entertained and also lickits if they like them
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As much soaked hay as they want, plus some chalf with a balancer or vit & min suppliment.
Mine is having ad lib hay, plus a scoop of chalf (morning & eve) with his Formula 4 feet and Garlic in it.
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Your poor horse, I hope she gets better soon. My mare has just been given the go ahead today to come off boxrest after being in for 4 months. She was on adlib hay, and I mean adlib, she was going through a large round bale a week! She also had a foal at foot so I had to be careful about not overfeeding her but ensuring she was getting enough to feed him, I found the baileys stud balancer was great and I think they do a lo-cal balancer which might suit your mare. She also got speedibeet and chaff and I gave her 3 small feeds a day, just to break up the day. She was also getting carrots, apples and swedes aswell.
 
Think its Spillers or Saracen that do Fibre Pencils which is what they use at our local vets for horses on box rest - great thing is they can also go in your stable ball instead of treats..... would stick to any feed that is high in fibre, low in energy! My horse is on Falcon Feeds Fibre Care which is a good high fibre feed and low energy and has alfafa in it so need to add chaff though I do add some Dengie Good-Doer to it. He was on box/pen rest for 2 months with a tendon and the Fibre Care worked out well. Had to conviscate his ball as he was too good at launching it through the air!
 
Id feed ab lib (soaked) hay, as you already are. Id change the cool mix to High Fibre Cubes (as I believe cubes are better in those balls anyway). And also get him a vitamin lick (not just a salt lick) if he isnt getting actual feeds as such. As well as these, I guess Id feed other stuff to keep him happy like turnips / carrots hidden in hay etc. etc.
 
Hay, hay and more hay with a vit & min supplement or feed balancer. There is absolutely no reason to give hard feed to a horse on box rest. Feeding buckets of cereals may make the owner feel better, but does no favours to the horse.
 
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