Feeding on a budget

[Nuttymanxmare]

Does anyone do this or is it even possible???

Ive been given the opportunity to loan a 14yr old 15.3 3/4 TB 1/2 arab. Shes an absolute angel to ride and was given to to the present owner as she was neglected. Her feet are terrible and she is being remedially (sp) shod every five weeks.

The vet and farries have advised she can be ridden but not cannot jump till her feet have grown back properly. This is fine for me as Im just wanting to get my confidence back at the moment.

She does need a lot of building up as she has no back end or topline so we are going to work on that if I get her.

Anyway my question is what to feed her?.Shes a little underweight and I need to persuade the OH that this horse wont cost as much as my other one.

The only thing I have to pay for is the shoes at £85 and the feed!!

Any ideas???

 

[savanna]

i have found baileys no 4 excellent for weight gain for my arab, have tried the blue chip etc, afta bout 6 wks you will c the difference, roughly 6-7 pounds per bag

 

[Governor]

Burgess Super Barley rings are pretty cheap and some are a complete/fortified feed now. They're fantastic for topline and shine.

Plenty of fibre which works out cheaper than loads of concentrates, as an obvious choice for improving condition.

Try and buy in bulk too.

 

[Nari]

Adding oil to feed will help, buy big bottles in the weekly supermarket shop & hopefully he'll never notice!

Good old fashioned sugarbeet nuts soaked & mixed with Alfa Oil? Any chance you can put her on some good grazing, IME that works better than any feed.

If she's been neglected get her teeth looked at ASAP because if she can't chew her feed properly it won't be as effective. Also if she's thin she'll feel the cold more & use more energy keeping warm so consider rugging her, hopefully your other horse's rugs will fit so you won't have to include that when trying to justify another horse!

 

[brighteyes]

Whatever you feed, introduce changes gradually over SEVERAL days - or you might have a vet bill for colic as well! Good luck

 

[Baggybreeches]

I can highly recommend D&H Build Up Muesli, I have used on my giant tb he looks great it costs £8.95 a bag and lasts 10 days but I would think with her size it would last you 2 weeks. My boy is 17.1hh, so is does need a lot of grub.

 

[PapaFrita]

PF used to be a royal pain in the butt to keep weight on. Only thing that did the trick in the end in NOT huge quantities and NOT heating, were (and still are) straight soaked oats with alfalfa.
Will send you a fact sheet if you like (PM me) but not right now cos I'm going to bed in a few mins

 

[MagicMelon]

Baileys barley conditioner is good and pretty cheap (I think its now called Barley Rings?). Was great for keeping weight on through the winter.

Otherwise highly recommend D&H Build Up Cubes. They keep my slim TB as chunky as he'll ever get! Otherwise Alfa A is always a great addition. Or maybe, a higher oil chaff like Alfa A Oil or the new cherry showshine to add condition.

 

[huggz]

A lot would depend on the way she is kept also. Is she stabled etc ?
You need to build her up going into winter & then keep the weight on. You won't know if she's going to drop weight during the colder months till they come round.

 

[Nuttymanxmare]

Thanks for the advice guys its been really helpful.

Im assuming she has had her teeth checked (will ask) and she is out at the moment but I may put a lightweight on her for now.

I want to move her eventually as the grass is very poor (theyare being hayed and fed though) but dont want to bring that up just yet as i dont want to seem to be interfering.

I was thinking of just having her on Alfa A and sugarbeet with a basic mix.

 

[horsegirl]

I've just moved my TB onto these and he has gone NUTS!!! even jumpier and spookier than before, I think I will have to take him off them. Good job I only bought 1 bag. Also they recommend feeding something like 5kg per day for light/medium work so a bag will only last 4 days. Mine has started to gain weight after adding speedi beet to his evening feed.

 

[seaview]

can i just totally reccommend papafritas soaked oats feeding regime!
I ahve had my girl on it for only 2 weeks and the difference is unbelievable!
Plus it is extremely economical too!
Nat
x

 

[vicm2509]

PapaFrita has just sent me the PM regarding this diet and it sounds really good. I will be putting Baron on it in the next few weeks.

He is IDxTB and although not underweight exactly he could do with bulking up a bit behind.

Im looking forward to trying it out and will report how it goes