Feeding post hobday and tie back op

[Gailbriscoe]

Hi beware ?
Long rambling post from a chronic over thinker.... I can’t help myself haha
I’m just looking for tips for my boys recovery really and what’s ahead.
Harry’s just come home today after having his op on Monday. The hobday wound is very strange, hearing him blow through it and seeing the discharge hasn’t phased me.
Cleaning that up I’m fine with no issues there.
It’s feeding him I’m frightened of and I can’t settle on what I’m going to do for him. Vets were all a bit vague really.
He’s having soaked hay on the floor as directed.
I’m nervous of feed but it will be needed.
He’s a huge heavy 17.3 Irish sports horse, I’ve owned him 6 years.
He usually lives out on grass all summer, with no hard feed really. come September October I have him in overnight and he will get fed twice daily over winter. We swap and change accordingly with work and his weight and manage him fab he looks mega and I obviously want him to stay that way.
things have all changed now as obviously He’s on box rest and I want to do right in all aspects so this operation is a success.
What did people feed there horses during recovery? Like from the first week?
Also what’s with this no sugarbeat?
what did you feed long term also? What worked for you? What didnt?
What about carrots ect can horses have veggies once recovered?
I need all the tips please haha feed is a mind field at the best of times.
Also I’m interested to hear return to work schedules you had going.
If you got this far then thank you ?

 

[Lots of Gift Bags]

Why do you need to give him a hard feed? I wouldn't be feeding a horse on box rest except for a handful of chaff to get any supplements or medication into them.
Soaked hay on the floor is a good plan. If they need more calories, I'd be mixing in haylage rather than giving hard feed.

 

[Gailbriscoe]

Why do you need to give him a hard feed? I wouldn't be feeding a horse on box rest except for a handful of chaff to get any supplements or medication into them.
Soaked hay on the floor is a good plan. If they need more calories, I'd be mixing in haylage rather than giving hard feed.[/QUOTE

I’m thinking forward, he will need feed when he’s back in work.
I’m not talking right now.
ive also been told to not give him haylage by the vets.

 

[Lots of Gift Bags]

Well if your vets have said not to give him haylage, then don't!
With feeding, less is more. Wait until he's back in work and assess his feeding needs then. If you've had him 6 years, you should know what to be feeding him.

 

[Gailbriscoe]

Obviously I won’t!!
im looking for advice for post op feeding because I’ve never had experience of a horse having had this surgery!
I’m looking for advice from those who have been through this and to get an idea what worked for them, hints and tips ect because I want the best for my boy!
I’m not stupid ..... well maybe I am for looking for advice here ?‍

 

[autumn7]

Gailbriscoe, I do hope your horse makes a wonderful recovery. I write with no knowledge of feeding post-Hobday op but a search on this forum has come up with this which may be of use to you? Good luck with your boy.
https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/...eed-for-horses-after-tie-back-surgery.327264/

 

[spacefaer]

When we had our boy done about 10 yrs ago, we fed him soaked hay and his normal feed which, from memory, at the time was standard pasture mix, slightly dampened to hold the bute.

The vets said no sugar beet then as well - I assumed it was a risk of inhalation but I have no evidence to support this theory!

We fed him sugar beet for years afterwards however once he'd recovered from the op. He hunted for years with great success

 

[clairekat]

I was also told no sugarbeet for mine. When she had the op she was on box rest for 2 weeks with just hay and then threatened to pull the stable down and was turned out. She was then fed on grass and chaff for a few weeks and then back to normal diet of hay or grass and chaff/ pony nuts for winter. After about a year I started feeding Allen and Page Calm and Condition as they said it didn't contain sugarbeet. I'm not sure if it was to do with the consistency of sugarbeet or something else but she never had any issues. When I brought it up with the vet he said that she hadn't been tied back as tight as say a racehorse as she didn't need the level of fitness they do so might be why she never had issues

 

[spacefaer]

@clairekat C&C is around 40% sugar beet ?

 

[clairekat]

@clairekat C&C is around 40% sugar beet ?

O dear, good job it didn't cause any issues then

 

[ycbm]

Mine had a tieback and laser hobday and apart from feeding from the floor my vets gave me no restrictions whatsoever on what to feed him. He had no issues at all with it. His main food was haylage and hard food was sugar beet and cubes.

 

[Gailbriscoe]

3 weeks in and hobday is totally healed
Thank the lord as that was pretty gross
He’s eating fine
He has a neigh like a little dinosaur roar cute, he was the noisy butch neigh you could hear for miles so that’s taking some getting used to.
Far less dramatic or traumatic than I’d anticipated thankfully
He’s hand grazing living the dream being the yard lawnmower grazing down the edges of the tracks,
I can’t wait to ride him even if it is just a gentle hack but all in good time,
How long did you soak hay for? So hopeful that isn’t a long term thing ?