Feeding question

[Colline]

Ok peeps heres one for you to help me with.

Pony is of unknown age although probably mid teens. he finds it hard to keep weight on and needs to build top line and condition. at present he is on happy hoof with a broad spectrum vitamin supp and haylage.

your help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[amandathepanda]

spillers topline cubes are always good, I like D&H Build Up too. Keep going with the supplement and haylage as this will help. Sugarbeet is fantastic if your horse doesn't explode on it and supabarley is good. Need more specific info like height & weight to produce a proper diet sheet for you!

 

[Colline]

Oops forgot he is on sugar beet too. Was trying to post quickly as at work!!!

He is 13.2 - I will weigh him later.

 

[TGM]

First get teeth checked as older horses often have dental problems that slow down their hay/haylage eating, making it more difficult for them to eat the required amount. Make sure he has adlib haylage - there should just be a little bit left in the morning.

I'd ditch the Happy Hoof - it is a great food but designed as a low calorie food for fatties! If you want to stay cereal-free then you could try using either Alfa Beet (with some added veg oil) or Alfa A Oil with a vit/min supplement. If he needs more than this then you could add a conditioning cube or mix or micronized barley.

 

[galaxy]

Alfa A Oil and D&H Build up (the cubes if you think mix might heat him up), 3 feeds a day if you can, ad lib haylage and turnout onto good grass (well, as good as it gets this time of year!).

We get skinny ponies in all the time and I've never had one yet that doesn't do well on this.

 

[Cop-Pop]

16 plus is a good feed for keeping condition on etc and can be fed to promote condition on horses from about 14 onwards. It is quite hard though, so it needs to be soaked for a while if his teeth aren't as good as they should be.