Pictures Feeding up before busy season

[Michen]

I really struggled to keep weight on Boggle whilst he was hunting last season. He never looked poor, but was lean and very fit and took a huge amount of feeding to keep him like that. I tried everything, Alphabeet, equijewel, linseed, build and glow, Alfa a oil, copra, re leve... all in varying amounts. He gets bored of it very quickly and the fitter he is the less he eats.

I think the mistake I made was being too late to up the feed which made it really hard to get the weight back on when he was still hunting weekly/fortnightly.

So, hound exercise is amount to start, Adrenalin will spike and Bog will immediately start getting lean and buzzed up again. When would you start feeding him up? He looks like this at the moment (in hacking work, 4/5 times a week with canter.. reasonably fitish).

He’s on grass and hay when Stabled (around 8 hours) with a handful of chaff to carry equimins, salt and gut balancer. First hound exercise in two weeks time.

Would you start gradually feeding more now, to have some margin for when he does quickly drop off? I am considering trying top spec cool conditioning cubes as although it goes against more natural feeding that I believe in, I think he’s more likely to eat a cube and I’ve had several friends have really good results.

He doesn’t need any more energy but equally he’s never got anymore buzzed up on any food in particular so it’s fine to feed him more than he needs energy wise (from a behavioural perspective- he’s always super buzzy whatever he’s fed or not)

He’s also barefoot and I intend to keep him like that if I can, if hoof boots continue to work for us to hunt in before the ground is too heavy.. it’ll depend on how dry a winter we have but at least until end October I would hope. Then perhaps front shoes when proper hunting starts.

Thanks guys

 

[Auslander]

I've already started feeding up the hunter here. He's spot on condition wise, but I know he'll drop off as soon as hunting starts, so I want a bit of extra cover on him before the season starts

 

[Michen]

I've already started feeding up the hunter here. He's spot on condition wise, but I know he'll drop off as soon as hunting starts, so I want a bit of extra cover on him before the season starts

That’s my theory.. though I worry about hooves and grass etc plus feed

 

[Auslander]

That’s my theory.. though I worry about hooves and grass etc plus feed

Is Boggle metabolic?
Our guy is fine on grass and plenty of hard feed - he's the easiest keeper I have here!

 

[AmyMay]

He looks amazing.

Have you thought about feeding boiled barley? It was always fed to the hunters I rode once the work really ramped up and did a great job of helping to keep condition on them?

 

[twiggy2]

I would feed up now, grass nuts, speedibeet, micrpnised linseed, plenty of salt and a good supplement. If he needs it and does not get silly I would add rolled oats if his weight drops.

 

[Jeni the dragon]

I would start upping it now.
Rog is cushings and 30 and he loves the cool and condition cubes from top spec. He also gets their conditioning flakes over the winter. They seem really tasty so might be worth trying?

 

[Michen]

Is Boggle metabolic?
Our guy is fine on grass and plenty of hard feed - he's the easiest keeper I have here!

Not as far as I know but I am always cautious re laminitis

This is the porkiest I’ve seen him but actually he’s probably not at all 😂

 

[Michen]

He looks amazing.

Have you thought about feeding boiled barley? It was always fed to the hunters I rode once the work really ramped up and did a great job of helping to keep condition on them?

Thanks! I think he’s really benefited from a quiet three months. I swear he’s grown!

Is that the same as barley rings? It was on my list of things to try but I didn’t in the end.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I would up his feed now I struggled with one of my Arabs for years to keep weight on him when he was young tried everything, and I had to be careful as a lot of feeds made him silly and hot, I tried the top spec nuts and balancer and it sent him nuts so did alfalfa and anything with molasses in it, he holds weight now his 15 but he still only gets grass chaff unmolassed sugar beet and linseed and I just up the linseed depending on work and how he looks and he stays sane on that.

 

[Meredith]

When I hunted regularly it was normal to start upping feed at the start of August, if not before. I don’t go hunting now but my mare doesn’t keep condition either in normal work. I have tried a few feeds with varying success including TopSpec. Nothing has worked as well as I hoped. I eliminate alfalfa and cereal and sugar because she has sweet itch. Have you tried I have Allen and Page Soothe and Gain. I have started feeding that with Graze-on grass. Unfortunately I won’t know if it is any better than anything else for quite a while as my mare has just moved on to better grass.

 

[ycbm]

The old nagsman rule was to increase the feed as soon as the berries are ripe enough to eat. I've just doubled my TB's hard food in preparation for winter.


.

 

[spacefaer]

I've mentioned it to you before but I feed equerry Conditioning Mash. Puts condition on like nothing else without adding any fizz, makes their feet grow amazingly and I've found it really palatable.
Cost effective too as you don't need to feed anything else.
And yes, it's easier to maintain condition than put it back on!

 

[Meredith]

I have used this on another horse with success but find it difficult to get now.

I've mentioned it to you before but I feed equerry Conditioning Mash. Puts condition on like nothing else without adding any fizz, makes their feet grow amazingly and I've found it really palatable.
Cost effective too as you don't need to feed anything else.
And yes, it's easier to maintain condition than put it back on!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Mitchen, I used the cool cubes, they helped do the job on B along with a veteran feed too and the Top Spec comprehensive balancer.
Reasoning with the veteran mix was it is one that hasn't got mind blowing feed in but plenty to maintain weight.
Over 3 months B went from 2/10 to 6/10 and I'm still using the Vet mix even now albeit on a far smaller scale.
Can you keep some decent grass back too? Even if it's used for 2 to 3 days following each outing.
Hope you find something that suits x

 

[Auslander]

I've mentioned it to you before but I feed equerry Conditioning Mash. Puts condition on like nothing else without adding any fizz, makes their feet grow amazingly and I've found it really palatable.
Cost effective too as you don't need to feed anything else.
And yes, it's easier to maintain condition than put it back on!

Great stuff. That's what I had Slate on last season, and apparently it was the first season he didn't turn into a hatrack. Ran up a bit light, but never looked awful

 

[Michen]

I've mentioned it to you before but I feed equerry Conditioning Mash. Puts condition on like nothing else without adding any fizz, makes their feet grow amazingly and I've found it really palatable.
Cost effective too as you don't need to feed anything else.
And yes, it's easier to maintain condition than put it back on!

I think what put me off it was that the ingredients weren’t much different to things I had tried in large amounts straight? Might be worth a go if he eats it though. Thanks.

 

[Kat]

My barefoot hunter is difficult to keep weight on and a fussy eater. She doesn't fizz up under saddle if fed too much sugar/starch but will box walk so I go for high fibre and high fat.

She does really well now on Alfa A Mollasses Free (much more interesting than Alfa A Oil due to the pellets and herbs). Coolstance Copra and Micronised Linseed.

Before I started using copra she was on the alfa a, linseed and speedibeet but this wasn't enough during winter when she was hunting so I used to add whole oats which helped but I prefer what she's on now. I just vary the quantities, depending upon her workload and give more frequent small feeds if she needs more weight in winter.

 

[whiteflower]

Watching this with interest as in a similar position, I have been feeding Alfa a, linseed and topspec ulsa kind with good results but am considering trying the top spec linseed mash as higher digestible energy. Interesting seeing what others are using

 

[Leo Walker]

Did you try rice bean oil? It really palatable and you only need small amounts. It's also oil so not going to mess with his feet. I'm another one who would be feeding him up now as well

 

[Lammy]

Thanks! I think he’s really benefited from a quiet three months. I swear he’s grown!

Is that the same as barley rings? It was on my list of things to try but I didn’t in the end.

I’ve always had good doers so can’t help much but a friend tried barley rings with her skinny ex racer who dropped weight badly one winter and we were struggling to find anything that would do the job. Tried barley rings and he was positively plump about 6 weeks in! They sent him a bit fizzy but this horse could swing towards batshit crazy when he fancied so a bit fizzy was fine! Our next step was going to be milk pellets if they hadn’t worked.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Can mature horses digest and use milk pellets ? I read an article some years ago saying they can't.

I find Veteran and Vitality with a handful of soaked Copra works well. They don't have to be old to find it useful. Baileys Number 17 might be worth trying also.

 

[Lammy]

It was her vet who recommended the milk pellets, she’d tried all sorts of conditioning feed with no luck. Decided to try the barley rings first, and I am glad they worked tbh, they were easier to source for one!

 

[Apercrumbie]

Could you move him onto haylage in winter too?

 

[Michen]

Could you move him onto haylage in winter too?

Yes he goes onto as lib haulage in winter

 

[spacefaer]

Great stuff. That's what I had Slate on last season, and apparently it was the first season he didn't turn into a hatrack. Ran up a bit light, but never looked awful

I'm a little evangelical about it - we've had an old boy for years who was really difficult to feed - I'd find something he like, buy a second bag of it, and he'd stop eating it. This stuff - he'd bang the door for, and he hunted all of his last season looking like he'd just come in off fresh grass. Had another who was loopy on hard feed but needed to keep weight on - this worked for him too. All of our IDs had it all last winter and really looked as though they'd been hacking lightly all season.

 

[LeannePip]

I feed Ruby Rowen & Barbury Ready Mash Extra in a separate feed when she drops off a bit, its excellent - she is also THE fussiest eater alive, will eat something for a bag or so and then not touch it atall. Normally shes just on Saracen Enduro which she loves, through the winter i guve her the mash as an extra lunchtime feed.