Feeds to fatten up my boy?

bigboyrocky

bigboyrocky

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Was given a new horse to event about a month ago but he is looking a bit underwieght - he is a TB type and is 17.2 so naturally quite lean, but would definately like to see more coverage on his ribs.. he is up to date with worming, vaccinations etc, just naturally not a wieght carrier, and with it getting colder, wondered if anyone had any ideas of good feeds to get him to put on a bit of weight? Thanks x
 
bue chip and oil. barley. ad lib hay/haylage. teeth and worming? copra meal? rice bran? boiled barley? A&P calm and condition, fast fibre etc etc
 
In the past Ive tried many conditioning cubes along with speedi beet, alfa a oil, top spec etc (ad lib hayledge overnight)

This year Ive been feeding 3/4 round scoop alfa a oil and half of barley and half of comp mix for the last 6 weeks, once a day and his weights brill! This with half an alfa bag stuffed with hayledge whilst living out 24/7. I have just started giving him a feed in the morning of comp mix and a handful of alfa.

I decided this year to feed barley/beet/alfa a as when I worked at a BHS riding school nearly all of the 50+ horses were fed a scoop of each twice a day and did really well on it. I remember them all being changed over to mix, then cubes instead of the barley but they had to go back to the barley.

When hes in at night (this/next wknd) He'll be having sugarbeet too, the comp mix gradually replaced by barley and some cond cubes in a ball.

So far going back to basics has worked!
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(he also has benevit powder)
 
full fat soya, alfal oil, speedi beet, lo-cal and good quality haylage. dead simple, don't know a horse who won't eat it (tho if they are fussy with alfa oil then substitute for hifi senior). good protien for muscles, good oil for condition and plenty of fibre for warmth.

good rugs, good routine, good care (tho sounds like you've got these covered!)
 
I like ground linseed to put extra condition on and I also feed 3 meals a day in winter - feeds are the size of a football and roughly they have in each feed 1 round scoop chaff, 250 gms of fibre cubes (+ 250 gms in treat ball = 1 kg a day for light work if in medium work it is doubled - they don't do hard work anymore!) And 1 round scoop of soaked speedi-beet. They also get ground linseed and various joint supplements etc. They have ad lib hay overnight. I feed the recommended amount of hard feed for the level of work they are in so o don't feed a balancer.

When we got our anglo and he was in very poor condition we actually gave him 4 meals a day as little and often is much better than huge meals that they can't process. He put the weight on very quickly and was completely transformed after 3 wks. Also I couldn't feed oil as it sent him bonkers.
 
Im slowly becoming a bluechip advocate! I do still think pink powder is awesome stuff and its very economical..bluechip is more expensive however im not feeding a hard feed just mollichaff and now its colder 1/2 a scoop of sugarbeet! its working out quiet cheap really! so i would suggest bluechip/chaff/sugarbeet and make sure he is warm enough rug wise and lots of hay/haylage!

if bluechip not option then high fibre cubes/conditioning cubes, chaff and fabulous pink powder!
 
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Allen and Page Calm and Condition gets good results and is very palatable

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^^^ above with some sugarbeat, twice a day along with plenty of good quality hay to make up for the lack and quality of grazing, never fails
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For the first time in my life i have a horse that i actually need to feed a bit more than a lo cal balancer! I give him a large bucket of Readigrass over night in addition to ad lib hay, and then twice a day Spillers Conditioning Mix, Readigrass just to act as a chaff, copra meal, a linseed supplement and a general purpose supplement - seems to be maintaining weight well and has a really glossy coat
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i used to feed a comibination of Outshine and Top Spec which worked wonders on my lad but recently found Baileys No 6 or something endurance mix which has soya, linseed, sugabeet and the highest oil out of all of the conditioning mixes and it was a lot cheaper than outshine and TopSpec. He now has the Baileys with sugarbeet and a vitamin supplement as he is retired and doesnt need the recommended amount.

He is out 24/7 well rugged with shelter and adlib hay.
 
I'm a great fan of copra meal as well, it works wonders at keeping weight and condition on, and leaves the coat looking fab. It doesn't send either of mine into orbit either, like some of the build up mixes tended to. It makes the feed room smell like a Pina Colada though....
 
I was having good results with Alfa oil, barley rings, stud cubes and Lo Cal. Kept the weight on my tb really well, however, he went off the rings. So, I tried feeding soya meal instead, but-he won't eat that now either (think he likes being skinny!)!! Best he's ever looked until recenty. Have not had much sucess with conditioning feeds. Any suggestions on how to get the barley back into him much appreciated! Tried grating carrots into the feed, but he's got wise to that now and picks the bits out!
 
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Any suggestions on how to get the barley back into him much appreciated! Tried grating carrots into the feed, but he's got wise to that now and picks the bits out!

[/ QUOTE ] Have you tried soaking the barley in sugar beet? The sugar beet has the advantage that it is very tasty, full of fibre, a good source of calories, counters the calcium deficiency in the barley and also make the barley more appetising.

I feed my old mare either oats or micronised barley soaked along with sugar beet and it keeps her condition on more effectively than any conditioning cube/mix plus she wolfs every last bit down.
 
Outshine deffinatley. Barley rings perhaps although they do make some horses bounce off the walls so might not suit him if he's the fizzy type? I don't rate A&P Calm and Condition at all but i suppose one feed won't work for all horses. Try Topspec Cool Condition cubes, they keep our TB cross calm but nicely covered.
 
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