Getting condition on veteran cushings pony

[Sophstar]

For the first year, my 23 yr old pony is struggling with his weight and needs some more condition to get him through the winter. This is the first time I've dealt with a horse needing weight! They've all been good doers so feeding has only ever been basic.

Lives out 24/7, currently naked as he pulls off a rainsheet and overheats quickly in anything heavier.

Teeth done and wormed all within last month.

Getting a couple of slices of hay thrown out in the field am and pm and has as much hay as he wants when he comes in for a brush, but he's usually satisfied after 2. Still has grass to eat and gets moved paddocks every week so they aren't trashed and fresh grass to eat.

Currently using up last of his safe and sound chaff that he gets a token of in summer and just reordered linseed. Out of desperation I grabbed bag of d & h sixteen plus before shop shut however I try to avoid molasses with his cushings. A friend recommended barley rings but never used them.


He gets bored eating a hard feed and has walked away from anything bigger than 2 small scoops so i need high calorie, high fibre feed that i can pump into him in small amounts!

Any suggestions?

 

[TGM]

I would avoid Sixteen Plus and barley rings for a Cushings pony - you want to avoid starch (from cereals such as barley, maize, wheat and oats) as well as sugar with Cushings/laminitis. Does he like Speedibeet - this is a good source of calories with low starch/sugar levels.

 

[JillA]

I would avoid Sixteen Plus and barley rings for a Cushings pony - you want to avoid starch (from cereals such as barley, maize, wheat and oats) as well as sugar with Cushings/laminitis. Does he like Speedibeet - this is a good source of calories with low starch/sugar levels.

Echo this - Speedybeet, grass nuts and maybe some micronized linseed. Avoid like the plague anything with sugar (molasses) and starch (cereals). My old lady is 35 and barely holding condition but she has plenty of energy on that diet - she doesn't eat hay or haylage having very few molars left.

 

[amberleystar]

I agree with the above, D&H sixteen plus is far too high in sugar and starch for a cushings pony, also the barley rings will be too high as well. I have a cushings mare and currently feed her Winergy Equilibrium Senior which comes in at 10% sugar and starch combined but has a good protein and energy content to keep the weight on. Even though D&H say that sixteen plus is safe for cushings, they don't tell you what the combined sugar and starch levels are and these need to be 10% or under. I have used the Safe and Sound before and my mare reacted badly to it, becoming footy within a couple of days of feeding it, I then found out the sugar and starch levels and they were too high, so my feelings are that sadly D&H tend towards being too high in sugar and starch. As I say, Winergy is brilliant and I know of quite a few cushing horses and ponies safely fed the Low or Senior versions. You could add to this Speedibeet or AlfaBeet both of which are approved by the Laminitis Trust. Micronised linseed is also brilliant, my mare is 16.2 and she gets around 200g per day, so you'd want to feed less for a pony, but 100g per day would certainly help.

 

[Northern Hare]

My 21 yo WBxTB was dropping huge amounts of weight (he was on A&P Fast Fibre, Molasses free Hi-Fi, Speedibeet and m'nised linseed). He just refused to eat it. I then swapped him onto Topspec Senior balancer and their Cool Conditioning cubes, Alfa-A Molasses Free and Speedibeet and he's eating everything and looking so much better. His Cushings test a fortnight ago came in at 25 so the lowest so far.

 

[Bennions Field]

My old girl is 30 this year and struggled with condition too for the first time ever, she's got very few molars left and cant manage hay anymore, though will pick at my own chaff, made from my own hay. She's on a mixture of s/beet, grass nuts and conditioning cubes, with linseed oil added, but recently added in a pre/pro biotic, its worked wonders , she's put on around 60 kgs, and is back up to just short of 500 kgs, she's 15hh so about right for her height. Really pleased i spoke to one of the nuetritionists at YH live, very helpfull and told me i was feeding her about right for her to increase weight, i checked her feeds and it seems ok for sugar etc, but to be honest it was more important to get more weight on than worry about the dreded 'L'. If she hadnt increased she was going to be pts before the winter set in, but hopefully she will be around a little longer. Its good to hear others with some golden oldies, and how you manage them - heres to a nice mild short winter !

 

[magicmoose]

Its good to hear others with some golden oldies, and how you manage them - heres to a nice mild short winter !

Agreed!

D is now almost 34 and has virtually no molars at all. I currently have him on A&P Veteran Vitality plus micronised linseed and Pro Balance. He makes the most disgusting mess of his face, rug, floor and walls with it! As he can't chew hay, he also has Speedibeet, grass cubes and Halleys grass chop soaked in a huge trug.

The grass cubes are probably not ideal sugar-wise, but his weight is more of a concern at the moment than laminitis.

 

[JillA]

He makes the most disgusting mess of his face, rug, floor and walls with it!

That's interesting - Sabria wipes hers all over the place too - I have stables in a barn and the base of dividing mesh is plastered with dried Speedybeet porridge. Maybe it is a matter of getting it just right in their mouths.

 

[hnmisty]

I had my 35 year old on Blue Chip and it was fab!

 

[Bennions Field]

I think its about getting the consistency right for their personal preference, becca wont eat her soaked feed unless its quite dry and crumbly, bit like breadcrumbs to look at, all the cubes have broken up but they're not mushy at all, she wont touch it if its too wet, she doesnt seem to get it anywhere other tgan dropping odd bits on the floor- usually as she taken too big a mouthfull at once !!! She likes her food ;-).

 

[magicmoose]

I think its about getting the consistency right for their personal preference, becca wont eat her soaked feed unless its quite dry and crumbly, bit like breadcrumbs to look at, all the cubes have broken up but they're not mushy at all, she wont touch it if its too wet, she doesnt seem to get it anywhere other tgan dropping odd bits on the floor- usually as she taken too big a mouthfull at once !!! She likes her food ;-).

D makes a mess whether it's wet or dryish. I think that for him its mainly due to his (lack of) teeth as he never used to make such a mess. He had some stuck to his ear last night!

 

[Lucky Lady]

Best way forward is to contact the nutritionists of Saracens, who can guide you as to what to feed. Also look into gastric ulcers and get some tummy support maybe.