Help! Advice on feeding fussy horse, need weight but not fizz

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Priyashome

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I bought my mare in April and she is a lovely 16h ID x TB. She has lost a lot of weight since arriving which I think was the initial stress of moving. She's now nicely settled. We have a lot of grass at our yard. She is fussy with her food and often refuses to eat it. She's on full lively being fed chaff and nuts, haylage when in. She also has farriers formula for her feet as advised by farrier. What can I give her to gain weight but not fizz her up? She's a good horse but does not require any more oomph than she has. My yard owner says weight gain feeds will fizz her up and is reluctant to put her on anything but I'm worried about her weight and don't want to start winter with her shy on weight. My older horse is a fat boy so I've never had this issue before...help.
 
Micronised linseed meal, feed 200gms per day, I would get a poo check for worms as I don't think she should lose weight just because of moving.
Also teeth check, maybe a vet check?
 
Last edited:
amymay said:
Can she be turned out 24/7 on good grazing?
Click to expand...

She is out on 27-7 good grazing. In just one night a week. Has been fully wormed and teeth checked. I think she's fussy but bought from dealer, old owner doesn't respond to my e mails as I think she sold her reluctantly so no idea on her previous regime.
 
I feed fast fibre and haven't found it heating but each horse is an individual. if you are considering different foods it may be worth contacting a few feed companies for advice and ask for samples if any of the feeds sound suitable. this is what I did last winter when my horse decided not to eat and lost loads of weight, fast fibre and chaff together with formula4feet worked well for my nutty horse...
 
First eliminate all the causes of poor weight.
Re worm - I bomb drench mine when they first arrive as you can never be sure a seller is being honest with you. Worm weekly for three weeks with a broad spectrum wormer.

Have teeth checked by a qualified dental technician.

Have back checked by a chiro, low grade pain from a vertebrae being out can cause ill thrift.

Try feeding at chest height, if she then eats up well it is a sure sign that her neck is tender.

As for fattening her up, see if you can get her to eat oils. Introduce very slowly, a tablespoon to start with and slowly increasing in amount until you are feeding a cupful a day.

You could also try her with Copra, this is the remains from removing oils from coconut. It's a great way to increase weight

Oils are cool energy, slow release so don't tend to hype horses up.
 
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