Help! I need some feeding advice please.

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corriehorse

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I could do with some reccomendations of feeds for my horse.
She's a 14.3hh Irish cob mare, approx. 18 years old. She struggles to maintain condition, especially in winter, but at the same time, becomes quite hot to ride.
She currently weighs about 450kg, is out by night, and in by day. She has ad-lib hay when she's in, currently eating 1 1/2 - 2 sections of hay a day. she will be swapped over to in by night out by day when she is no longer looking to go out of an evening. Hay in the field is not an option!
She is currently fed 2 scoops of hi-fi, 1/2 scoop D&H 16+ mix and, as of last night, sugar beet, split between 2 feeds. She also has a GOOD glug of oil in each feed.
She is already starting to drop condition so was hoping somebody on her might be able to point me in the right direction.
Have tried her on Allen & Page Calm and Condition in the past which did nothing for her, Top Line Conditioning cubes, which i couldn't feed enough of to have a conditioning effect without her becoming to hot to ride, and Alfa-A oil, which again i saw no effect with.
 
tbh if she can't have any hay in the field, i'd say she should only be out for half a day, as there will be no goodness in the grass at all through winter, and you're seriously limiting the time when she can get enough food down her.
i'd try Baileys Stud Balancer and Alfabeet, i think, both very palatable. Baileys Conditioning Cubes have always made a big diff to mine, are those the ones you tried?
 
1.5 to 2 sections of hay a day doesn't sound a lot for her to be eating. Have her teeth been checked recently - poor dentition is a common cause for weight loss in the older horse as they eat their hay so slowly.

I wouldn't give her HiFi as it is basically a 'diet' chaff - I would try something like Spiller's Conditioning Fibre or a dried grass chaff such as Readigrass or Graze-On if you don't want to feed Alfa A Oil. Sugar beet is a great fibre-based conditioning feed, but if you don't want fizz then you are probably best to use a non-molassed version such as Speedibeet. Make sure you are giving enough though - weigh it out before soaking, as when soaked the amounts can be deceptive.

If her teeth turn out to be fine, and she is just fussy about her hay, then try and find some additional source of forage for when she is in the stable - perhaps haylage, a big tub of dried grass or soaked grass pellets.

It does sound like lack of forage is her main problem - conditioning bucket feeds won't make a lot of difference if she is not consuming lots of hay/haylage, which is probably the reason why some of the things you have tried before haven't worked.
 
I'm trying to keep her out by night as long as she's happy as she is arthritic and obviously the more she can be out moving, the looser she is. She will be coming in by night over the winter, and will probably change her over in the next couple of weeks.
Im pretty certain it was the spillers conditioning cubes i had her on, so may try the Baileys and see how she goes.
 
have you tried Saracen Horse Feeds - they are really helpful and have a massive range of feeds - my horse is very tricky to feed but they really helped me -you can ring them or email them I think -I just rang them for advice and the nutritionist was fab
 
Teeth were done 2 weeks ago and are fine.
I could put an entire bale of hay in her stable and she would still only eat 2 sections max. Not fussy about it, good quality hay, just doesnt want more and is the same with haylage. She's always been the same.
I'd forgot about readi-grass and similar! She had that a couple of years ago when grazing was really bad so can try that for her again. Thanks
 
Haven't tried Saracen mainly because of the fact that i don't think anyone round me stocks it, but having just looked at there products will have to see if i can find a stockist.
 
She needs far more hay when she is in. Enough to keep her going all the time.

Keep a rug on her both in the stable and out to keep her weight on (otherwise body heat is lost which causes loss in weight.) A rug in her stable will be better for her arthritis as it will keep draughts away. Also feed her some linseed each day as this helps arthritis as it reduces swelling around the joints. (You can buy it in powdered form in large drums). As regards weight loss in general make sure that your worming regime is correct and that you are worming for the right worms at the appropriate time of years. Also get your vet to do a blood test just to be on the safe side.
 
Hi, not being funny but what do you bed her down on. I have an old horse (20) and shes recovered from a suspensory ligament injury. We have rubber matting but use straw bedding. She eats her bedding as well as her haylage but I dont mind cos it keeps her weight on. My daughter does she moans about the cost
 
Just reading your prob again. My horse is 15.3hh selle francais and my vet says she should have 2 feed to 1 chop. But my vet is not very good, I feed 2 chop to 1 feed + sugar beet + msm twice a day in winter
 
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PeterNatt - As said above, if i give her more hay, she will still eat the same amount, i make sure that there is enough to keep her going and if shes cleared up when i get there to do her, she is given more the next day, but very rare i turn up to find all gone. She is rugged in stable and field. I always make sure she is rugged appropriately to the temp/weather. Worming is up to date, and she was worm egg counted and blood tested for tapeworm about 2 months ago as a double check (both were fine).
Janbohorse- she is on rubber mats and wood pellets, wouldn't be able to bed on straw as she coughs on it.
 
I would try a feed balancer e.g. Equilibra or Top Spec (their Leisure one is reasonable price). They do sound expensive but pay for themselves in the long run as you will not have to feed as much (honestly..!) which will also help as your mare is hot. I have had really good results with both, I would feed with a conditioning cube (rather than a mix as cubes have a higher fibre content than mixes, which is important if she does not eat much hay)& Alfa A or Alfa A oil, you could also add sugar beet. The Top Spec helpline people are great and will send you a sample to try with a voucher for some money off your first bag.

Wynergy have just bought a new feed out called Equilibrum which is worth considering as well as it is fibre based & therefore non heating. There are about 6 different sorts (they do a conditioning version), it is s complete feed - you don't add chaff or similar. My friends TB who is a nightmare to keep wait on (she has tried everything else...) looks fab on it, although I think it could work out expensive as you would get through at least a bag a week (cost about £11 per bag) but you don't need to feed anything else so maybe work out cheaper for some. As others have said feed a bucketful of graze on (cheaper) or readigrass a day, as if she is not eating much hay this will give her the additional fibre she needs.
 
ready mash extra with fast fibre put this with her 16 plus. can you swope her hay for hallege? Is she wormed and teeth done up to weight?
 
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