Help! What to feed while not in work?!

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TattygareMare

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I am so confused about feed!! Just another thing I'm worrying myself about at the moment.

I posted another thread in vet/hoofcare about my mare who has just been diagnosed with KS. She is going in for bone scans on Monday and from there we can make decisions on what happens next. She has been out of work for 2 weeks now since vet xrayed. She had dropped alot of weight the week or so previous to that, which the vet has said could be due to pain and stress.

I need to get her weight up again, especially if she needs to have surgery and will be on box rest for a while. She has lost so much muscle already too. She is looking really ropey and its making me so sad.

She is currently on Copra, (which she loves and was doing its job perfectly until, I'm guessing, the kissing spine flared up) Molasses free hi-fi, micronised linseed, vit E and Lysine. She is 7 years 16h, ISH (but lots of thoroughbred!) currently out for most of the day and in at night. Oh and as much hay/haylage as she can possibly eat!

I am totally open to suggestions, should I leave her as she is? Is there something else I should be adding to the feed or should I change it completely?

Whatever the outcome of the scans she will not be in ridden work for a while. I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can for her while were going through this cr@ppy time.

Thanks in advance :)
 
as you say she has dropped weight maybe make sure she is well rugged...its been pretty cold recently even on the sunny days and if she is in pain she may not be moving round in the field as much as she needs to keep warm...I feed fast fibre to keep weight on my mare so maybe add either that or speedy beet to her feed..good luck with the scans....
 
splashgirl45 said:
as you say she has dropped weight maybe make sure she is well rugged...its been pretty cold recently even on the sunny days and if she is in pain she may not be moving round in the field as much as she needs to keep warm...I feed fast fibre to keep weight on my mare so maybe add either that or speedy beet to her feed..good luck with the scans....
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Its a bit of a standing joke at the yard about my rugging OCD. She is quite literally wrapped in cotton wool, especially since I have found out how much pain she has probably been in!

Thank you for the suggestions. I assume you can feed most things with the Copra as it is just coconut?
 
Is there enough grass in the field? Are her teeth ok? And is she on a proper worming routine? Worm counts miss out quite a few worms so worth speaking to the vet if you are unsure. Sounds like you are feeding the right stuff, maybe try giving her 3 or 4 small feeds as horses aren't very good at utilising all the nutrients from feeds, which is why the saying little & often comes in. Perhaps add some speedi beet too.

Is she fussy with her hay or clearing it up? I'd give some in a net & some loose on the floor too.
 
Oscar said:
Is there enough grass in the field? Are her teeth ok? And is she on a proper worming routine? Worm counts miss out quite a few worms so worth speaking to the vet if you are unsure. Sounds like you are feeding the right stuff, maybe try giving her 3 or 4 small feeds as horses aren't very good at utilising all the nutrients from feeds, which is why the saying little & often comes in. Perhaps add some speedi beet too.

Is she fussy with her hay or clearing it up? I'd give some in a net & some loose on the floor too.
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Sorry should have added this stuff in my original post...
There is grazing, they are moving from their summer fields this weekend (although mine wont be as she will be in hospital!) but she also has unlimited hay/haylage.

She had her teeth done 3 months ago and is due again now (suggested by trusted dentist) so this could be a factor. She appears to be eating normally, but this is not something to rule out as you say. I am waiting until we have sorted the kissing spine/bone scan/possible surgery early next week first so she isnt being poked and prodded too much poor thing!

She is on a regular worming programme.

She is fussy with hay, but scoffs haylage and is having a mix of both at the moment. She has nets tied up (low) and loose on floor as i want her stretching her back out as much as possible but she makes such a mess that i cant afford to let her use it as bedding, hence some of it in nets!

I think the speedi beet seems like a good idea that I should try.

I have a bag of calm and condition (A&P) that I have tried to sell but no one wants it so I am stuck with it. I used this before I changed her to Copra. Is it worth using that do you think, can it be fed with the Copra?
 
If she was mine I would be tempted to cut out the hay and put her on pure ad lib haylage for a few weeks, especially if she is going to be on box rest - if that doesn't help that would be when I would be looking at changing the hard feed...
 
not sure what you can or cannot feed with copra so cant help there. still would be worth a worm count..my sisters horse would not put on weight and I suggested a worm count and sister said she is on a good worming program so not necessary. a couple of months on, vet suggested worm count and it came back with a count of 2000!!!!!!! a worm count doesn't cost much and would be worth it just to rule out worms as a cause of weight loss...
 
I can never understand why those who want their horses to put on weight feed Hi-Fi, it is half straw. I would either feed her Alfa-A oil, if you like alfalfa, which personally I don't, or dried grass chaff. I have used soaked grassnuts and Speedibeet to put weight on successfully.
 
I agree Pearlsasinger, it's the same with Fast Fibre - it's not designed to add condition!

OP EquiJewel is great but I'm not sure how the DE differs from Copra having never used it, if you don't want to use a hard feed Blue Chip Original balancer is also great at adding condition. Why don't you ditch the HiFi and either use a conditioning feed on it's own or if you don't want to feed a hard feed and like what you already use then try a premium balancer ( not one advertised for good doers) alongside either Copra or EquiJewel and alfalfa or something like Spillers Conditioning Fibre as your 'chaff' element.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I can never understand why those who want their horses to put on weight feed Hi-Fi, it is half straw. I would either feed her Alfa-A oil, if you like alfalfa, which personally I don't, or dried grass chaff. I have used soaked grassnuts and Speedibeet to put weight on successfully.
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I also dont like alfalfa, and alfa oil sends her loopy so definitely a no no. Grass chaff sounds like a better option. She wasnt originally on the hi-fi to put weight on so would be happy to change it now. I just dont need anything that will send her potty, especially while she isnt in work.

I have added speedibeet, and then after her bone scans today I will know what length of time I am facing with her out of work.

Thanks for all the reccommendations.

I will look into both the reccommendations, thank you :)
 
I am assuming OP is using up stuff, to be honest I would rug day and night and put tiny trugs of stuff out so she can eat all night, even if it is only FF,chaff mised with C&C, I think unless she is fussy feeder it is as your vet said, so you want to feed off the floor even if it means waste.
 
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Bonkers2 said:
I am assuming OP is using up stuff, to be honest I would rug day and night and put tiny trugs of stuff out so she can eat all night, even if it is only FF,chaff mised with C&C, I think unless she is fussy feeder it is as your vet said, so you want to feed off the floor even if it means waste.
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Exactly. Lots of small trugs is a great idea, I will definitely do this.

I took previous advice and she is now on haylage all on the floor.

Off to RVC now for work up and bone scans tomorrow... Wish us luck! :/
 
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