How can I get my skinny racehorse to gain weight? Probiotics?

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LouB

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I have a 7yr racehorse who I bought at the Ascot July sales.
After a summer on lovely grass, hard feed twice a day, a good teeth rasping and a worm he still refuses to put on weight. He eats up well and altho occasionally box walks he is not one to 'stress' the weight off.
He is by Moscow Flyer and some suggest this is a trait of many of his offspring.

Before considering Gastric Ulcers which will cost a fortune to sort out, a friend suggested Probiotics.
I know very little about these other than they aid digestion.

Can anyone tell me more or recommend some?
Any other suggestions would be greatfully recieved!
 
I believe NAF pink poowder is a good probiotic and really helps them get all there vits and mins and the best out of there food
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I do currently add soya oil to his feed.
Ive never heard of using calf milk powder, excuse my ignorance, but is it safe? Will he be able to digest it?
 
You will find that alot of show people will add powedered milk to their horses diet to keep the weight up. I have never had to use it before but i know plenty of people that have and its never done theirs any harm
 
have you tried alan page calm and condition that has all the oil fibre calories vit and mins your horses need if fed at a recommened rate it also has yeast and probiotics in it so that saves you buying loads of supplements give that with at lib hay haylage good turn out for a month if that dont work it might be worth calling vets for advice! is wormed up to date and her teeth? what is her routine and diet at the moment?x
 
My tb was 4 1/2 and in terrible condition.he weighed 360kg he now weighs 530 kg.Hes on dengie alpha with oil large scoop twice a day and top spec comp balancer for maintenance and top spec conditioning cubes if he needs anything extra over the winter months
previously to gain weight he was on dodson and horrell build up with alpha and oil plus sugar beet/quick beet twice a day
 
Have you tried either Spillers conditioning cubes or Weight Gain (by Allen and Paige I think)... I've used both on my TBs with great success. If that fails I'd consider copra meal. If you search on google for boomerang feeds copra meal it should come up. It's a bit of a bizarre feed but can be feed instead of chaff and with hard feed. It really helped my skinny TB and did his coat wonders. It contains lots of oil and actually works out quite cheap to feed. They tend to use on racing yards as it's adds condition without blowing their brains.
 
have you spoken to a nutrisionist?
My horse was dreadful for putting on weight, got a person from Baileys to come out, she said I wasn't feeding him half as much as he needed. He needed 3 meals a day and a lot of food. He was put onto their conditioning mix and outshine and it worked a treat. i was worried just like you thought he had gastric ulcers.
But this yr and long last he's been putting on weight and is looking fab. worth a try
 
I've hada asimilar problem. I spoke to the nutritionalist at Top Spec and they were really helpful. Put him on their comprehensive balancer and cool condition cubes along with alfalfa. I tried the cool condition cubes before their conditioning flakes as they are grain free so less likely to cause any fizz. I also rug mine well, also lots of good quality hay. he is looking so much better.

Someone recommended I try NAF D-Tox so I spoke to them the other day, also very helpful. Apparently a month of D-Tox can help remove any toxins which have built up in their system, especially useful if they hve raced, and help them utilise their food better so I am going to give that a go.

I hve never heard of using powdered milk.
 
I bought a 9yr old ex racer off the track in June and had exactly the same trouble. I got so worried as mine looked like an RSPCA horse! I had loads of tests done and they all came back fine.

After three months of feeding conditioning feed withe oil and fibre etc, he has started to put on weight but it took time as his body was in shock from 7 years of racing and his metabolism was sky-high. He was also really nervous and stressy at first. I think they just need time to adjust and settle down. I also found that feeding big feeds with lots of oil in it was counter-productive, as it would go right through him!

Also, he needed time for his stomach to expand! He now gets through much more haylage at night and I think that has been the best thing for him.

As long as he's got a clean(ish!) bill of health, I wouldn't worry too much as he will fill out in time. Good luck!
 
Firstly good luck but it might take some time. I've had my racer 18 months now, and until the last 2 weeks he looked like a welfare case (on and off) despite our best efforts (high fibre diet). I tried loads of different supplements to put weight on, from feed balancers to linseed to oil. The only thing that put any weight on was Brewer's Yeast. But, it sent him a bit silly in the head, so I didn't keep him on it for long.

A few weeks ago he moved fields, and the grass in there seems 1001% better for him as he's finally starting to fill out and look like a proper horse.

Trial and error - everyone has suggested some very good things. Some will work for some horses but not others. Knowing sod's law, it'll be the last thing you try that works!
 
I've had several underweight TB's. The best product and also great value for money is Progest from equine america(also the makers of cortaflex) I absolutely swear by this!! It comes in a tub and you feed a small scoop twice a day for first week then down to once a day. I always start seeing a change after a fortnight. Its full of probiotics and other vitamins. I have used it on horses that looked close to death and all improved rapidly. My current TB- also ex racehorse and hard to feed is on it constantly when I'm competing him. I also use it after he has been on grass for a holiday. It really seems to restore their gutbalance and makes them digest their feed to the full extend. I also like feeding Baileys top line conditioning mix or cubes, this is non heating and helps to keep the weight on.

Hope your horse puts on weight soon!!
 
If you're concerned at all I would get him checked out. If you think there is a possibility that he has an ulcer then you would need to treat that first. The vet can do a blood test and/or scope for it. At least you would know what you are dealing with. A blood test would also reveal if he had any deficiencies that could be contributing to his lack of condition.

Is his worming up to date and have you had a worm count/ELISA test done? Was it a vet or an EDT that done his teeth, did they have any comments about his mouth?

Sorry if I'm stated the obvious and stuff you've already done.

You shouldn't feed milk related products to horses over 18mths/2yrs old (I forget the exact age) as from that age onwards horses are no longer able to digest and use it. It can result in a loss of condition as they struggle to digest and utilise it. You can speak to your vet or a nutrionalist about this.

How much are you feeding him just now? Could his feeds b too big and be passing through undigested? What are you feeding just now and what level of work is he in? Do you have a pic of him, it's hard to tell without seeing the horse I think anyway.

Would you be able to feed 3x a day? Feeding smaller feeds more often can have a dramatic effect. Does he have ad-lib forage? If it's possibly "ulcer" related then I wouldn't feed haylage.

My TB gelding was a bit light when I got him and I fed him 3x a day on chaff, speedi beet and Baileys no.4. Previous to that I'd tried Winergy and was really disappointed so went back to my tried and trusted no.4

I feed Pink Powder concentrated as a probiotic and have had good results with this. When a new horse arrives or has undergone a "stress" I use the NAF probiotics (used Pro-Biozyme and Synbiozyme)

I also feed mint as it's supposed to be good for digestion. Oil is a good way of adding calories without "fizz" and ditto the copra, it's a miracle feed but not big in this country for some reason?

It's a minefield! What works for one person doesn't work for the next. Good Luck!!
 
Thank you everyone for your suggestions!!

He came in from his summer break 10 days ago and is currently walking for an hour a day on the road.

His food has increased to 3 times a day, consisting of - 1scp Baileys Topline, 1scp Alfa-A, 1scp micronised barley and a good glug of soya oil. Ive also invested in some Pro-gest but its too soon to notice any results. He also has adlib haylage and is turned out for at least 8hrs per day.

Im trying to keep him warm enough but he seems quite warm and sweats easily with too many layers, which is counter productive.

Im reluctant to go down the sugarbeet route as some people suggest it increase fat around the heart. We are aiming to run him in January so unlike the ex-racers I cannot turn him away any longer.

He has had his teeth rasped and is wormed uptodate.

Im new to the forum. Can anyone tell me how to upload a photo? So you can seen what he looks like.
 
Another fan of Baileys No 4 Conditioning Cubes here too. Really did help put condition on a new horse we had who was very slight at the time.
 
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Im new to the forum. Can anyone tell me how to upload a photo? So you can seen what he looks like.

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You need a photobucket account (www.photobucket.com) and upload your pics onto there. There are 3 addresses below the uploaded pics. Just copy and paste the bottom address onto your post. I hope that helps!
 
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