Kaida
Well-Known Member
I know there have been several posts about this in the past, and I've read them. I have also been following advice from my vet, which I shall continue to follow. However, this is an area about which I know very little so I thought it would be worth asking the question as I've been getting some very conflicting advice and am now rather confused!
Background: one of my horses slowly dropped weight in Autumn. It was very gradual so I didn't notice as soon as I should have, and when I did I attributed it to the decline in grass quality. I changed his feed, as I had a nutritionist due out (from Allen and Page if it makes any difference) and followed their advice for weight gain. He was put into calm and condition, with Alpha A Oil and a handful of cool mix.
I quickly found that this chaff was not great for my horses peace of mind so changed him onto Apple hifi mixed with healthy hooves. I also happened to be speaking with someone with very good knowledge of the breed who reminded me that hat straights were great for weight gain, so added micronised linseed to his diet (he's Iberian if it helps...). He was also getting supplements of Gastri-Aid and some Omega oils.
After a month this hadn't had a noticeable effect. My lad was still very bright and happy in his work, in fact even quite fizzy to sit on, but I just couldn't get the weight on, so I called the vet. I asked him to check for liver damage as this is what had been mentioned to me by several people, and on his initial check he agreed that the horse seemed very happy in all aspects and no signs of illness. He did take a blood test however and confirmed that the liver enzymes showed there was a problem.
He told me to put the horse on haylage instead of hay, sent me a supplement called Hepalyte, advised to add glucose to the feed and said to cut down amounts of protein to reduce the work the liver was required to do. He came out every third day for a total of three times to inject vitamins and minerals to help the horse. So, following his advise and a lot of reading up, I changed the diet to the following:
6 small feeds a day, each consisting of:
Speedy beet (about a level double handful when soaked, but I have small hands!)
Micronised linseed (one supplement size scoop)
10ml hepalyte (to make the required 60ml per day)
Very small scoop of glucose powder (about half a teaspoon)
Quarter supplement scoop of yeast
He has also been moved onto the farmers haylage which is pretty good, although not top quality. I have milk thistle on order to add and am just waiting for it to arrive.
He's been on this for the last 3 weeks and is now less fizzy to ride, although still happy in his work, but still no weight gain. The vet is taking more bloods on Thursday and knows what I'm feeding and has not offered any advice.
Does this sound about right? Some places I've seen it said you shouldn't feed haylage, others have said you should feed the top quality haylage and buy the horsehage stuff...lots and lots of additional advice around about extra things to add to his feeds too. Does what I am feeding sound sensible, and are there any changes you would recommend?
He has not had a biopsy yet; the vet will wait for results from the second bloods first.
Background: one of my horses slowly dropped weight in Autumn. It was very gradual so I didn't notice as soon as I should have, and when I did I attributed it to the decline in grass quality. I changed his feed, as I had a nutritionist due out (from Allen and Page if it makes any difference) and followed their advice for weight gain. He was put into calm and condition, with Alpha A Oil and a handful of cool mix.
I quickly found that this chaff was not great for my horses peace of mind so changed him onto Apple hifi mixed with healthy hooves. I also happened to be speaking with someone with very good knowledge of the breed who reminded me that hat straights were great for weight gain, so added micronised linseed to his diet (he's Iberian if it helps...). He was also getting supplements of Gastri-Aid and some Omega oils.
After a month this hadn't had a noticeable effect. My lad was still very bright and happy in his work, in fact even quite fizzy to sit on, but I just couldn't get the weight on, so I called the vet. I asked him to check for liver damage as this is what had been mentioned to me by several people, and on his initial check he agreed that the horse seemed very happy in all aspects and no signs of illness. He did take a blood test however and confirmed that the liver enzymes showed there was a problem.
He told me to put the horse on haylage instead of hay, sent me a supplement called Hepalyte, advised to add glucose to the feed and said to cut down amounts of protein to reduce the work the liver was required to do. He came out every third day for a total of three times to inject vitamins and minerals to help the horse. So, following his advise and a lot of reading up, I changed the diet to the following:
6 small feeds a day, each consisting of:
Speedy beet (about a level double handful when soaked, but I have small hands!)
Micronised linseed (one supplement size scoop)
10ml hepalyte (to make the required 60ml per day)
Very small scoop of glucose powder (about half a teaspoon)
Quarter supplement scoop of yeast
He has also been moved onto the farmers haylage which is pretty good, although not top quality. I have milk thistle on order to add and am just waiting for it to arrive.
He's been on this for the last 3 weeks and is now less fizzy to ride, although still happy in his work, but still no weight gain. The vet is taking more bloods on Thursday and knows what I'm feeding and has not offered any advice.
Does this sound about right? Some places I've seen it said you shouldn't feed haylage, others have said you should feed the top quality haylage and buy the horsehage stuff...lots and lots of additional advice around about extra things to add to his feeds too. Does what I am feeding sound sensible, and are there any changes you would recommend?
He has not had a biopsy yet; the vet will wait for results from the second bloods first.
