How to get condition on my WB?!

_EVS_

_EVS_

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Concerned is an understatment! My WB lacks any real condition and topline. I realise the topline will come with more work (he had a few weeks off in June due to an abscsess) but the condition worries me! He has a very poor rump and looks 'hollow'.

He was wormed 4 wks ago and faecal test done today showed he is clear of anything. He is fed 12-14kg hay a day, and has a dinner made up of Suagr beet (400g dry weight), 600g top spec and a scoop of alfa-a oil.

2 days after he was wormed he bacame massively reluctant to work under saddle but I have had bloods done today and they are also clear. Chiropractor says his back is sore so she is treating this and saddler is coming on Tuesday as well to check the sadddle fit.

Im at a loss as to why a WB should look so poor and why overnight he has 'switched off' from work? Vet also does not believe he has ulcers which was my first thought.

If you are quick I will share my custard slice.....!

Thanks!
 
How old is he? Has he suddenly dropped condition or has he just never gained it? I would be getting the vet if it's a sudden change as that just rings alarm bells for me.
 
I would get the vet out again and do blood test, check heart ect.

It sounds odd tbh.

We've had horses drop condition before and it wasn't good. One got a virus which left him with a terrible heart murmur and in a poor state.

The other sadly colicked and died. I was going mad for months before as she looked a rescue case but with a pot belly. I had ultrasound scans done, scoped for ulcers, worm tested the works and nothing. Turned out she had old worm damage from not being wormed as a youngster which had weakened her digestive system. They only spotted it when she was operated on.

Not to be the voice of gloom and doom but if you are worried then vet especially as he's not his usual self. It may be a virus or something simple that can be sorted.
 
Oops just seen that you have had a blood test.

If you want to try more calorific feed try adding equijewel by saracen it's amazing.
 
Seems almost viral sounding to me... But if bloods came back clear??? V strange!

I had a very skinny WB but he came to me like that, would be interesting how long your horse has taken to drop off and what the history is.

I fixed mine with a new saddle (a very bad back had caused him enough pain that he could not keep weight on or carry himself properly to build topline) and a diet of Baileys Conditioning Cubes, Oil, Pink Powder, Alfa A Oil and Baileys Outshine (Outshine expensive but excellent) ad lib grazing and quality haylage. So I would suggest ensure you perform a full MOT (teeth, back etc) maybe get a second vet opinion, and try the diet I suggest (oil oil oil) or some of the other things others have suggested which I am sure are just as good (in fact I know linseed is excellent as use it for my oldie). Also make sure he's warm enough, though at this time of year that shouldn't be much of a concern. Pink Powder is excellent, gives system a "boost" if they've been through something a bit traumatic or just generally feeling low.
Incidently it's taken mine 3 years to "fully recover" and become a fat b*gger!!! :D But often easier to take it off than put it on!!!

Good luck, I hope you find out what's wrong!?
 
How long have you had him and has he been a good doer up to now? Any significant change in his workload or the quality/amount of grazing he is on? How old is he and have his teeth been checked in the last month?
 
Can you feed him more often, I would give poor does 3-4 smaller feeds each day rather than 1 large feed and would try less sugar beet ,replace with a conditioning cube.

Pink Powder is excellent,oil and if he is working do you give him electrolytes or salt,if he is lacking it could make him more reluctant to work.

Ad lib haylage rather than hay if possible.
 
Thanks all - he is 8 years old, 16.2hh. I've had him since last June and when he came to me he looked superb but he found moving yards quite stressful (with last owner since a 2 yr old) and also had some other stresses getting to know each other. I have massively struggled to get condition and topline back on him but I struggle with feeds as he can be VERY sharp!

His last owner fed him mix and sugar beet but maybe I should carefully try a conditioning feed but Im worried they'll send him la-la!

Maybe I should try the linseed as you guys seem to suggest oil may be best and ad lib hay? (we are unable to get any haylage at the moment).

Thank you for all your kind and helpful advice.....
 
Sorry one more thing - is pink powder a complete balancer? As he only gets alfa and sugarbeet instead of a complete feed I was advised to feed a complete balancer to ensure he got all his vits and minerals hence feeding the top spec - would pink powder suffice?
 
could it be the hay as he is used to haylage - might be worth buying a couple of small bales of haylage from feed store to top up with each day.

I would also give topspec helpline a call - they are great and could advise you - I have rung them a couple of times and they have been great.


Fingers crossed he picks up soon x
 
Try spreading feed out in a line so it takes longer to eat. I read somewhere that if horses eat to quick, they often dont get all the goodnes from it :)
 
I don't think pink powder is "complete" I would massively recommend baileys condition cubes for him. Very rare that they fizz a horse uP in my exp. I think that beet and alpha is no way enough for him as you would have to feed so much of it to give him everything he needs. I think a switch to condition cubes will surprise you with results pretty quickly!!
 
if hes sore under the saddle he wont be working through and therefore wont be using his hind quarters, if hes unhappy he wont be using nutrient from his food correctly. when his back and saddle are sorted you will probably find the problem rectifies itself, to help him along you can try cooking linseed and feeding as a jelly, this is very cheap and works well also acts as slow release energy from the oil content, i would give him some cool nuts in his feed they contain the minerals he needs and i would think he needs a bit more than just the alfa and sugar beet if he is in work. You could add a balancer but they are expensive and in my experience you can get a correct balance with normal foods, if he gets hyper from hardfood cut down on the sugar beet because of the high carbohydrate value, replace with linseed or you could try soya oil - they do it in a 20l tub usually - feed a full cup a day not just a teaspoon full but obviously any changes shoud be made gradually. Also suggest a mineral and a salt lick in his stable, if he needs supplements over and above what you are feeding he will choose to use them. Oh and if you want to you can bag up some of your normal feed and send it to one of the feed manufacturers for analysis, they will advise you what extra you need tho it will be their products they suggest!! :D
 
firewell said:
Oops just seen that you have had a blood test.

If you want to try more calorific feed try adding equijewel by saracen it's amazing.
Click to expand...

Ditto this!

Plus the Saracen's Releave.

Used both to great effect on WBs and TBs.

Non-heating (great relief!). Feed small amounts (good for my DWB that seems to get bored of hard feed). Puts the weight on nice and steady :D
 
Thanks all! What a minefield - really not sure where to start. I understand the use of conditioning cubes but what about his permanent feed solution or do you feed them as a constant?
 
We own a 1/2 WB who we bought 8 yrs ago as drought victim (ie a cheerful skeleton, he was thin but not 'down' if that makes any sense).
In the last 7 years we have struggled to put weight on him, finally this year (he's 12) I don't know if it is age or if we have found the key but he is carrying the right amount of weigh and almost looked fat the other day!!! He is also quite 'stressey' in that he could drop a few kilos over night if something upset him.

We feed about 8-10kg of lucernce hay a day, 2 large scoops of white chaff, 0.75 kgs of Mitavite Breeda (for preggers mares), 0.25 - 0.5 kgs of Rice Bran, and 0 - 0.5kg of Mitavite Formula 3(racehorse mix grain). And an electrolyte supplement that is high in phosphorus and magnesium (I think). He also was on an oil ,high in Omega 3, for several months.

All the years we have owned him his bloodtests have always come back a bit low in P & Mg but never enough to be of concern. As he was looking a bit poor this time last year I did some googling and apparently these vits are essential in aiding the digestion and absorbtion of food. So I would look very closely at your blood tests and if anything is a bit low or off, even if still with in the acceptable range, talk to your vet and see about getting a supplement that targets these elements.
I think it is too much of a coincidence that he starts to pile on weight at the same time he starts to get a specific electrolyte mix rather than a general one. He always used to get roughly the same amount of food.

PS Will double check the minerals he was low in, as I might be confused.
PSS included the feed names so you could look them up and see if you could find similar in the UK.
 
Ooh you could be describing my warmblood when i furst got him. It took me a year to work out what was best for him. To be honest back to basics has been the best solution in our case. Real proper old fashioned bhs advice on feed types and feed quantities.
 
Ooh you could be describing my warmblood when i furst got him. It took me a year to work out what was best for him. To be honest back to basics has been the best solution in our case. Real proper old fashioned bhs advice on feed types and feed quantities. His feed is baaically now fibre - speedibeet, alpha a, oil (as straights so i can control the amount) linseed, and conditionibg mix plus pink powder. Nothing fancy - he hated baileys conditioning cubes and outshine, but loved d&h and linseed with added oil. Haylage not hay ad lib. He now looks amazing. Assuming no underlying medical reason then My advice keep it simple, feed full quantities over a day and try a diet for a while before changing it too quickly.
 
How about blue chip? My WB was on baileys top line, blue chip original & sugar beet, before I got him and he lived in the majority of the time. Now I just use top line (with other feed ob.) and will do sugar beet in winter if he doesn't hold condition, but our grass here is v. v. good so I doubt he'll need it!
 
_EVS_ said:
Thanks all - he is 8 years old, 16.2hh. I've had him since last June and when he came to me he looked superb but he found moving yards quite stressful (with last owner since a 2 yr old) and also had some other stresses getting to know each other. I have massively struggled to get condition and topline back on him but I struggle with feeds as he can be VERY sharp!

His last owner fed him mix and sugar beet but maybe I should carefully try a conditioning feed but Im worried they'll send him la-la!

Maybe I should try the linseed as you guys seem to suggest oil may be best and ad lib hay? (we are unable to get any haylage at the moment).

Thank you for all your kind and helpful advice.....
Click to expand...

I have a horse very similar to this, he's an oldenburg, bred from Rubinstein, he's a cracker but hell is he sharp and quirky. And I couldn't get weight on him, the more he was ridden the better his brain worked but the more weight he lost, I tried conditioning mix/cubes/sugar beet etc etc, all of them resulted in him trying to smash me into fence posts. Strangely though he doesnt react from alfa a... So then my next plan was to get as much fibre into him as possible, he used to colic quite a lot too and always seemed a little ulcer ish, but he wasnt we had him scoped.Then at a loss I tried spillers Fibre beet. And I can honestly say I've never looked back, he keeps his head, he is shiny, he is well conditioned. Like a totally different horse.
 
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