How's my racer looking?

catembi

catembi

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I've been trying to persuade him to put weight on all summer, & with winter around the corner & not as much progress as I'd have liked, I've started doing a late night feed as well as breakfast, dinner and a constant supply of hay.

Hopefully it's finally starting to work!

Sorry - these will be huge cos I'm rubbish at photobucket.

When I got him in March:

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This eve:

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Someone tell me that he looks a *tiny* bit fatter... He's only doing 30 mins' work a day cos there's no point me stuffing the food in & then running it off again. I want to go up to 45 mins, but don't want to undo the fraction of progress we've made!
 
Try adding oil (vegetable) to his diet. Add it gradualy ,up to about 200 cc per day. Or Equijewel is another good oil source. Oil is great because it is both high in energy,and digested in the hind gut. Does not gas them up ,send them loopy or give them ulcers.
 
He looks like a big ole horse to fill up! How old is he? He does look like he's put some weight on! These horses just very rarely seem to get to the point of looking well covered. Lush grass is the best thing but, of course, that moment has slipped by pretty much now, with Summer almost behind us. You could add in a top spec balancer as well.
 
TBH its hard to say about weight gain, if he has gained, its not hugely noticble but defo not any worse. Agree with the veg oil, maybe haylage instead of hay because it might be easier to eat more being a little moist. They always say to feed hay first then the hard feed as it helps them get the goodness from it rather than going straight through.
My firend has an ex flat racer and her horse is doing exactly the same thing even though there is plenty of grass etc.
You look very happy and looks like he is in the right hands. Good luck :)
 
Mine came to me 5 weeks ago looking like your in march, most likely not a big, 16hh. Fed her Allan and Page Calm and Condition, plus chaff. She has put so much condition on that I am doing long slow hill work for an hour and half each day. It is a long and slow process seeing muscle build up but I am sure in a few weeks I shall see the differance. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
 
Well im in the same position only my boy is 17.1...I have been feeding haylage,out 24/7 on grass now rugged pm an three feeds with soya oil ..But im now wndering if veg oil would be better ..
Your boy looks great dnt forget if your boy came out of training in march the shock to his system and no high protien feed will normally cause them to loose a bit of weight. So to have increased it over that time is good ..Its a long process :) Remember the obvious worm , teeth and warmth :)

he looks a lovey type :)
 
charnwood milling linseed.2 mugs a day should get some fat on him.....he does look better, but id want him even rounder going in to winter, esp as (if i remember correctly) your grass isnt brill?????
 
Have you tried him on a prebiotic supplement or a balancer that includes a prebiotic? This made a big difference to my ex-racer, it was just the pick me up he needed and it's really helped him to utilise his feed and get rid of the pot belly with ribs look. Mine looks a mass of golden muscle now, it really seems to have made a difference, before I struggled a bit like you are. :)
 
He is 6 & last raced in Oct 09. He was actually quite a good racer, until he got overhandicapped & didn't want to do it any more. 2 wins, five 2nds, winnings of £17.5k. He has just started WT tests & baby sj comps in the last few weeks.

I'm currently feeding (twice a day) scoop TopSpec conditioning flakes, scoop Equilibrium condition, 1/2 scoop SB & 1/2 scoop calm & cond, with about 1/4 teacup cooked linseed. I am v conscious of not feeding more than 3 scoops at once. There is also hay in the field at all times. I'm doing a late night feed of SB + copra.

I was feeding 1 scoop calm & cond & 1/2 weight gain instead of cond flakes, but he doesn't go a bundle on calm & cond, & he won't eat too much of the same thing either.

He was sold to me as 16.1, but according to the measuring stick he's nearer 16.3.

Thank you for the ideas re food. Might get a worm count done too...we do that intelligent worming thing.
 
firewell said:
Have you tried him on a prebiotic supplement or a balancer that includes a prebiotic? This made a big difference to my ex-racer, it was just the pick me up he needed and it's really helped him to utilise his feed and get rid of the pot belly with ribs look. Mine looks a mass of golden muscle now, it really seems to have made a difference, before I struggled a bit like you are. :)
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Yes, I would agree with the above. Mine looked worse than your horse 4 years ago when I got him. He now has Alfa A Oil, Calm & Condition in the winter only, blue chip feed balancer, and then a wet mix of speedibeet, alfa beet, & Cool Stance copra meal, with ad lib hay and haylage.

The copra meal is fantastic for adding condition, & shine to the coat but does not send them loopy.
 
My 2 are on 24 hour (lots of) grass and only get one feed of alfalfa and Calm and condition and are blooming! In winter get 2 feeds and ad-lib (very good quality, home grown)haylage. Must admit it takes about 2 years out of training to get their system working properly. Have tried Blue Chip, Topspec etc and no difference. Alfa oil sent them loopy, so happy with what they're getting now.
 
he is looking way better now. He is a bit like my friends horse, it is taking her ages to get him right as he has a big frame like your boy. It will just take time and once he has re-gained his muscle he will look even better. He will get there, good luck with him.
 
Got my ex racer in April looking pretty much the same (racing lean/fit). I dont like to over feed on hard feed, so I feed mine morning and dinner mollychaff with Allen and Page calm and condition also put sunflower oil in it too. She has supplements, but that is for something else not condition.

Anyway, she also has unlimited hay and I have to say my girl has put weight on and her coat is super shiney! She is looking fab. As Im computer inept I can't put photos on.

Anyway, I love the Allen and Page it has worked wonders and so has the summer grass and lots of hay.

I work mine 6 days a week. Sometimes for an hour hack, sometimes a 40 minute lunge as she spend 15 mins ar*ing about. But generally school for 30-40 mins. She had a good topline anyway, but steady work has improved her greatly.

Like you, I was scared she'd never put weight on, but she has really improved.
 
lulataluna said:
Goodness bet your feed bill is a big one !!

Think im going to try a pre biotic now :)
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Yes, I can't say they are cheap to keep especially through the winter but they don't tend to drop that much over the winter now which is great because the first couple of winters I was struggling to keep it on and my feeding regime just sort of evolved over a significant period of trial and error.
 
He is looking better! I got mine in Feb this year - he finished racing end of Sept 09 and was then turned out and was absolutely skeletal when I got him with a 3 inch woolly coat. I fed him Spillers conditioning cubes, alpha a oil, speedibeet and NAF Pink Powder three times a day with adlib haylage. 6 months on and he is looks fantastic! It is a combination of the right work and feed. He is now on half a scoop of A + P quiet cubes and Alpha A twice a day, which will obviously go up through winter and include Speedibeet.
I'm really hoping he maintains the condition he has now through the winter with appropriate feed and rugs. Yours looks a big lad! Have you talked to your feed merchants about what and how much to feed? I'm very lucky in that we have a very knowledgable feed merchant and his advice really worked! Good luck x
 
Personally I'd be looking to feed a much less complicated diet and would speak to one of the feed companies about the best high calorie and conditioning diet that you could put him on.
 
I've got the same problem with mine. Seriously bad doer and can drop in a week to look like your guy did. Calm and condition with one mugful of linseed powder. We really do notice a difference in uptake with the linseed. Some alfa original to bulk it up and about a pound of carrots :) Dunno if the carrots help but he reallly does lick out his bowl when we add them...

He's 16.2, about 520kgs and he gets 3/4 scoop in the summer and a full in the winter. Light work / hacking and he has access to grass in his field and timothy hay in the stable. Hope this helps. Oh and he goes through one of those 5kg buckets of badminton foods treats every fortnight. Ruined :)
 
My friend has a 16.3 ex - racer, she feeds him on 3 feeds a day of baileys top line conditioning cubes, speedibeet, alfa a, and naff pink powder (which works wonders), as well as several haylage nets a day, and he's turned out 50% of the time, and always pretty heavily rugged up, and he's in really lovely condition - maybe your boy is just an especially bad doer?? I don't think he's looking any worse, but I couldn't say he looks much better, maybe a teeny bit?
 
The only thing that worked on my TB was scoop of baileys no 1 and scoop speedi beat, everything else either hotted her up (oil included) or just didn't work.........
 
I'd feed haylage instead of hay. I fed hay for a while and he took hours to eat one slice but with haylage he is able to eat way more as it doesnt take as long to eat - well for him anyway :rolleyes: I also found soya oil good for weight gain ... Hes a lovely chap, good luck with im :D
 
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