Losing weight already & only in Oct!!

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Scampi

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Sadly this post is not about myself!!

Retired oldie is really struggling :-( he lives out 24/7 (he likes living out) with his buddy. I feed him twice a day (impossible to feed 3 times a day otherwise i would) he has: 2 scoops fast fibre, 2 scoops of speedibeet in each feed plus a splash of oil. I leave haynets for him and buddy but i have NEVER seen him eat it. He twoddles off up the field after his feed whilst buddy tucks into the hay. (i put plenty out so it is always available). I don't really want to start feeding it loose as they just wee in it/trash it.

I have noticed a difference in his weight - throughout summer he did well on just grazing whereas now he has dropped weight.

Any suggestions?
 
Weight tape him and keep a record of it over the next few weeks. Can you bulk his feed up a bit more I'd possible? Or increase rug he has on?
 
Try feeding micronised linseed, you can get it from charnwood mill online for about £25. Great for my semi retired poor doer lasts aaaggggggesss and is really good for weight gain xxx
 
xmillyx said:
Try feeding micronised linseed, you can get it from charnwood mill online for about £25. Great for my semi retired poor doer lasts aaaggggggesss and is really good for weight gain xxx
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Can i order it online? and they deliver? How much of it do you feeD?
 
4 rugs already? Possible he could be too hot or the rugs are too heavy, you can get 450g single rugs now, that might be better for him to be honest.

Linseed is a fab addition for weight gain and side effects are a nice gleamy glossy coat and skin.
 
Scampi said:
Bulk it with what?

He has 4 rugs on !!
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When I had an older horse on loan that was in work, she had the standard chaff, beet and balancer, but to help her keep weight on it was bulked with Allen and Page Old Faithful. Seemed to work well.

ETA- Just looked on A&P website and they do a feed specifically for weight gain too.
 
Fast fibre has a DE 8,MJ per kilo unsoaked weight, its not a high calorie feed and is for good doers. Soaked the volume is mostly water
http://www.allenandpage.com/Products/Rest-and-Light-Work/Fast-Fibre.aspx
You need something at least with a DE 12
http://www.spillers-feeds.com/products/senior-feeds/senior-conditioning-mix/
Something to add to an existing feed with more calories
http://www.millbryhill.co.uk/equest...eed-593/rowen-barbary-sumo-original-37780.htm
You need something that has more calories and may end up feeding less for a better result, and wieght dry weight
 
Contact the main feed manufacturers - they all give free over the phone advice and are fantastic! You might find that he is turning his nose up at the hay as it is difficult for him to eat due to poor teeth. Get his teeth checked.
 
Boysy said:
4 rugs already? Possible he could be too hot or the rugs are too heavy, you can get 450g single rugs now, that might be better for him to be honest.
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^^ This ^^

4 rugs and it's only October?!? WHat on earth are you going to put on him when winter sets in properly?!? He will be carrying the weight of a house around everyday and will be working off any food you give him to wandering around.

Can you not drop a few rugs, if not all and get him 1 heavyweight one for now with a second to be added at a later date?
 
Sounds like a lot of rugs to me too - it's not even freezing at night yet :confused:

I also agree teeth need to be checked. If all else fails, sounds like someone needs to come in at night to check exactly what is being eaten.
 
-4 at nights round here and snow on hills ;) so lucky anyone who's not had a freezing night yet

i would agree though that the rugs may be too much - i am one who rugs up - but the oldie i was looking after a few years ago did better on less rugs - she simply could not carry the weight. i assume he is not clipped? then i'd get a good quality full neck top rug that is light - and put a fleece under for really cold weather.

i also agree above re: fast fibre - its a feed for fatties - not at all suitable as a conditioning feed - but is suitable for a hay replacement. look at their weight gain, veteran or calm and condition - all good feeds.

ditto re micronised linseed

can you bucket feed ready grass, conditioing chaff, alpha oil or something similar as a hay substitute? even the oldie with no teeth could cope eating that. or would the other horse steal it?

eta - in terms of beet pulp type feed -
kwick-beet the highest mj/kg at 13.2
speedibeet 12
fibrebeet is 11
alphabeet is 10.5
Purabeet is 9.4
 
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I'd feed a weight gain mix, you are feeding him good doer feeds.

Also 4 rugs? As others have said, its not that cold just get! Get a good warm hw and some lighter layers to hand if he's really nippy.
 
Our oldie only eats about 1/4 of the haylage that the others eat while they are all in overnight but she loves Readigrass and will eat as much of it as we will give her she is maintaining her weight without rugs so far and we are at the top of the Pennines in a very exposed location.
 
nikicb said:
Sorry if I missed it - but did you respond to the question about when his teeth were last checked? It's all very well putting all the food in front of him, but if he can't eat it, it won't help. x
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Ditto this - poor dentition is one of the most common causes of weight loss in older horses and ponies. Being able to maintain weight in summer when on good grazing, but losing it in winter and not eating much/any hay is one very common symptom of dodgy teeth!
 
I would have a good look at his feeding regime, i would defo look at some veteran mixes i have an oldie on D&H 16+ and its really changed him, maybe some alfa oil or some soaked barley rings as that will be easier to eat. And as others have said linseed. I would also replace the hay with good quality hayledge too. But as others have said get his teeth cheaked asap even if he was only done 3 months ago they need more help when there older especially when there on quite alot of hard food as that makes them wear more unaturally. Even if he doesnt want to be in at night could you get him into a stable even for a few hours just to rest up get warm/dry?? Also make sure the other horse is allowing him to eat the hay??
 
in that case, I would change to a regime that is for "no toothers" - forget hay, etc, and use the replacers - and I do think the pony will have to come in to ensure all the feed is eaten.

Sounds like his teeth are the cause of your problems.
 
If he has poor dentition then you'll need to replace it with something else, and you'll need to have him in for several hours a day to give him the opportunity to eat it. You may also want to think about feeding more calories in his hard feed.

Four rugs is massively excessive.
 
I wonder if there is too much in each feed? (apologies if I read this wrong and it's 4scoops over the course of the day, I read it as 4 scoops per meal?). 4 scoops seems a lot for 1 meal - nutritionist told me their stomach can only hold 2 Stubbs standard size scoops at any time and any nutrition after that simply gets wasted as they can't digest it properly.

Can you cut it back and fill with higher calorie feed? Try adding full fat soya or linseed, and a balancer? I have an old horsey and when I started feeding him balancer and baileys outshine he did so brilliantly.

Today the vet and I were talking and she mentioned trying collovet as well for pep and weight gain, she said it's brilliant.

Maybe also try brewers yeast or yeosacc to get the gut going better?
 
ok lets go back to basics!
how old is this horse?
when was he last wormed? has he been done for tape worm yet?
teeth? when last done? age?
bloods? when was his last blood profile? if above 20 ish cushions will be a problem?
grazing? quality?
bucket food? has to be good quality long stem fibe! fast fie is good. sugar beet is good unles ESPM.
oil? is he having any in feed?

VET have you discussed this with them?
Rugs for god sake get the 4 crap ones off and fit one decent one that does the job!!
 
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