maintaining weight

[CAYLA]

Im no horsey expert....so can I get some advice re maintaining weight in one of my horses.....well my mams horse....as the weather has changed slightly he is slowly loosing weight.
I have bought a light weight rug as I think it may be to early for the rather luxrious quilted one my mam bought him

however I may be wrong

Im not used to such a high maintainance horse

as my horse is hard as nails and has never donned a rug in his life, he lives out all year round with stable access, which he never uses

....and his weight never changes.

Mams horse is a Hunter type and x SJ/XC so would have been highly maintained/ he is a stable hugger and eats for britain...now he is retiring I would like to keep him in good shape......any advice as to how to keep the weight up during the colder months....even though he eats me out of house and home already

Thanx any advice appreciated

 

[PLAYBOY]

i always start usung sugar beet threw the winter but i can also say i use baileys outshine which works fab with my horse , blue chip is always a good one but is pricey but build up is very good also but i stand by baileys outshine its fab quite expensive for a large bag but lasts ages x

 

[TGM]

Have you had his teeth checked? Older horses often have dental issues which can prevent them getting the full goodness out of their food.

Then make sure he is getting as much hay or haylage as he can eat - haylage might be the best choice as usually contains more calories than hay. It is worth feeding some source of oil in his bucket feed as oil is dense in calories. You can do this either by adding a good slurp of vegetable oil to his feed or you can feed a commercial oil based feed such as Outshine, or a conditioning feed which contains a high oil level.

My old horse is 7/8TB and does well on Alfa Beet with veg oil and micronised barley, which works out more economical than conditioning feeds or veteran mixes.

Hope that helps.

 

[HeidiBoo]

My veteran is holding her weight well at 37 years old on Alpha A, rolled barley and beetpulp, though I realise this may not be suitable for some horses due to fizziness....

I've tried veteran mixes and allsorts, this does seem to work best....I add a glug of corn oil to her feed which is high calorie....she's 7/8ths TB 1/8th Sec D, built like a little TB and drops weight like there's no tomorrow. She also needs the dentist every 4-5 months.

 

[TheresaW]

My horse who is living out 24/7 for the first time has dropped some weight. Have started him on Alfa-Beet, and we are now putting haylage in the field, and his weight is slowly coming back on.

 

[Gingerbird]

My veteran is very fizzy so to be able to feed him enough and keep his weight constant I feed Baileys No' 1 along with Alfa-Oil. He's got a great condition at the moment and looks fab. He has more than enough energy to work on too. One word of caution though - because he isn't having mix I feed him Equivite general purpose supplement so he has all the necessary vitamins and minerals.

 

[CAYLA]

Thanx everyone

my knowledge isnt to sharp on the horsey front....will definatley try the oil in feed....TGM..I will sort the teeth being checked asap.....he has access to haylage.....he and my horse go through a large round bale a week

High maintenance....who'd have em

 

[CAYLA]

I will also look into the feeds recommended by you helpfull people

....I will have to be a little carefull re the fizziness thing....my own horse is crazy at the best of times

...and its easier to keep them on the same feed.

THANX SO MUCHEY