my horse in winter

[TGM]

Just looking back over your previous posts, PN, and I see you were also worried about the mare lying down a lot. On its own I wouldn't be too worried, but in combination with her losing condition whilst on adlib hay and the recommended amount of conditioning feed, I think I might want a vet check to ensure that everything is OK, and perhaps take some bloods.

I know you say she has been wormed recently - but what wormer did you use? Has she been done for tapeworm?

 

[Poppys Nannan]

We used Equest Promax ( and i was worried about using that) but she took it fine and seemed to be ok following the wormer. - What do you think ??

The lying down bit i think i was just being overly cautious and didn't want to be missing anything - it was just a case of being in the right place at the right time to catch her laying down and a lovely special moment where my daughter was able to sit with her. We haven't managed it since !!



thank you x x

 

[Rueysmum]

She does look a nice mare, if a little thin.

I have an old, stressy TB but he seems to be thriving on a purely fibre diet (high fibre cubes, hay replacer cubes, Happy Hoof, Pink Powder and loads of supermarket Sunflower Oil). He has this twice a day, soaked in advance so that it's easier for him to eat, and grass in the day and as much hay as he will eat at night.

I think if you can get her to eat more non-heating calories she will improve. Oil and Pink Powder have certainly helped my silly old fool.

 

[TigerTail]

I certainly wouldnt be recommending stabling her when shes out and has adlib hay. No matter the quality of the grazing it is far better for her tummy to have a constant trickle of food rather than 1 enormous bucket once or twice a day

Feed wise - micronised linseed = equine superfood, full of fibre omega 3s and high cal oil. Suggest Charnwood milling for suppliers. Start with half a cup and build up to a whole cup.

Supplement http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-HOOF-...r_Equipment&hash=item415ecd69e0#ht_1400wt_953

Add a plain grass chop ie just grass/readigrass etc You dont want to be filling her full of sugar, thats not a healthy way to increase weight.

Regular small feeds are FAR better than enormous buckets.

Make sure she is ok temp wise, do not be dictated to by others actions she sould feel lukewarm NOT hot to your hand. If she's hot she will be sweating and therefor losing weight.

Well done you for asking for help

 

[AmyMay]

I certainly wouldnt be recommending stabling her when shes out and has adlib hay. No matter the quality of the grazing it is far better for her tummy to have a constant trickle of food rather than 1 enormous bucket once or twice a day

Not one person on this thread has suggested feeding 1 or 2 enormous bucket feeds a day, nor withdrawing access to adlib hay when (or if) she is in.

If the grazing is bad - and likely to get worse, then it is better for the horse to be stabled overnight, imo. It saves the ground, and ensures the horses continued comfort and improvement.

 

[Poppys Nannan]

I certainly wouldnt be recommending stabling her when shes out and has adlib hay. No matter the quality of the grazing it is far better for her tummy to have a constant trickle of food rather than 1 enormous bucket once or twice a day

-- Will the adlib hay provide trickle feeding ?Feed wise - micronised linseed = equine superfood, full of fibre omega 3s and high cal oil. Suggest Charnwood milling for suppliers. Start with half a cup and build up to a whole cup.

Supplement http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-HOOF-...r_Equipment&hash=item415ecd69e0#ht_1400wt_953

Add a plain grass chop ie just grass/readigrass etc You dont want to be filling her full of sugar, thats not a healthy way to increase weight.

Many thanks - would you substitute the aplha a oil with the readigrass / chop or as well as x

Regular small feeds are FAR better than enormous buckets.

Make sure she is ok temp wise, do not be dictated to by others actions she sould feel lukewarm NOT hot to your hand. If she's hot she will be sweating and therefor losing weight.

She feels lovely and warm under her rug so that you want to snuggle with her - should i stay with that and add a neck or go up in weight x x

Well done you for asking for help

-- many thanks for replying

 

[Mince Pie]

Ad lib means that she has access to hay 24/7 so yes is trickle feeding. Is there any way that you or your YO can put in a 3rd meal to her so she is having breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Also if she is 'toasty warm' under her rug then I would either leave it as she is or (controversial perhaps!) go down to a 150g rug with a neck.
How long has she been losing weight whilst on conditioning feeds? Have you tried changing the feed? I agree with Amymay that I have never seen a horse do well on C&C, I use readymash extra which IMO is a fantastic product and put nearly 40kg on my very skinny thoroughbred in a month.
How old is the mare? Is she up to date with her teeth, saddle/back checks etc? Has she been out of work, if so have you increased her feed since she came back into work? How much feed goes into one bucket - a horse only has a stomach the size of a rugby ball, if you put too much feed into the bucket she won't get all the goodness from it. Has the vet seen her? Perhaps a blood sample may be a good idea?
If all checks come back normal then I would maybe look at changing the C&C and adding Suregrow balancer.

 

[Dizzydancer]

It is great to see your taking on board. I actually agree with the above poster about dropping down a rug weight (maybe not quite so low but got to a MW approx 200g with neck) but adding in a neck, that way she is covered head to tail and wont get chilly if or when it rains.
I will however say my ex racer was lacking weight last winter and he went onto C&C as he cant do heating feeds and he piled on the weight, he does have adlib haylage and now the grass has no goodness he is wanting to come back into his haylage after being out for only an hour. But each feed is different if she hasnt had any improvements since C&C being given then look to change if not carry on with that. I would also be tempted to get blood tests done if she doesnt improve any condition in the next week or so!

 

[TigerTail]

If the grazing is bad - and likely to get worse, then it is better for the horse to be stabled overnight, imo. It saves the ground, and ensures the horses continued comfort and improvement.

I still cant understand your logic here, sorry if im being dense.

If the grazing is bad - what do you mean by bad? Poor quality? That should be compensated for by the hay and feed.

Saving the ground? Not interested in that - you manage your land to the best of your ability to avoid serious poaching but all horse owners accept that is the nature of the beast.

Ensures the horses continued comfort and improvement continued comfort!? WHAT?! Putting a herd animal, already underweight, in solitary confinement? In a stable where the air is still and she is on cold concrete (temps in stables are always at least 5 degs colder than outside) so she will be colder? Where she cannot move around or stand with others to keep warm? I dont think i'd improve under those circumstances

 

[TGM]

We used Equest Promax ( and i was worried about using that) but she took it fine and seemed to be ok following the wormer. - What do you think ??

The lying down bit i think i was just being overly cautious and didn't want to be missing anything - it was just a case of being in the right place at the right time to catch her laying down and a lovely special moment where my daughter was able to sit with her. We haven't managed it since !!

The Pramox should have sorted any tapeworm out. Sorry I got the impression the horse was lying down a lot, not just the once. Don't worry too much about that then, but if she doesn't pick up it once she has been on a good diet for a few weeks might still be worth a chat with the vet to see if there are any underlying conditions.

 

[Lark]

I would also recommend the following combination to aid in weight gain.
Copra (Coostance) - high fibre, high oil, low starch and highly digestible. This is a soaked feed.
Mix in Baileys no.1 with the Copra for added condition building.
Also agree with AmyB that D&H are fantastic.

 

[dreamcometrue]

I have used D&H build up to put weight on my horse. It was very good, put the weight on and he stayed sane and healthy.

 

[nicnag]

How old is she? I can't see anything that says ? Just that has a lot of effect on how a horse 'looks' even with a winter coat. My 21 year old certainly looks really well at the moment but one night in bad weather and he can look ribby and tucked up causing extreme panic to me lol!

 

[Poppys Nannan]

Thanks everyone,

Nicnag - she is 16 years old


I have been and got some micronised linseed and going to start today, just half a cup - will this be in each feed building up to a full cup in each feed or just in the one food.

Just as an aside, our horse has always been a girly girl on stones avoiding them and looking at my daughter as if to say 'Mum i dont like stones' but she is fine - would any of the foods suggested be helpful to improve her sole - although there doesnt look to be anything wrong with her feet at all there is no heat, no lameness, just the preference to avoid stones. - I have always fancied her going barefoot / unshod - she only has front shoes anyway, but my daughter doesn't really want to - what do you think ?
Tigertail - would the pro hoof stuff help with the above and would i feed it extra to linseed x x

many many thanks for your replies x x

 

[ChristmasPixie]

Hello!

How are things going with your lovely girl? I hope she has gained the extra condition you hoped for. My boy is 16 too and i'm always ultra sensitive about him carrying enough condition, especially coming into the winter.

Good luck over the next few months, she looks a very sweet girl