My tb...I want to make him fat before winter, what to feed

R2R

R2R

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My tb has been out of racing for 4 months now. He is muscled, but I wouldnt call him well covered. I want to plump him up in the run up to winter but am at a bit of a loss of how to do it (as he is the type of horse that currently drops off if he gets so much as a chill in the air)

At the moment he is being fed twice a day-

2 scoops D&H build up
1 scoop sugar beet (soaked, but not too wet)
1 and a 1/2 alfa a with oil
1 cup outshine
1/2 barley rings
Soya oil

and

adlib grass/ good quality hay (all day) he goes through a big bale of hay a week!

He is worked daily for about 45 mins, I would say medium level work.

Any ideas? He is also rugged in a m/w turnout at night, and has a l/w on if it is in any way chilly in the day.

I dont want to make him obese but at the moment you can still see his ribs (he is not ribby, he is muscled and fit, but you can see them) and I am worried that he will drop off in the winter.

Thanking you!!!
 
TBH I don't think there's much else you could feed! The only thing you could maybe do is scale back his work a bit.

I take it his teeth are ok so that he's getting everything he can out of his feed.

Only thing I could suggest is splitting it into 3 feeds so it's a smaller (and more digestible) amount per feed.
 
I would have his teeth checked if you haven't already when i got my exrtacer i was feeding him loads and he wasn't putting any weight on then i got his teeth sorted and he piled it on
 
WM he had his teeth, back etc checked 3 months ago....his back was stiff and he has ongoing treatment...his teeth OK
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I think thats a huge amount of feed to feed at once (if I'm reading it right) and he wont be getting the full benefit from it.

I'd feed, per feed-
2 build up
1/2 Alafa-oil
1/2 sugarbeet
1/2 barley rings or topspec super conditioning flakes (much bettr imho)
Outshine and soya oil.
 
I tried for ages to put weight on mine last year....I eventually used Blue chip and it worked wonders....only used half a bag....he's gone the other way now and is a fat barrell
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Sevoflurane, I have just actually ordered a bag as someone told me its better than the outshine! Which is handy!

I dont want people to think he is thin, he isnt, I just want him to be fatter, if that makes sense !
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R2R mine was the same....very muscled and absolutely fit looking, but no top line as such....now he's changed shape I can see the difference....I'm sure you won't be disappointed with the Blue Chip

keep us posted on how you get on with it x
 
might be worth splitting his feeds into three a day instead of two (if practical) I had to do this with my TB over the winter and found it easier to keep the weight on her
 
I'm trying to fatten mine up too, he looks pretty good, btw... the only drawback is it's gone to his head and he behaved like a loon last night!
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Are we talking stubbs scoops here? If so, and i've read the op correctly, that's an awful lot of feed in one go! He's more than likely unable to digest it all efficiently, and you could well be wasting your money. Fenugreek is an excellent supplement to feed to encourage condition. It's fairly inexpensive too
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We have a TB ex race horse, he has been out of racing about 6 years now and he is a hunter now. Thorough breds are hard to keep their weight, even when jack is roughed off for his summer rest we still give him 2 feeds a day in the field and he is on very good grass. We have found the best thing for Jack is Alan & Page Calm & Condition its good for thoroughbreds. Also I would of turned him out for 6 months and not ridden him and let him chill out and forget about racing he would of put loads of weight on then.
 
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We have a TB ex race horse, he has been out of racing about 6 years now and he is a hunter now. Thorough breds are hard to keep their weight, even when jack is roughed off for his summer rest we still give him 2 feeds a day in the field and he is on very good grass. We have found the best thing for Jack is Alan & Page Calm & Condition its good for thoroughbreds. Also I would of turned him out for 6 months and not ridden him and let him chill out and forget about racing he would of put loads of weight on then.

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I say he has been out of racing for that time, before I got him he was turned out at racing yard for 6 months so was very let down
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IMVHO... it sounds like he's in excellent condition at present. If he's well muscled and you can just see a glimmer of rib as he moves, then he doesn't need any more weight on.
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I'd continue to feed what you're feeding; possibly split his 2 feeds into several smaller ones if you can; and just keep an eye on his weight going into winter so he doesn't lose any.

Speaking from experience (and the mistake I've made in the past) its easy to feed TBs up a bit too much in an effort to make them look 'well covered' or 'rounded' and it can do more harm than good - they are not supposed to carry lots of excess weight and as Nailed points out, their legs are fragile enough as it is, without the added strain of lugging extra pounds about.
 
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QR

TB are not designed to be fat.. there joints cant cope with it.

Lou x

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I know...I have 3, none of which are fat. I just want to give this particular tb more covering over the winter as he is the leanest and hardest to keep weight on...and eats the most. He has been blood tested, teeth checked, etc he is just an over sensitive tb!

My other 2 (one of which is a tbx) eat 1/3 of what he does....

He said he is a sensitive soul !
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I think another important point to remember with tbs is to keep them warrm, any sniff of cold weather and they can drop condition quickly....I've always been ribbed about my rugging but I know my horse and I know how difficult tbs can be with their weight
 
The safest way to increase the energy intake is by increasing the amount of oil.gradually increase the soya oil(I actually use sunflower oil ).If you increase the Carbs you can create problems but soya oil is safe(digested in hind gut apparently).My horse gets 150 cc per day.
 
Are there any other factors that could be preventing him from making the most of his feed?
I found Pink Powder very useful for my TB type when he needed to put on weight before winter last year. He also lived out which seemed to suit him and he happily maintained his weight through winter on a very basic feed of Bailey's No.4, Speedibeet, Hi Fi and a blob of oil plus ad lib hay.
 

I have a TB recently out of training who needs to gain weight. I'm using Eqijewel from Saracen Feeds, it's quite expensive but it gives results, plus it doesn't make them fizzy.
 
I second Equijewel! It's incredible!

A client has just bought back an mare that earlier in the year was subjected to cruelty, and although had put some weight on had loss in the last month, and then moved homes. She is also a 24 yr old tb! She was on 1 scoop Alfa Oil and 3/4 scoop Baileys number 4 3 times a day (as well as good grass and ad lib hay). We added Equijewel last Tuesday. She has about 1 pint glass full in each feed! The difference in a WEEK is incredible! I couldn't quite believe it (I hadn't seen her inbetween)! Yes, she's probably settled down more, but last week from a distance you could see her ribs and hips and her spine was protruding. This week, up close, you can only see her ribs faintly, and she has coverage over her hips and more coverage over her spine. Quite amazing! She's on that portion for 3 weeks (rep recommended), then we're reassessing. I'm going away now for 2 weeks, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the results when I get back.

I think they paid £20 a bag, and on that portion (highest) they've gone through about 1/3 of the bad. The conditioning cubes are costing them more! They go through 1 bad of them a week.
 
it sounds like he his on the right feeds to me have you had his teeth checked? His he wormed to date? If the feed you are on is not working you could try allen page calm and condition or ready fibre mash extra that put weight on my girl you could try haylege over hay aswell maybe split the 2 big meals for 4 smaller meals!
 
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