Overhaul my feed!

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lesleywuk

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Ive just bought me first proper horse which is a thoroughbred (hopefully ive not made a massive mistake!) ive had her about a month, she is currently quite skinny no muscle at all and ribs visible, i have only ever loaned good doers before so am struggling with knowing what to feed her to gain weight but not go completely loopy! I have chosen (hopefully!) non heating feeds but i dont think these are going to be the best for weight gain and i got so confused with all the terminology i just picked something simple

Currently she gets 2 feeds a day and in each feed there is (im using one of the regular sized rectangle scoops)

2 Scoops Alfa A Lite
1 Scoop Baileys High Fibre Mix
Handful of Topline conditioning cubes
1 1/2 scoops of the NAF haylage balancer as they didnt have pink powder and i wanted to make sure she was getting everything shes needs
And some carrots!

Please help me decide what to feed as i have read so much and it is all so confusing!
 
As she is skinny, I'd swap the alfa a lite for Alfa A oil. The handful of conditioning cubes will not be doing anything at all, you have to feed the recommended amount for the horse to get the benefit. So, it would probably be more cost effective to change mix and cubes and balancer to a complete feed balancer such as D&H ultimate balancer or Equilibra or suchlike, you will not have to supplement them. and add sugar beet for a cheap way of getting extra calories into her without heating up. Also adlib hay or hayledge. Completely adlib, as much as she can eat.
 
Swap the Alfa lite for Alfa Oil - and personally I'd feed a good vitamin suppliment like Benevit.

I'd drop the mix in preference for High Fibre Cubes (I like D&H) - and would be feeding more generally. So large round scoops in each feed of the chop and nuts plus continuing with a smaller (half scoop) of the conditioning nuts.

A friend is having fantastic results with Calm and Condition - and the horse is being fed a huge amount of it twice a day (vet is happy that it can cope, although I'd rather see it split in to 3 meals).

You don't say how much haylage she is getting - but overnight it's going to be around 21lbs needed (or enough to have some left in the morning).

However, TGM is your woman - why not PM her.
 
i'd go for alfa a oil, calm and condition and some non heating sugar beet and your haylage balancer or pink powder and codlivine oil, thats what i feed molly and she's a really skinny pony she struggles to keep weight on half the time and she gets half a scoop of each but then she's 12hhs
 
Firstly, the most important part of a horse's diet is forage - that is grazing, hay or haylage. You can give tons of bucket feed but the horse will still not put on weight if it is not getting enough forage. If your horse is struggling to gain weight then you need to give as much forage as she can eat - preferably haylage if it suits her. She needs hay/haylage available in the stable at all times she is in there. If she is stable overnight, make sure you give her enough so there is a little left in the morning. If grazing is poor then it helps to have hay/haylage available in the field if that is possible.

Some horses have difficulty eating hay/haylage if they have teeth problems, so get her teeth checked ASAP if you haven't already. Worms can be another cause of poor condition, so ring your vets for advice on a suitable worming programme. Did you have her vetted on purchase so you know there are no underlying veterinary problems causing the poor condition?

People on here will give you tons of recommendations for conditioning feeds, but it is partly trial and error as individual horses react to different feeds in different ways! One point to bear in mind when choosing a feed is the calorie content which you will see on the bag or on the manufacturer's website expressed as MJDE/kg. The higher the MJDE/kg the more conditioning the feed. Obviously, the quantity of food has to be suitable for the size of horse and its workload, so it is worth ringing the manufacturers helpline and getting them to suggest a diet for your individual horse.

What constitutes a non-heating feed is hard to define. It is thought that feeds containing cereals (ie oats, maize, wheat, barley) can be heating for some horses, so check the labels to see if they are included. Oatfeed, wheatfeed etc aren't so bad as they are mainly the outer part of the grain, rather than the starchy inside. Some people also find that very high sugar feeds can fizz horses up - such as standard sugar beet which has a sugar level of 20% so a good alternative is unmollassed beet (such as Speedibeet) which is 5% sugar.

How is the mare's temperament on the feed she is on now? Is she fizzy or calm? If she is OK on the current feed it should be possible to swap some of the items for higher calorie but similar ingredients.
 
It would be wise top choose the conditioning cubes OR the high Fibre Mix, as feeding a small amount of both - as you are currently doing - is not providing her with enough energy (calories) or vitamins & minerals for a balanced diet.
I would feed ad-lib forage (either good quality hay or haylage) with the recommended volume of High Fibre Cubes (as they are non-heating so unlikely to encourage fizziness) which is approximately 2.5-3kg per day (approx. 2 large scoops) alongside 2kg Alfa-A Oil (approx. 4 large scoops). As you don't want to cause fizziness and the Alfa-A Oil is in itself a slow release conditioning feed, feeding conditioning cubes as well may be too much. This will provide her with enough energy and a balanced diet.
Make sure you ride her often as well: you can introduce schooling, hacking (especially hillwork) and lunging to develop her muscle tone, as no feed can give her muscle, only exercise.
It would also be a good idea to feed a digestive enhancer such as Dengie Yea-Sacc or Biotal Equine Gold, as this will help to ensure she gets the most out of her feed to further encourage better condition.
 
My thoroughbred ex racehorse who is eventing and is a real hot head, but really prone to loosing condition, he is on 3/4 Spillers Conditioning Fibre, 3/4 Baileys conditioning cubes, 1/3 Baileys All round endurance mix, handful of baileys outshine 3 x a day, and ad lib haylage and he looks absolutely amazing if i say so myself, the baileys condition cubes are the best cubes i know, people i know have tried D&H BUild Up Cubes but they dont seem to do as good a job as the Baileys, i feed the spillers chaff for palatability becuse he wont eat the Alfala Lite but definitely try the oil on and perhaps add soya oil to her feed, mine gets 50ml 3 x daily and on his diet i find him still really well behaved and trainable but also has the energy that i need. A lot will be trial and error, remeber to introduce things slowly and dont change two or three things at once, becuase if something does not agree or sends them loopy you need to be able to know what it was. My one was on the Calm and COndition but it had no effect on my lad it jsut did not work and was a was of money, if anything i woud say it just made him naughtier, within a week of beginning the Bailieys cubes i noticed a difference! good luck!
 
Thanks for all the advice, she is currently getting as much haylage as she will eat the nets weigh around 25lb and there is usually a bit left over in the morning.

I have spoken to a few people who say I am worrying too much as she isnt too bad weight wise it is lack of topline that makes her look worse, im also worried about over feeding her now for her to balloon come summer so i will use up what i have and switch to alfa a oil as the lite runs out and we should be into summer and i will have a better idea of whether i will need to feed her up ready for winter.

I have also started feeding her haylage from the floor to try and build up more muscle.

Do you think this is a good plan? I have a pic of her but not sure how to add it
 
Can you see her ribs at all? If her ribs are covered but her neck and quarters are angular then it is quite likely that it is just muscle she is lacking.

There is a guide to posting photos here:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=47029

Has she been on a vet-approved worming programme and had her teeth checked? Was she vetted upon purchase? (Often lack of muscle can result from soundness problems that may have been picked up on in the vetting process).
 
Feeding from the floor is a great idea: once you've got her diet sorted (and it's great that you're feeding ad-lib by the way - having a little left over in the morning is spot on) you will need to focus on the kind of exercise that you do. Rather than let her pull herself along, try to encourage her to work properly through her back from behind. Make sure she is tracking up, lifting her back and dropping her head to accept the contact. If you are having problems getting her going correctly and want some exercises to help her nuild up the strength in the correct muscles, then some lessons should help you.
 
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