Please give me some feeding advice?

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icyfreya

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I'm buying a horse, he's being delivered on sunday, 16hh tbxwb, 18 year old but still very fit and healthy (clean vetting), still competing dressage and doing some jumping etc.
However he is in quite poor condition, so have spoken to instructor/vet & topspec nutritionist etc about a good diet to get him into good condition, we are thinking eventually Alfa-A oil, either pink powder senior or topspec senior balancer, and then a small amount of conditioning cubes (because he really is lacking in condition - no topline and a bit ribby, especially going into winter) and/or beet pulp to keep the weight on.

I found out yesterday from the vendor that he's currently on Hi-fi lite (which, looking on dengie website, says it's a feed for overweight/prone to lami, which he is not?) and pasture mix (and being worked 4/5 days a week, which is probably why he's not in great condition, as he's not a good doer). Spoke to his previous owner, she had him on baileys number 4 conditioning cubes, alfa a oil, speedibeet, and balancer/supplements, and he was the same horse/didn't get hot or excitable.

I understand that anything new has to be introduced very gradually into the diet, especially as he'll be a bit stressed as moving to a new yard...

So, shall I keep him on everything he's on at the mo (which doesn't really seem enough for the amount of work he's doing?), or can I switch him to Hi-fi original straight away, and then gradually introduce the alfa a? Basically are Hi-fi lite and hifi original similar enough to switch without having to buy a bag of both if i'm not going to use all of the lite?

Also going to give him as much hay as possible!

Any advice greatly appreciated! :)
Thanks in advance, feeding horses with everything out on the market etc can be so complicated xx
 
Your feeding plan sounds good.I would just get him onto HiFi original it is very similar and should cause no problems.Then gradually change when he is settled.
Having his teeth done and worming should quickly improve his condition.
Start him on the Pink Powder straight away as it will help him adjust to his new diet and increase his ability to absorb the extra nutrition.
Good luck with him.
 
the more fibre you can get into him the better - this will help to keep him warm in the winter (due to the way digestion works in the hind gut), and will help to keep his stomach and intestines healthy as he's getting older.

I would start with hifi and introduce speedibeet and then gradually change to the alfa a oil over the next few weeks.

as someone else said, teeth and worming will make a big difference I'm sure.

try speedibeet, with alfa a oil and a senior balancer or pink powder. you shouldn't really need the conditioning cubes as well, unless you are really struggling to get weight on him.
 
JenHunt said:
the more fibre you can get into him the better - this will help to keep him warm in the winter (due to the way digestion works in the hind gut), and will help to keep his stomach and intestines healthy as he's getting older.

I would start with hifi and introduce speedibeet and then gradually change to the alfa a oil over the next few weeks.

as someone else said, teeth and worming will make a big difference I'm sure.

try speedibeet, with alfa a oil and a senior balancer or pink powder. you shouldn't really need the conditioning cubes as well, unless you are really struggling to get weight on him.
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I'd definitely second fibre, fibre, fibre. Plenty of good quality forage. I feed my tb happy hoof, hi fibre nuts and a glug of corn oil. He does really well on this all winter so long as he has adlib forage. If he does need a bit more condition I gradually replace to the hi fi nuts to allan and page c+c. I also ensure he's well rugged!
 
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