Please help - too thin (pony!)

[Lplates]

My lovely oldie has lost a lot of weight since Christmas, he has cushings and vet has increased prascend. He is not a big hay eater (teeth been done recently but are pretty poor, he has never loved hay in the two years we have had him.) He is currently in, as his field is so muddy, there is almost no grass. He has two scoops (before adding water) of fibre beet twice a day. Vet recommended vegetable oil in his fibre beet, but he is fussy and won't eat it if anything is added.
Today I gave him an extra feed of fibre beet at lunchtime, but have just seen he isn't meant to have more than 1kg of FB per 100kgs of body weight, meaning 2.5kgs for him. His two daily feeds already add up to 4kg...
I am negotiating with farmer to put him in a field with more grass, but then he won't have a shelter and he gets very cold even when rugged.
Very worried. Vet did say it may be his last winter
Can anyone recommend a good way to get weight on him?

 

[TGM]

If he is not eating much hay and there is very little grass you need to feed either mash type or short chop hay replacers. Will he eat chaff type feeds?

 

[splashgirl45]

I found that fast fibre worked well on my cushings horse when she lost lots of weight one winter. I now start feeding it with a scoop of chaff as soon as the grass goes off..it has to be mixed with double the amount of water and is dissolved very quickly, supposed to be 1 min but I leave mine for 5 or 10.. how about giving haylage instead of hay? at my previous yard my mare went right off the hay and wouldn't eat it even though I tried different bales but she would eat haylage...or you could give chaff in a big feed bucket for him to pick at, it may be easier for him to eat as its already chopped up.. good luck

 

[Luci07]

what about alfa a with oil? seems to suit even the pickiest eaters. It has been a good feed for some horses at our yard which are poor doers.

 

[crabbymare]

I would try haylage instead of hay as some oldies like it better. also getting samples of different chaffs or ask if you can borrow some from others at your yard to see what he will eat. mash type feeds are a good idea and grass nuts often get eaten when they have a low appetite. right now if the vet has said that it may be his last winter I would carry on feeding the fiberbeet at the rate you are since when you want them to put on weight you need to feed it for the required wieght and not the actual weight the horse is now. more small feeds are a lot better than fewer bigger feeds so you are doing the right thing giving the extra at lunchtime

 

[LoobyLoosome]

In the circumstances I think you could feed more than the recommended amount of fibre beet - it's high in digestible fibre, low in starch so should be well tolerated in large quantities, in fact I'm not really sure why they would suggest a maximum.

Old fashioned beet pulp is good for putting on weight too though.

If you look at chaff type products you need to make sure you don't feed any containing chopped straw, as it has no feed value but I'd commonly used to bulk out these feeds. Go for alfalfa and grass based ones instead.

Feed a cereal based concentrate too, at the maximum recommended rate, something high in energy like a conditioning feed - but I'd mix it well through the fibre beet so it is eaten over a long period, and feed at least twice per day.

 

[LoobyLoosome]

And second crabbymares suggestion about haulage - it tends to contain more energy than hay as well as being more palatable. Given the choice go for a high energy one containing ryegrass (ie not a high fibre low calorie one).

 

[Andalucian]

Coolstance Copra. I deal with laminitics, cushings oldies in my job (trimmer). Since finding this product I recommend it all the time to great effect. It safely puts weight on these types, a truely amazing find for them. Add to fibre beet feed.

 

[splashgirl45]

In the circumstances I think you could feed more than the recommended amount of fibre beet - it's high in digestible fibre, low in starch so should be well tolerated in large quantities, in fact I'm not really sure why they would suggest a maximum.

Old fashioned beet pulp is good for putting on weight too though.

If you look at chaff type products you need to make sure you don't feed any containing chopped straw, as it has no feed value but I'd commonly used to bulk out these feeds. Go for alfalfa and grass based ones instead.

Feed a cereal based concentrate too, at the maximum recommended rate, something high in energy like a conditioning feed - but I'd mix it well through the fibre beet so it is eaten over a long period, and feed at least twice per day.

don't forget this is a cushings horse so conditioning feeds may not be suitable.as there is the risk of laminitis..also normal sugar beet may not be suitable for the same reason..

 

[Lplates]

Thank you, this is all really helpful. Although he is cushings, he does not seem to be especially prone to laminitis - strange I know, but in the two years we have had him I have gone from being extremely vigilant to fairly relaxed about it as he has even been in lush dairy pasture with no ill effects. I am still careful, but think it is a case of doing anything to get weight on at the moment.
Farrier coming as soon as I can get him, as I have just noticed he is unwilling to let me handle his hind feet, don't know if that could be related. They aren't hot or anything.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I put my Cushings pony on Dodson & Horrell Cushcare Condition (designed for Cushings ponies) about a year ago and the difference has been amazing. She has put on lots of condition and in the summer had shine on her coat. Both my vet and farrier say they haven't seen her looking so good in a long time. She can be a picky eater but it seems to be very palatable and she loves it. I would definitely suggest you try it.

 

[Regandal]

Another vote for Coolstance Copra. Great stuff, best soaked for a while though.

 

[_HP_]

Not all Cushing's ponies will get Laminitis...
I would say to get him tested to check his ATCH levels to make sure his Cushing's is well controlled.
If he has never had Laminitis then you may find something like grass nuts suitable. I fed them to my old pony when he could no longer eat grass or hay and he did very well on them
You could also try adding micronised linseed to his beet....this will provide him with Omega 3 and 6 that is lost in hay making.Also, give him a good balancer to make sure he is receiving everything he needs to stay healthy.

 

[rachk89]

I know there is a mare at the yard I am at that has Cushings and she is an old mare too. She gets a scoop of cool fibre by Spillers each day, twice a day. It is conditioning food, but its better for horses prone to hyper episodes and boy is she prone to them. It doesnt really help with that, I think she will always be a little spirited, although she was never naughty with me. But she has never gotten laminitis that I am aware of on that diet. Maybe try that?

Maybe just speak to a feed supplier and see what they say as well? I know all the horses here were assessed by Spillers and a feed was created for them. Could try the conditioning cubes too, when my horse (albeit he was 6 at the time and doesnt have cushings so very different case), but when he arrived he lost weight dramatically and he wasnt exactly large when he arrived either. We put him on conditioning fibre (1 scoop), half a scoop of slow release conditioning cubes, and half a scoop of conditioning cubes. The difference was amazing in a couple of weeks and he was so much happier. He is no longer on that of course, he'd be like an elephant by now if he was.

It might be worth talking to someone in a feed company about it. I am sure other companies have people you can talk to, Spillers cant be the only one. Look around and phone them up, cant hurt at least. Would agree with the haylage too, might find that more tasty.

 

[Micropony]

If he doesn't find oil palatable, you might try micronised linseed instead.
Soaked grass nuts tend to be well received and are easy to eat.
Would he eat a nice unmolassed grass or lucerne chop?
What about a probiotic?
Small frequent feeds as you are doing will really help, could you even up it to 4, e.g. could someone pop a late night feed over his door for you?
Best of luck, hope you're able to find a solution he appreciates!

 

[LovesCobs]

I had a cushions oldie lose weight last winter, tried everything until the pony club DC suggested slobber mash. 2 feeds a day worked better than anything I've ever tried. Look it up. Pony was on baileys conditioning feed before and still losing Weight. Had bloods done and teeth checked. But this feed worked. Quick soak and he's started putting weight back in on X

 

[_GG_]

Try Lamigel or Equidgel -

http://www.equidiet.org.uk/

You can mix a feed a day with the chop to keep some texture and variety, but full of everything needed, keeps up hydration and the Lamigel is good for many conditions. I'm going to try it in a few weeks when mine come back into work.

 

[mytwofriends]

My cushings oldie piled the kilos on with a personalised diet recommended by Top Spec (my vet rated their nutritionists highly.)

He went from a big bag of sad bones to a cheeky, sleek gent on their senior balancer, cool conditioning cubes and chaff, wetted down a bit.

He, too, had never exhibited any signs of laminitis so, whilst I was careful, it wasn't my main concern at the beginning (nor now, 3+ years on.)

He's a big 16.2 Gelderlander, approximately 25 years old, and he's looking incredible. He's on 1 x Prascend per day and his ACTH levels are stable at 32 at the last count.

Hope you find something your oldie enjoys. If laminitis isn't a major concern, you can afford to experiment. I agree with the above posters who suggest haylage.

Good luck.

 

[TGM]

In the circumstances I think you could feed more than the recommended amount of fibre beet - it's high in digestible fibre, low in starch so should be well tolerated in large quantities, in fact I'm not really sure why they would suggest a maximum.

I suspect one reason they give a maximum, is because Fibrebeet contains alfalfa which can cause problems if fed in excessive amounts (ie enough to be a partial or full hay replacer). High alfalfa intake has been linked to excessive urination in elderly horses, and the formation of enteroliths (which can be a cause of colic).

 

[Merlod]

Micronised Linseed, great for adding condition and safe for laminitics - I feed it to my lami prone shetland as in the summer he can drop a bit as he can't have the grass

 

[southerncomfort]

My 26 year old cushings mare with no teeth is in the stable today and has 4 buckets of hay replacer (Fast Fibre) and 2 buckets of Hi Fi Senior.

She also has a feed in the evening of Veteran Vitality and a handful of Rowan Barberry Solution Mash with her Prascend and then gets chucked out on to the good grass overnight.

Even on that lot she has still lost a bit of weight.

 

[Gloi]

Ours have Rowan Barberry Solution Mash too, which they love with micronised linseed and some Alfa A oil. They have been quite fussy since being on Prascend and won't touch Fast Fibre or other unmollassed beet feeds.

 

[thatsmygirl]

In the circumstances I think you could feed more than the recommended amount of fibre beet - it's high in digestible fibre, low in starch so should be well tolerated in large quantities, in fact I'm not really sure why they would suggest a maximum.

Old fashioned beet pulp is good for putting on weight too though.

If you look at chaff type products you need to make sure you don't feed any containing chopped straw, as it has no feed value but I'd commonly used to bulk out these feeds. Go for alfalfa and grass based ones instead.

Feed a cereal based concentrate too, at the maximum recommended rate, something high in energy like a conditioning feed - but I'd mix it well through the fibre beet so it is eaten over a long period, and feed at least twice per day.

Somebody has beaten me to it but its a Cushing pony, half off what you have suggested is not suitable.

Linseed is a fab way to safely add condition to Cushing ponies,agree with trying haylage to see what he thinks off that, I would carry on with the fibre beet with the added lunch time meal and do a smaller meal with linseed added and if he would eat it, equimins advance complete which is a fab balancer which is linseed based. But if he's fussy he may not touch it.
Has he been blood tested recently?

 

[vonno]

Baileys Outshine worked for me. And it is non heating.