Please your thoughts on weight and condition

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WelshRareBit

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Murphy hasn't wintered well, despite playing around with different feeds, his weight hasnt picked up how I'd hoped.
The best feeding plan I had him on involved
baileys no4 topline conditioning cubes
alfa a oil
pink powder
sugar beet

I am a little dubious of feeding this ammount now, being as the grass is coming through and I dont want him to baloon. Is this something that will come as he gets more good grazing - or has anyone got any good tips to help him gain condition.

At the mo he is fed on

Cool mix
chaff
soya oil

Here's the pic of him now
DSCF0186.jpg


And him in the summer
MURPH.jpg
 
He looks a bit poor but I wouldnt panic. I think the thing to do is let him have as much time out as you can but maybe still bring him in at night to keep him warm. It's still quite chilly at night, I'm up at 4 in the morning often enough to know this!

You dont say how old he is but cubes tend to be more easily digested than mixes and good old Supa Barley is maybe not 'fashionable' but again is easily digested, can be soaked to make a mash and is a good conditioner.
Alfalfa is a conditioning feed in itself so Alfa oil is a good choice, you can also get alfalfa in pellet form which again you can soak.
 
I had the same problem with my mare Penny. I am feeding her alfa oil and speedi beet along with her mix. This has improved her condition greatly, she looks so much better. She looked a little like your boy, though she is in foal which was all the more concerning. I would definatelt recommend the addition of alfa oil and speedi beet.
 
Well the weight loss is not drastic.... I dont think he looks poor (sorry Custardsmum) in fact, although you can just see his ribs in the first picture, there is obviously a lot of work that has gone into him as the picture from last summer shows no muscle tone..... I use alfalfa and micronized barley and this seems to do the trick with my TB's......

Lovely lad by the way!
 
Having a big boy like you who was also poor I know how hard it is to get weight on.

but my boy looks like a different horse thanks to TopSpec, Im sure you have sen the before and after pics but he was much thinner than Murphy with no muscle tone.

My boy gets:

TopSpec cool condition cubes
TopSpec Leisure time feed blancer
Hi fi
Garlic

and it really is the best feed Ive ever used.
 
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