Poor doers in winter

MissSBird

MissSBird

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Hi guys

Very general post. I was just wondering what everyone's tips are for keeping weight on a poor do-er in winter. I'd like to see if theres anything more I can do for my mare!
 
heya,
i have the same problem so i am giving him speedi-beet twice a day and ruging so he doesnt get cold and all tucked up, it seems to be working so far as he is putting abit of weight on already:)
hope you find something that works
kimx
 
Depends on the work, your horse is doing but i would say suitable food for their workload and if possible in small meals throughout the day.
Lots of rugs to keep them warm and as much hay/grass as they want. It works for my TB
smile.gif

Glad to hear yours is picking up though.
 
Most important thing is that the horse should have access to plenty of good quality hay or haylage. If the horse is stabled there should be hay or haylage available at all times. There should be enough given overnight so there is some left in the morning. Teeth should be checked so you know the horse is able to chew his forage effectively. If the horse doesn't eat a lot of hay then a tub of some sort of hay replacer can be placed in the stable alongside the hay. If the horse is out at grass then there should be plenty of hay or haylage in the field.

There are many options as to what sort of bucket feed you give. Simplest option is to feed a conditioning mix or cube at the manufacturer's recommended amount. Another option is to feed straights if you are confident in mixing your own rations - fibre feeds like alfafa, beet and dried grass products are useful, as is oil, either in the form of straight oil or oil-rich supplements such as Outshine and Equijewel. Cereals such as micronised barley can be useful with some horses - but to be avoided if the horse is cerela-intolerant or susceptible to laminitis.

To get some idea of how 'fattening' a food is, you can check the digestible energy content, which is usually on the bag in the form of mega joules of digestible energy - MJDE/kg. The higher the number, the more fattening the feed. Most conditioning mixes/cubes are about 12.5 MJDE/kg.
 
My horse lives out 24/7, but does drop weight come autumn. At the moment, all the other horses in the field are holding their weight, so we are not haying as yet.

Mac has a breakfast of alfa-a oil, alfa beet, cool mix and cubes. He comes in for a few hours a day (4 or 5) where he has adlib hay, then he has a big tea (same as breakfast, but slightly bigger) and is then turned out again. He doesn't like the rain, so at the moment is in a lightweight turnout which keeps him happy. Even when we start haying the field, I will still bring him in for a few hours each day, as he does like to have some stable time and it helps keep his condition good.
 
We have heavy clay turnout in the winter which gets really wet so from mid oct they get restricted turnout (approx 3 hrs per day).

They get breakfast as usual and then 'lunch' of a bucket of readigrass or something similar when they come in as well as ad lib haylage, then dinner later on when I get back from work. This has worked for keeping weight on my 'lose weight at the drop of a hat' warmblood!!
 
Regarding rugs, I think it is important to put the right rug on, rather than over-rugging a horse.

Lots of people put the thickest rug they can buy on their horse and as a consequence the horse is too hot and then they sweat and lose condition, or are so uncomfortable that they don't want to eat.

It is more important that the rug keeps them dry, a dry horse will cope with cold weather, it is wet and cold they don't like.
 
winter routine for my poor doer is:

In at night
ad lib hay
scoop Alfa Oil 2x daily
scoop Bailey's No 4 Conditioning Cubes 2x daily
Bailey's Outshine half mug full 1x daily
sugarbeet half scoop 2x daily

I also bung a bucket of alfa oil in his stable overnight so that he can nibble at it in his own time. This last made an enormous difference last winter!
 
Hi, we used Baileys No.1, it is a weight gain meal for older horses and horses who drop off weight. We use this on our 32 yr old TBx mare and used it on old old TB racehorse. It is easy to use but must be dampened you can also get it in cube form, Baileys No.4. Hope this helps and good luck.
 
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