Poor grazing and a TB

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thoroughbred95

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Hi All,

My horse can be a bit of a poor doer - nothing dramatic just a little bit lean at the end of winter. Due to the terrible weather we had the grazing hasn't recovered at my yard, or indeed any other yards in the area! Although he looks good at the moment I want to take some action now to ensure that he stays looking good.

So, for those of you that have skinnies on poor grazing what do you do to keep them looking good, or is it impossible?

thanks in advance :)
 
Mine's always on short grazing,he's a very poor doer but the only company he thrives with are 2 good doer mares! Last year I tried him on various alternatives(plenty of grass around at our yard) but he fretted away from the mares & looked awful so I gave up & he stays with them! I feed him at least once a day,twice if shifts allow on the highest calorie stuff that I can find for a feed sensitive,ulcer prone,fussy TB! When he comes in to be ridden he has a net of hay permanently in front of his face,I hand graze him on longer stuff when I've time. I rug whenever it's slightly cold/wet. I'd happily have him in a few hours a day in summer for extra hay but he just wants to be out & as he's had ulcers several times I aim to keep him as happy as I can! I've also found now I only ride 4-5 days a week he keeps weight on better than when he was in harder work. He's hard work at times but then he's always been high maintenance so I guess I'm used to it!
 
We had our Tb mare on poor grazing once, we found she kept weight on when we added fast fibre to her diet and fed 2 meals a day
 
I have exactly the same problem with my 7/8ths tb, she's looking ok at the moment but slightly on the poor side of ok and I don't want her to lose any more. Our grazing is never great but it hasn't come through at all yet so I'm feeding her 3 times a day ( Winergy Equilibrium Condition ) and I'm adding a high fat supplement such as EquiJewel or Outshine. These are great at adding condition without overloading her with feed as she can be easily overfaced and they help with muscle definition and coat shine too.
 
Charlie is your typical poor doer who shares a field with 7 good doers on not a lot of grazing. Unfortunately where I live most of the fields are overstocked with horses and are overgrazed. My answer is to feed a high calorie diet full of oil. I have tried to bring him in for a few hours each day to eat hay. This does not work as he just wants to be out all the time. Charlie is now on 1 scoop alpha beet, 1 and half scoops d+h build up mix, half a scoop of grass nuts, 300mls of corn oil and 1 scoop of alpha a with oil. This appears to be working, as in the past month he has gained 20kgs. I always weigh my feed out on scales, as this does help and also making sure that he is not stressing also helps
 
If you add in a good feed balancer as well, this will help the horse's digestion system cope with the food. Something like Alltech Lifeforce will help improve the hind gut action and I know quite a few people who've had great results with it, especially with stressy ulcer-prone tb's :)
 
I share your worry! My grazing isn't too bad and my sec D is a bit too round! Fling isn't focused on food at all and won't eat more than one scoop of No 4 Conditioning cubes and a scoop of soaked Veteran Vitality. I add a cup of Flora Sunflower oil too. He's 27, teeth done every 6 months and they're doing ok. My two share a Haynet in the field shelter every night, Megs stuffs her face with most of it, which she doesn't need but Fling does get some. Can't separate them, they've been together 18 years and Fling goes into full blown TB meltdown! I always try to keep him warm and dry to preserve the condition he has, medium rug at night if its chilly. Worries me to death but love him to bits!!
 
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Fling
 
That last pic made me laugh,just the same as mine! Food? No,I'd rather stare at imaginary stuff in the distance!
 
I have an arab who seems to loose weight right before my very eyes! She has spent winter in a field with absolutely no grass and heres what I did to make sure she stayed at a good weight.
1) She had two to three small feeds a day of fast fibre, linseed, coprameal, salt, acv for joints.
2) When she was in overnight Id feed adlib hay and leave a big bucket or fast fibre so she could trickle feed on it
3) Set up hay feeders in the field so she constantly had a supply of hay.
4) Didnt rug at all unless it was rainy at which point she got a rain sheet. If they have constant hay then its better to let them eat to stay warm rather than rug so her body can regulate itself and use its winter coat to the best of its ability. This is the first year weve done this and shes come out looking better than ever so does work on her.
5) Took her for long walks so she could graze outside of the fields when I had time.

She did drop off a bit which I like but she didnt look awlful. Hope this helps and good luck:)
 
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