Really Need Help!!

[aldato_daz]

I know i posted before about what to feed my boy but im still really stuck!!

background is...Al is a 5yo Aldato x Tb and before i put him out for the summer he was extremely highly strung even when i was just feeding him on cool mix and conditioning cubes!! he always had a lovely top line and had great condition however i felt that the cool mix was maybe too much for him. he was given maybe 2 scoops twice a day. i gradually cut it down before he went out 2 grass but i still didnt see much difference.

so now that hes bk in after 3months i feel that hes a lot calmer, however when he came back in i started feeding him Baileys Lo-Cal as advised by one of the reps. so whilst he was on that i felt then that he was seriously lacking in energy and was soooo lazy (thats all he was getting apart frm haylage). mind you, he never let one skitsy moment out of him! however, even tho we are doing no comps as yet, in his normal schooling he was sooo laid bk he was nearly horizontal.

soooo...i am now trying a local feed..its called stonebridge and is relatively new. its called calm and condition. i havnt even finished one bag and hes losing quite a lot of weight on it. hes not clipped and his ribs are starting to gradually show which is worrying me cuz i feel that if i carry on with this feed hel turn to skin and bones!

soooo...im thinking of going back to my spillers combination like i had before and im thinking that because he has wised up slightly after being out in the field that it may react better with him.

i would like to keep his feeding simple, i dont want to use any specialised feeds like that lo-cal cus i think its a farce! hes my first horse so im not really familiar with all the feeds out there!

can someone recommend me a good diet??? a lot to ask i nkow but i need help! i would ask a feed rep again but i feel that they would tell you anything just to get you to buy their product!!

i like the sound of alpha-a and all that...and maybe a bit of oil(i have soya already which i havnt used yet) to get his coat nice as it is looking pretty dull at the mo!

so if anyone out there can help me i would really appreciate it!!!

thanks so much!
Carrie

 

[brightmount]

I'm not qualified to give you a complete diet but if you like the sound of Alfa-A, and oil, why not use Alfa-Oil as a base: a lot of people on here really rate it. It should help to build condition without heating him up.

 

[Happytohack]

If you like using Spillers feeds and can get them easily, you should give their nutritionist a ring (helpline will be on their website or feedbags). Conditioning cubes can be heating though and so can any mixes, so you may be better feeding high fibre cubes.

 

[TGM]

Main thing you need to do with a horse that is prone to losing weight is to ensure they have as much good quality hay/haylage as you can get into them. This means that he should have hay/haylage available all the time he is in the stable. The more forage he eats the less hard feed you need and therefore less chance of fizziness.

If you like the idea of using AlfaA and oil, you could use this as his bucket feed with just a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement added (ie something like Equivite Original) and see how he does on that. Suggested amounts to feed are on the bag.

(I should point out that I have heard of some horses becoming fizzy on AlfaA, but I have also heard the same about many other feeds - it is just trial and error with each individual horse. Mine are all fed AlfaA with no fizziness problems.)

 

[Louby]

My friendsTB was always ribby but very highly strung. She now feeds him Alfa A, calm and condition and sugar beet but adds liquid valerian and he looks great. She changed yards to somewhere with good grazing and that helped a lot.
My boy cant handle cool mix or conditioning cubes or sugar beet, he goes very spooky.
Alfa A is a great feed.

 

[summer]

Ditto what TGM said. Can't stress enough how important good quality haylage/hay/grazing can do in the first instance. Have moved yards a while ago and can't believe the difference this has made to my tb who was proving very difficult to get weight and condition on.
Also, keep the diet as high fibre as possible to cut down on fizziness. Alfa A oil as already recommended has been great for me, it provides the same energy content as a coarse mix but as it is low in starch and sugar, isn't heating. Also, when mixed with sugar beet alfa a is even more nutricious. Feed these two with a vit & min supp, along with your hay/haylage and hopefully you'll start to see a difference.

 

[aldato_daz]

[ QUOTE ]
Mine are all fed AlfaA with no fizziness problems.)

[/ QUOTE ]

what else do uou feed along with ur alpha-a??

so all i should feed is the alpa-a and sugar beet and possibly add my soya oil? i would get the alpha-a oil however dont think my local stockist has it so shall just get the alpha-a. is that it? oh and a vit and min supp.

as for my haylage, its good quality at times yes but my YO can be a bit stingy with it...i would normally hav given Al loads of haylage, but he disagrees and thinks i give him far too much! i dont have the option of moving as there are no good yards near me and also dont have the option of buying my own haylage..it just isnt practical!

thanks for the help guys!

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
what else do uou feed along with ur alpha-a??

[/ QUOTE ] My mare and my daughter's pony just get Alfa A with a vitamin/mineral supplement added.

 

[miamibear]

Well i know this might get a bit tedious but i would seriously suggest topspec balancer to start with, It aids muscle retention, my horse came underweight to me and with good forage and this balancer- thats all i have fed he is a different horse.

I would suggest as TGM has said good forage is the key here, ad lib, as much as he will eat, if you find him fizzy on a lot of haylage then change on to a really good quality hay. Remember you have to feed more haylage than hay as it contains more water content so if he is a picky haylage eater, wont eat much it may be a thought to change on to hay so he is getting more fibre in him.

The forage will heat him from the inside out so will help stop the weight loss and put weight on (as long as it is good quality)

I would feed this alongside the balancer - this is non heating and really does help with weight gain - plus it has milti vitamins and minerals in it and a whole host of other things that aid good health including yeassac which aids digestion so the horse is getting more out of everything you feed him. It will help the dull coat too!

I would probably combine this with Alpha A oil, a slow release energy chaff that should aid weight gain. Speedibeet is always a good feed too to aid weight gain without the fizz because it is unmolassed and does put weight on.

Hope that helps

 

[aldato_daz]

hi miamibear...

well u c i was already feeding him something like the top sepc, it was baileys lo-cal and i found him to be really lazy on it...it wasnt giving him any energy at all.

 

[miamibear]

The lo cal is what it says though - lo cal. The topspec has a lot more stuff in it.

Are you wanting to feed for more fizz or more laid back temperament?

Whichever was the case i would be on topspec balancer as a base, you can feed it with whatever feed you like and it will balance the rations out.

At least then you can be sure he is getting all the vit and minerals he needs and sufficient supplement to ensure his body is using the food he is getting correctly

 

[miamibear]

Have a look in the picture gallery at the spot the difference post, thats the difference it made to my horse, thats all he was getting and cr*p grass

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
as for my haylage, its good quality at times yes but my YO can be a bit stingy with it...i would normally hav given Al loads of haylage, but he disagrees and thinks i give him far too much! i dont have the option of moving as there are no good yards near me and also dont have the option of buying my own haylage..it just isnt practical!

[/ QUOTE ] Could you not pay the YO extra to allow you to feed extra haylage? It would work out cheaper than trying to make up the deficit in hard feed.

 

[aldato_daz]

and so with top spec..how much of it do you give? like with the lo-cal, i was giving about 1 and a half coffee mugs twice a day...it looked so stingy for poor Al but thats what i was recommended to give!

could i feed alpha-a along with the top-spec and maybe leave out the speedi beet?

oh and Red looks fab..lovely horse...

this was Al during the summer just gone...he looked brill but the grass was such good quality...now he looks quite tucked in at the stifle (i think thats how i describe where it is) and hes lost all the muscle he had from before the summer...he gained no topline through using that lo-cal even though i was schooling him everyday...i shall take a picture tomorrow and post it so you can have a look and tell me what you think...however i think its hard to tell through photos!

 

[aldato_daz]

oops forgot to put pic in lol...

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
could i feed alpha-a along with the top-spec and maybe leave out the speedi beet?

[/ QUOTE ] Yes you can. You could either feed AlfaA AND speedibeet AND top spec, or you could feed Alfa A and Top Spec on their own. You definitely need to feed something like Alfa A with the balancer as your horse is on limited haylage and has also started to lose weight.

 

[miamibear]

The topspec can be fed alongside whatever you like!

Red is quite a good dooer now so all he gets is a big scoop of Alpha A lite twice a day and his balancer at night. I am going to start feeding speedibeet if he drops any weight as it gets colder because it does bulk the diet out and helps with weight gain.

I know it doesnt look very tasty because its not got any grains in it but Red loves his!

The topspec helps topline too because it has adequate muscle retaining properties, so with work it should start to improve.

The best thing about the diet is it has slow release energy in it so no stupid behaviour but not lazy and puts weight on too.

Many people may have different opinions to me, but thats what i feed mine.

The topspec - i feed 550grams and thats for a 550kg horse, you need to weight tape him and find out how heave he is and base your rations on that. A bag lasts me well over a month

Im not saying this diet is the be all and end all but have faith in the balancer, it does its job, i saw improvement in about 3 weeks maybe slightly less!

xx

 

[aldato_daz]

well..im going to order a bag of that AlphaA oil to see what its like....im not too sure about the topespec..have you any idea how much both of these cost? i never asked the store!
il also get a bag of speedibeet just to get his weight back on!

if i find out how much the topspec is i might consider buying it if i can afford it!!

thanks guys!