Routine and feed change for new horse

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AshTay

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So I've just bought a new horse (very beautiful black 15.3hh Tb x welsh sec D gelding, just turned 6).

Previously he was in at night and out in day (only because that's what all his tb and warmblood companions did). Had a scoop sugar beet, scoop cool mix and some chaff morning and night and three slices of hay overnight.

He'll be living out with me. He's a little stressy and will probably drop weight now he's moved but I'm not sure what to do re-feeding. He's already on the slim side.

I'll be going up once a day (he'll be looked at and checked regularly throughout the day) so could do with him only having one feed a day (obviously if he does prove to be a poor doer in winter he'll come in at night and have breakfast and tea next winter- whatever's best for him). With spring coming I don't want to overload him with calories and for him to suddenly balloon as the grass comes through but I don't want him to turn into a toastrack either as the grass isn't through just yet.

I don't like the idea of giving him 2 scoops of cool mix and 2 of sugar beet in one feed. Have thought about replacing the usual chaff with alfa-a oil or something similar.

Any advice?
 
All depends really, how much grass has he got in the field and how big is the field? also has he any rugs on? has he been clipped? If there is plenty of grass and he's not clipped I would just put hay out at night and one feed a day will be fine of the one scoop amount, no more unless you are riding him a lot. As it's all new to him and you say he's quite stressy (which is very common for a horse with welsh cob in) keep the short feed to a minimum until he settles, think grass and hay for now. Good luck with him.
 
I agree with above. I wouldn't feed much to start with untill you have got to know him a bit and can gauge it a bit more as to what will suit him.

I would make sure he's warm (as he is used to living in he may need an extra rug on overnight) and give him as much hay as he can eat in the field. You may find he puts on weight just living out 24/7 with access to the spring grass coming through and adlib hay.

Feed wise start simple. I would give a scoop of chaff and pony nuts with a vit/min supp, start with that see how he goes for a few weeks and go from there :). At the end of the day it's not going to kill him if he drops off a bit, it's better that then have him popping out his skin with energy while you're getting to know him! With adlib hay and keeping him warm he should be OK anyway :).

He sounds gorgeous!
 
Thank you!

He's not clipped but he doesn't have a hugely thick coat (though my point of reference is my polar bear of a connie x which makes all other coats look thin by comparison). He is rugged. Grass is ok but not great - field is about the size of a football pitch (rubbish at acres) and grazed by three (including mine) but has been empty (well, one old horse on it for a few hours a day) all winter until the other two moved onto it about 3 weeks ago and my new boy on wednesday.

I'm only putting a medium weight on him at the mo as he's spending a fair amount of time being startled by new things and I don't want him to sweat. Haven't put a neck rug on as he has a very thick long mane.
 
Firstly, do you have any pics??? Ohh I love black horses!

Ok, my rising 4 year old warmblood gelding lives out 24/7 and I only go up once a day now, with others checking on him throughout the day. He's in a 5 acre field with plenty of grass (and 2 other ponies). He has hay at night and one feed of calm and condition and chaff.

He is not a good doer but he has been managing fine on this. He's always on the slim side but certaintely not skinny. He's rugged up well and has a bedded down field shelter. He really enjoys his freedom of living out, I'd say it's done him the world of good.
 
Sounds fine, it's pretty warm at the moment anyway a balmy 12 degrees here today!

I usually find my boy drops off if he doesn't eat en
 
Stupid IPhone!

Enough hay I was going to say ;). I don't think 3 sections is that much for a whole night inside at his old place so hopefully he will do better just by being out more with grass coming through and hay ect :)
 
Thank you! I didn't think 3 slices was much either. My old pony gets a big-bale slice per night when he's in and manages to eat pretty much all of that!

Will keep an eye on how warm he is under his rug. No field shelter but plenty of natural shelter in the field.
 
I would keep giving him the feed he's used to for now but if you can't get there to do him in the morning, just give him the one feed in the evening - the same size as he's getting now.

The one thing I'd definately change is his hay - give him MORE! - at least double what he's getting at the moment. This will not only help with the weight but will keep him warm too.

Once he is settled and you can see how he is holding (or not!) his weight you can change his feed accordingly... I'd personally ditch the mix for a cube but continue with chaff and speedi-beet... also make sure he has access to his vits and mins - either in the form of a lick or as a supplement.
 
CBFan - the 3 slices was what his previous owners gave him. He's only just started living out with me and will be in every night for about an hour for feed and hay. There will also be some hay put out in field most nights but they do have grass (he seems to prefer the grass to the hay being put out anyway...). I agree that 3 slices isn't enough overnight. Whenever he's in his stable he'll always have access to ad lib hay.

I'm going to add lo cal balancer when he's settled down (my old pony has it all year round but I've heard of horses going funny on it so need to wait and see how he is "normally" before I add that in).
 
Don't know if this will work...

midnight.jpg
 
Sorry! I wasn't having a go re the hay.. I realise this is the diet he was on before ;)

Looking at the photo I'd say he is in pretty ideal condition for this time of year! and TBH I would want him to stay this shape well into spring... Cutting out one hard feed will do him no harm at all... epecially if he has access to hay most of the time :)
 
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