Skinny horse!!!

4faults

4faults

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Hi everyone just wanting to pick your brains.

My horse was gelded in April when he had just turned 4 and has lost a LOT of weight, hes currently having only light work, is out in the field most of the time and has 3 feeds a day of bran, Baileys top line conditioning mix and Alfa A oil. I have been assured that he will pick up again but I feel so sorry for him and like I could be doing more for him.

Does anyone have any experience of this or can anyone recommend anything to do or a diffeent feed?

Thanks guys
 
How come he's on bran? I am not a fan of bran in general unless needed for short term medical reasons. How much hay and grazing does he have access to? I would give him ad lib hay/grazing if possible as this should help with putting weight back on.
 
Another one here who wouldn't be feeding him bran!

Sod the money, I'd also be getting the vet out!! Losing weight since being gelded, and also since the turn of Spring, is concerning! Has been been on a good worming regime?
 
As I said vet has been out(last week) and said to wait and see, I just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this.
Can you recommend what else I could be feeding him? He is out grazing from 8am till 6pm everyday, will bring him in when its really hot though as field isn't well sheltered.
If he's in he has constant access to good quality hay.
He is also currently having a growth spurt his bum is 17h and his withers are lower and I don't think that's helping
 
When I bought second horse her feed was similiar and I found bran/mids passed straight through her.I changed her over to calm and condition and she looks fab now. Maybe bran is making digestive sytem go into overload.Just a thought .:rolleyes:
 
The feed you currently give him is along the right lines (minus the bran of course!) How much of it does he get (how many kilos?) What is the grazing like in his field? Does he have shelter from flies (as these can distract him from eating/make him loose weight by trying to avoid them). Is the field free of all poisonous plants as sometimes sudden weight loss can be due to these.

Also is he on a good worming plan and have his teeth been checked recently?

Edited to add, flaked maize is very heating and also high in starch so not ideal really, should never feed more than 1/4 of a meal as maize.
 
Will remove bran, sounds like a very good idea, tried sugarbeet it went straight through him gave him very runny poo he's been off it for roughly 2 weeks now.
He was wormed a month ago when moving onto new yard with Equimax. His teeth are getting done next week as this was what I though of next.

Have just de-ragworted his paddock but due to the weather we have been having the grazing is not great so he has been having hay out there and getting handgrazed on quite lush grass twice a day for 1\2 an hour too scared of lami to do anymore haha.
His paddock is not well protected which I have spoken to the yard owner about along with some other liveries and we are grouping together to get a field shelter put in. He does go out in full fly protection.
I'm at a loss really, someone recommended allen and paige calm and condition but said it was quite stodgy?
I was thinking something like outshine or blue chip but have never tried them before?
 
It sounds like you're feeding enough, seems confusing that he has lost some... Why don't you post some pics for a general opinion? If he doesn't look starved I wouldn't worry too much though.
 
He is the horse in my avatar. I know he's only a baby and still needs to fill out just feel like I could be helping him. A lot of people have said they drop weight after gelding but I am starting to get worried. Vet said give him time and is coming back out in 3 weeks, if no improvement he will take bloods.
Has anyone used bluechip or outshine before? Any good results?
 
I mean a picture of him now after losing weight? I use outshine and it's very good, in conjunction with top line conditioning cubes or racehorse cubes and stud balancer all from baileys. I don't know how much you're feeding but they shouldn't have more than 2 round scoops in any meal as they cannot digest it. Why not try a prebiotic? I use digest plus (also baileys- sorry) if any of mine drop off or have loose droppings.
 
That pic is from a couple of weeks ago, he has only lost a touch more since then, will get fresh pics tomorrow to show.

I am a definite advocate of baileys feeds so will try both of them. Its possible he's just a baby having a spurt and I'm overreacting, I really hope so
 
Bran is a non residual(sp) food, normally used as a laxative, it does not stay in the gut for any length of time, so it evacuates the good food that you are feeding, which can lead to lack of calcium and nutrition. It should be only fed for medicinal purposes.
 
Take him off the bran and DON'T change anything else for now (at least a month) and see how he goes. if no better i would try changing the mix for a conditioning cube or balancer.

have you tried speedi beet? you might find he takes to that better than sugarbeet? I find I only have to feed a tiny amount for it to make a difference to my boy (a dry cup a day)
 
Will remove bran tomorrow and will give speedi beet a try, hopefully after his teeth are done he will pick up, hes also having his back done next week and his feet(a full service haha). I will let you all know how he gets on, thanks for the helpful suggestions guys :)
 
Allen and page's Fast Fibre is great for getting some weight on them without all the sugar etc.
My yearling often leans out a little bit during a big growth spurt but not to the point of concern.
Hope your fella is ok and it is just a growing matter.
 
Ooo will have a look on the website at it now.
Thanks, I really hope its just me overreacting, think you cant help it when its your baby. :o
 
I swear by the stuff. Kept weight on my old boy and helped my yearling gain weight as he was alittle skinny when I got him. All this living out during those many weeks of snow!
Every horse is different but always heard great feedback from those who have used it. O and the horses luv it!:D
Let us know how you get on.
 
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pastie2 said:
Bran is a non residual(sp) food, normally used as a laxative, it does not stay in the gut for any length of time, so it evacuates the good food that you are feeding, which can lead to lack of calcium and nutrition. It should be only fed for medicinal purposes.
Click to expand...

You are right about the calcium, but the reason is that bran is overly high in phosphorous which blocks the uptake of calcium - for this reason bran should never be fed to growing and/or pregnant horses, it can cause serious problems.

Old fashioned broad bran (like hens teeth now) was actually a good source of fibre and is an old showmans way of putting condition on horses, as long as it is fed with a high calcium feed (beet or alfa or even limestone flour) it generally causes no problems.

However, in this case, as the horse is still growing, bran is not a good idea.
 
Thank you Sirena I didn't know that, will def take him off it tomorrow. It was suggested by someone supposedly 'in the know' haha :-)
Great advice guys, will get pics tomorrow
 
Barley rings are great for putting condition on (although if intolerant may turn him into a nutter !!) - also soya oil or vegetable oil added to feed.

Old Addage of little and often - split meals into 4/5 small meals a day and ad lib forage.

Also - are there any mares in fields near him as they may still be sending him into a frenzy as it take a little while for the testostorone to get out of his system and he may still have stallion like tendencies for a while yet !!
 
I have a very similar situation, my 3 year old was gelded recently and he was very "lean" following that.

I have been feeding him Baileys Topline conditioning cubes plus Dengie Alfa original damped down with a trickle of water and also Ad Lib hay, plus grazing 2-22 hours 7 days a week.

In the space of less that 3 weeks he has clearly and noticably put on plenty of weight and has a neck now. I can compare photos of him 2.5 weeks ago to now as see a reall difference.

2 things strike me about you lad...Has he been wormed lately?...for everything? and I was always told it is better to build horses with fibre rather than straights...perhaps add some readygrass instead of the bran, or alf alfa (very high in calcium), or Spillers do a conditioning fibre too...make sure he is never without hay too.
 
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You have just de-ragworted his paddock - so he has been out with it growing freely in his grazing? And his grazing is poor? Sorry, I might be jumping to conclusions here, but might he have been eating it?

How big is he? Is there any chance you aren't feeding enough? The only other thing which strikes me is at his age he has had a few years of testosterone zooming about in his system. Could he be suffering withdrawal symptoms (for want of a better analogy)?
 
I have just been advised by vet to add vegetable oil to my skinny tb's feed. Gradually building up to 500ml per day.
 
He currently has ad lib hay, has been wormed recently and has soya oil odded to his feeds already.
No he has not been eating ragwort, field is done routinely every few weeks there were only 2 plants in there.
Grazing is not good because of the weather we have been having he is having hay in there and is well away from the mares.
He is stabled by mares and is very interested in them still so I think this may be a factor as you said tangosmum and brighteyes.
 
some horses do drop back after being gelded. What did your vet say when he came out to check him? also echoing what somebody else said what is your grazing like? if it isnt very good does your horse have access to good forage/hay/haylage? I can thoroughly recommend ready mash for putting on weight and its very palatable. I hope this helps and look forward to an update.
 
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