Skinny TB getting there but stills needs more weight *photos*

[Saxon_Jasmine]

Hi,

I posted a while back about changing my TB's feed from Simple Systems to something else, as she wasn't gaining anything from SS.

We changed her feed to:
2 1/2 scoop alfa a oil, 1 scoop-ish of soaked speedi beet, GP supplement, nettles, mint and seaweed. She has this twice a day, she is on day time turn out on good quality grass and has ad lib hay and a scoop of hifi at night

I'm pleased to say she has gained weight, but.....

We are feeding her so much in each feed which
a) takes her 1hr to eat (I've got Uni lectures to go to!)
b) I'm sure she can't be utalising it all

So... I now need to lessen the alfa a oil, up the oil, add add something else.

Any ideas?

I was thinking possibly equi jewel, blue chip origional or pro, or outshine. What do you think? (Also, it needs to be minimal starch and sugar)

2 weeks ago:

 

[Millyard Rejects]

There are some good balancers on the market at the moment so id have good look at them if you get chance.
The alfa a will be keeping her busy munching so not totally a bad thing! but not handy if you need to keep an eye on her to see she is eating ok and you have to rush to lectures etc.
How old is she and is she rugged at night?
my tbs always had a basic mix which i added oils and their supplements in. I also still feed the tbs haylage- i know its pricey but they digest it way better and theres very little waste!
but if shes gaining the weight u want her to then your not doing anything wrong!

 

[kirstyl]

Is this 1 feed a day? If so, try to split feeds into at least two or three meals in day. My horse (who was emaciated when I bought him) gained weight well but at a sensible rate on Spillers conditioning cubes, alpha a oil, sugar beet and pink powder. Now he has gained the weight and is looking good and maintaining the weight I have been able to reduce his feed to spillers h+ p cubes, alpha a and just started with sugar beet again. Really feel that breaking feed up into smaller more digestable feeds helps. My horse also has adlib hay when stabled which keeps him occupied and seems to help with weight gain. Ask feed companies for assistance!

 

[Saxon_Jasmine]

She is fed the above twice a day. I can't feed 3 times a day as I have lectures. She will have haylage as of Monday (the yard gives hay during the summer then haylage over the winter).

I have spoken to all the feed companies and am happy with the advise and what I feed her.

What I wanted to know was whether to add Outshine, EquiJewel or Blue Chip. I like sound of all of them so wanted to know what other people think of them.

Thanks.

 

[kirstyl]

Sorry, should have read more! See you are feeding this twice a day! If you are feeding adlib hay(lage) you shouldn't need to feed this amount of alpha a. No wonder taking a long time to eat! I feed a level scoop of alpha a twice a day with horse and pony cubes (half scoop twice a day at mo - will prob up to 1 scoop twice a day as weather and grass deteriorate). I found the oil made a big difference to condition

 

[zoon]

If you are after weight gain, I'd go with outshine as it has a higher DE (24MJ/kg) than equijewel (15MJ/kg). If you want to maintain her weight, I'd pop her on Bluechip and stop using the general supplement. If you want soemthing that'll do the saem job as equijewel/outshine, but cheaper - go for micronised linseed

 

[Saxon_Jasmine]

Ooo I hadn't thought of linseed; it looks perfect. Thank you! I think I am going to go with less alfa a, keep the speedi beet and herbs, then add blue chip pro and linseed.

 

[S_N]

from personal esperience with 50+ horses being prepped for the sales, I would use D&H's new Build and Glow over Outshine. essentially the smae product, but cheaper and more effective and really doesn't affect their temps (we were feeding TB's).

i would feed her Alfabeet and build & glow. or maybe allen & page's fast fibre, if she doesn't like the alphabeet.

It's worth contacting the feed companies to get camples of feeds, in case she turns her nose up. Some horses won't touch aplhabeet, others think it's the bees knees, or like my mare, won't eat alphabeet unless pregnant or living out in a herd.