sorry - another 'how to put weight on' feed question!

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Jericho

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or how to get my horse to eat more!!

Having a real dilemma with my boy. I bought him 3 months ago and he seemed a bit underweight when I got him so started the process of getting some weight on him. Had his teeth checked, wormed etc and started feeding him lots - he is out 24/7, rugged with open stable, adlib hay and was feeding him 2 feeds a day of Alpha Oil, baileys no 4 and sugarbeet about scoop of each plus corn oil and feedbalanced and joint supplement.

He is a TB x, 11 yrs old and only hacked out once a week. He has a lovely shine on coat but wasnt putting weight on. Had a rethink, changed hay to hayledge and really wanted to cut down the amount of hard feed / cereals as he doesnt need it but he needs calories / fat!!

I think the problem is that unlike all those wonderful natives he doesnt seem to be a great eater and is totally unmotivated by food - i.e. he eats what he needs and as he is out 24/7 never seems fussed about his hard food to the point he often leaves it. Same with haylage, eats some but usually wanders off to pick at the grass. I just cannot get him to eat more!!!!

So I need to pack as much calories into what he is feed in a small amount of volume as possible (ideally without blowing his mind) - any ideas? He doesnt seem to like oil in any form.
Idid recently bought a 3kg of Outshine thinking that would be the miracle but thats going to be used up in about a week and it cost £14 so long term not really a viable option.

I dont really want to bring him over night because he is a bit of fretter/ happier when out and slightly arthiritic and it would be extra work / cost (as I would have to bring all 3 horses in)

So any ideas gratefully appreciated? ( I guess I do also need to consider that 1) he may just be an angular type TBxID and 2) that he may have something wrong with him that I need to pursue with a vet but as nothing is majorly wrong then I am a little reluctant to start a whole barrage of tests.....
 
I fed my horse a iron/vit supplement as it is meant to stimulate appitite(red cell/equi red etc) and gradully it picked up I also feed top spec conditioning flakes which he has done well on . Another thing that has helped although it has been a pain at times is to feed lots of different types of things so they don't get over faced as such. Mine has a breakfast with one slice of hayledge which he will normally finish . He then goes out in the field all day , when e comes in he gets a dinner of alfa a instant energy mix,top spec,oats and his supplements which he won't eat all at once but will be gone by the morning,a bucket of redi grass,sugar beet,hi fibre cubes all soaked together, a brick and then a net of 2 sections of hay and one of hayledge. When I have just given him 1/2 bale of hay he will pick at it and then just leave the rest where as he will clear most of this . My horse used to race so I think some of it is previuos habit . In the past alot of his feed would have been bucket /cereal based so he is happier eating from a bucket When I firstgot him he looked in amazement when I tried to feed him hay!! also rughim really well - mine lives in his taka most of the year but I find when I drop him down to a normal necked rug he stops grazing and gate hangs. Hope you get to the bottom of it and he starts putting on weight soon.
 
I've used Alfabeet with my older mare who struggles to maintain weight in winter - YO is also using it with her old hatrack (bless him) along with Spillers Senior Conditioning Mix and Alfa A Oil and he's looking as well as I've seen him look in winter. Last year my mare was out of work so slightly reduced the quantities I gave her (she was also on box rest), however, she maintained her weight well and was totally chilled out still. I now have my youngster on it (one small scoop a day) - he seems to love it and has a little more bounce but still under control. It also seems to last a really long time - think YO said it last 5 weeks for her with two on it.

x
 
My TB ex-racer was really reluctant to eat all his feed when I first got him - tried all different combinations of feed. Then tried cider vinegar which is supposed to encourage appetite - and it works! Best of all its cheap - you can get it in feed stores but could try a bottle for less than a pound from the supermarket to see if he likes it?

Might be worth a try....
 
First of all, you really need to check that he is actually underweight, rather than just having angular conformation - ideally you want to be able to feel his ribs easily but not actually see them.

Secondly, get some bloods done - it is not usually that expensive and loss of appetite and problems maintaining weight can be linked to liver problems, so you want to eliminate that before you change his diet.

I would cut out the Alfa A Oil as although alfafa is a great feed, it is a little bitter which could put off a fussy horse and cut out the oil if he doesn't like it because you will just be wasting the rest of the food it is mixed with. To start with, try giving him his feed separately, rather than mixed together to see what he likes best - so give him sugar beet in one bucket, Baileys No 4 in another one, etc. If molassed sugar beet doesn't blow his brains then I would feed that as it will be tastier for him, if it does then opt for an unmollassed beet such as Speedibeet. Beet is a great conditioning feed because it contains about 12.4 MJDE/kg which is similar to most conditioning mixes/cubes, it is cereal-free, most horses seem to love it and it is quite inexpensive, especially if you buy the pelleted form. The only trouble is that because it is soaked before feeding you can underestimate how much to feed - I would suggest you weigh before soaking, and gradually increase the amount of beet fed to about 1kg a day, if he will eat it. Three feeds a day will be better than two if you can manage it.

If once you have cut out the Alfa A Oil and the oil you find he is happy to eat his full ration of sugar beet and Baileys No 4, I would keep him on that if it suits him. If you are feeding the manufacturers recommended amount of the No 4, then you don't need to feed a balancer as well. Alternatively, you could cut out the No 4 and feed a balancer - depends which one he likes best!

Another thought is, when you feed him, do you bring him out of the field away from the other ponies? Because some horses stress in that situation and don't eat all their ration because they are anxious to get back to their friends.
 
Thanks everyone - some good advice in there, espec TGM

Didnt realise that AA Oil was bitter and usually it is the bulky bits of that which he leaves. he seems to like sugar beet so will up that based on dry wieght and use with a balancer I think as am not convinced that any of the 'conditioning' feeds make much difference.

Very good point re: the seperation and I have been experimenting with this a bit, he is much happier when fed near the others (as in right next to the fence). If I feed him in the yard but he can still see the others literally 25 metres away !) he will start snatching a mouthful and walk back and forwards between them. Same if I tie him up or put him in stable where he can still seem them - snatches food and head up, food spraying everywhere. (whole different new issue - he has to be able to see both the other ponies at all times otherwise he frets .. and it is getting worse!!)

Was aiming to get the vet to give him a full MOT when his jabs are due in a month so will get bloods done anyway - just to be sure.
 
Hi there,

Just reading through your posts and replies.
I have a 32yr old mare who now, due to disappearing teeth, struggles to keep weight and condition.

I've opted for a high fibre diet as too be honest its soft feed and grass that keeps her going. She still manages a section of hay a night but her ability to chew/digest isn't great. Hay does have a higher calorific value than haylage.

So.... she now has three meals a day consisting of Mollichaff show shine (she finds it v tasty where as before she would only pick at the Alfa A, its also low in sugar and has higher oil content), Pegasus Fibre Cubes (spillers pegasus cubes which is their value range but same content as fibre cubes but a lot cheaper) and Fibrebeet. I make sure her meals are soft and that the cubes are expanded before feeding her. This way she doesn't have to chew for long and as the feed is already broken down its better for her digestion and weight gain.

I can happily say she has kept her weight since the summer, in fact she has put on a bit, not a rib in site and its working out a lot better on the pocket this winter. There is just so much choice out there now when it comes to feed, can be quiet mind blowing.

Hope your boy puts on a few pounds soon, good luck.
 
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