struggling to keep weight on :-(

Uraeus

Uraeus

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I find it really difficult to maintain my boys weight during the winter. He does puts weight on then drops it very suddenly. He's no trouble in the summer and his teeth are regularly done (he's nearly 4 so done every 6 months) I'be been reading a lot on feed alternatives and some people do some weird things! Iv heard people giving large buckets of soaked sugar beet and tub trugs of chaff ad lib but this seems strange to me as I was taught to feed small meals little and often.

Last winter he was being fed Alfa a chaff, youngstock mix, sugar beet, boiled barley and a vit min supplement but he had to have 3 feeds a day, was rugged and living in at night. The vet said some horses are just like that, might be because he's young and doing a lot of growing. I fed him as directed by my Bailey's feed nutritionist. Just wondering if there are any secret remedies that you guys do to keep weight on your ponies?
 
My young TB is tricky to keep weight on, he's on Alfa A oil, slobbermash and will go back on micronised linseed when winter hits.

Last winter, I had him on Alfa a oil, speedi beet, rolled oats and linseed and he coped ok.

Plus lots of haylage
 
How well rugged is he? My poor doers are very well rugged, adlib hay and are fed on top spec balancer, top spec conditioning and top spec grass chaff, fingers x'd they do well this year!
 
Another one for micronized linseed here. Its brilliant and I also feed crushed black oil sunflower seeds. They are dead cheap but I crush them because the birds love to make a great big mess of poo by picking out the undigested seeds.

I did do the 'leaving a big bucket of' last year but I think you can only do it if your horse is like mine and eats some and then goes back to it and then eats hay and then goes back to it. She doesn't really bolt it all down at once. I used fast fibre in a big bucket and added some linseed and then shed have it over night in her stable. So shed have a morn and evening feed and of fast fibre and the linseed and then a big bucket left in the stable overnight with a lib hay. We had absolutely no grass though so the horses had ad lib hay in the field as well.

Over the summer I have swapped to thunderbrook and so far shes looking and feeling better than ever on it. You don't need to feed much at all so its quite economical. It will be her first winter on it but if she starts dropping off then I will prob add extra linseed and perhaps some grass nuts as long as she doesn't get footy on them. If your horse does well on grass then that's another option as they are just grass with no other rubbish added to them.

Hope you manage to find something that works for you. I shouldn't worry too much though because your horse is still growing so hes bound to go through spurts that make him look lean.
 
Another recommendation for micronised linseed, my lad stresses weight off but has also had laminitis in the past so I am very careful in what I will feed. He looks fantastic on this.

I had a mare come to me very poor in the winter and I fed her readigrass, speedibeet and adlib haylage, did the job. I would try to feed fibre rather than any of the conditioning type mixes but that's personal opinion.

I feed Pure feeds now which may be worth a look? But I haven't used their conditioning feeds so I couldn't recommend in that respect.
 
I'd go with either soaked grass nuts or readymash extra and alpha a oil, with haylage instead of hay. Copra is good as is micronised linseed.
 
You have my sympathy, I have a poor doer who is also stressy and a fussy feeder and it is horrible. Especially when everyone else is double netting for their fatties.

I found conditioning feeds didn't really work. Adding sunflower oil helped but micronised linseed worked better was less messy and more nutritious.

My I now feed a base of speedibeet, with soaked oats, and a handful of unmollassed chaff then add linseed salt and a hoof suppliment with yea saac for digestion and that works well.

I normally feed two feeds but will up it to three if I anticipate she might drop weight (if stressed or when the weather is cold).

Try to anticipate problems and up the feed before they start to look thin.

Finally and most importantly monitor their hay consumption. Mine can have as much as she will eat but I weigh it to make sure she gets enough.

Even if you think you are feeding ad lib try giving a bit more. I found that my girl always left a bit so I thought she had enough but she left the same amount if I gave her an extra 10lbs.
 
Mine gets ad lib grass and hay, soaked whole oats, veg oil, soya and pro balance plus linseed meal.
He's intolerant of alfalfa. And won't eat speedi beet.
The grass and hay are most important part imho.
 
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