Supplements for horse loosing weight and condition

[siant2]

I was wondering if anybody could recommend any supplements to help weight gain and improve condition

My 16hh TB mare has been unwell with sinus infection since Sept and has been on antibiotics for a long while which im sure is not helping her weight

I was going to ask my vet next week what else I could give her to help gain weight but if anyone has any other ideas

Currently has adlib good quality haylage (of which i weigh and she only eats around 18lbs a day), stabled, rugged, on box rest and is having 2 scoops of alfalfaA, 1 scoop of Speedibeet, 1/2 scoop of conditioning course mix and oil and garlic.

 

[aimeeq94]

how much oil does she have in her feed?
i know if you put too much in, fussy horses will not eat it because of texture, but if she is needing more, you could split her feeds into 2..?
i normally say sugar beet and oil, both of which you are already feeding

hmm... *she thinks*

brains gone dead, xxx

 

[aimeeq94]

ooh, ive also heard of Equivite Bodybuilder, and apparently they are like milk pellets, a friend uses them but i dont know how good they are etc etc..
xxx

 

[RachelB]

NAF Pink Powder. It has a probiotic in it which will help combat the negative effect of the antibiotics on the hindgut, and it is a "balancer" of sorts in that it contains a lot of nutrients so will help top her up where she needs it

 

[Meandtheboys]

I feed my horses DH Safe and Sound with DH Build up.................never have a problem with weight loss over winter. Its a good feed you need at the correct volume that will help you keep weight on your horse, supplements are not always the answer...........

 

[toomanyhorses26]

Top spec conditioning flakes are fab for putting on condition but not making them silly looks like barley when you open the bag but it has very low starch level so doesn't heat the horses up.

 

[KatB]

There is a supplement by a company called Equus Health, its called Winter Glow, Summer shine and is all natural ingredients but is high in oil and digestive stimulants and is meant to be very very good! Also Pre and pro biotics can help

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
supplements are not always the answer...........

[/ QUOTE ] I would normally agree with you, but in this case where the horse has been on long term antibiotics it quite likely that the gut bacteria have been affected, and a probiotic like Pink Powder might be beneficial.

 

[AmyMay]

I wonder if getting her out is the key here. Many, many horses do not do well on long term box rest, and they dissappear before your eyes.

Can you turn her out during the day - with haylage and company?

I personally would knock the garlic on the head, and the mix actually - preferring to feed a cube based diet. And look at ways in which smaller amounts but more often can be fed.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

All i can say is that when my big boy has an awful recurring virus (like ME, Royal vet college were mystified by it), what really helped him was a combination of nuts (not mix) and chaff, pink powder (the MOst important to get his system using the feed and properly working again) and an iron/vit supplement called Visorbin (which he adored as it is sweet and sticky!!).

The pink powder and visorbin were the recommendations of the head equine vet at the RVC so good enough for me! Visorbin you should only need one tub of cos you only use a bit and as he picks up you can stop that. But I would keep him on pink powder for a good while as it is cheap and effective and I still feed it 2 years on.

Both PP and visorbin are available cheaper at online pharmacies, they are not prescription or anything.

NB I did also feed blue chip to my chap cos he was so poor, for about 6 months. And exercise wise he was so hollow and poor at the back end I did regular Pessoa lunging sessions which really helped build him up at the back and that in turn made it more comfy to start using his back end so it was a virtuous circle.

And dont underestimate (as previous post suggests) the power of a good day out to perk up a horse, my horse noticeably accelerated his recovery after being taken out for a good blast at a sponsored ride, I think horses can get depressed and bored just as much as humans

good luck hope this is some help

 

[imafluffybunny]

2 of my horses both improved condition almost overnight on Baileys stud balancer, it contains Yea Sacc and digest Plus prebiotic which are good for the gut.
Whatever you feed i agree a supplement would do your mare good, like above or pink powder as you need to get the gut working properly again then you could maybe feed a conditioning cube with your alpha a?

 

[siant2]

Thanks for all your replies, I m going to try pink powder and that visorbin stuff and may change her over to the conditioning cubes instead of mix.

Unfortunatly she cant go out in the field or be ridden at the moment due to risk of disturbing the bone flap (she has no bone on the front of her skull!!! due to a recent op) but she is going out for walks inhand and inhand grazing as much as possible!

 

[suzysparkle]

I'd say swap the mix for Baileys lo-cal and outshine (and add digest plus which is their prebiotic supplement). I've found this to be the best combination. The outshine is high oil and tremendous for improving condition without frying the brain. The big advantage as well is that it's low quantity. My Horse had really bad skin when I got him and no topline. Now he's got the best shine on his coat no matter where I take him and looks great. This is on 3 mugs lo-cal and 1 of outshine per day - lives out (on the right in my pics and that was taken at the end of winter).

1/2 scoop of mix will not be giving enough so the vits and mins will be out. At 16hh most feeds would require 2 scoops. This is why I like the combination I mention as it limits bulk without lacking any vits&mins.

I'd phone round the feed companies free helpines for more advice. I've always used Baileys as it's worked for the way I keep my Horse and they are great at sending you free samples!! Also, if you do their product quizzes you get prizes...something to do while you can't ride and you learn a lot as well.