Talking of Skinny - more feed advice please Zoom looks like a sack of.......

MontyandZoom

MontyandZoom

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Sh*te :( I posted two weeks ago worried about Zoomy losing weight when we lost Monty. I have now practically doubled her feed and upped her hay. She has all of a sudden decided that she doesn't like speedibeet or sugarbeet :mad:!! She also won't eat Alfa A oil :(

I have started her on Pink Powder yesterday (delivery took AGES!).

She is now on:

Brekkie: one round scoop Baileys topline conditioning cubes
half round scoop barley rings
half round scoop high fibre cubes
large handful readigrass

din dins:
the same + mug of balancer and supplements (magnesium, herbal mare, pink powder)

She doesn't seem to have lost any more weight.........just hasn't put any on :(
Should I just persevere with the new feeding regime? She has lots of energy and is well in every other sense. She gets loads of hay and the grass is FINALLY starting to come through. I think the loss of Monty + LONG winter has got to her. She also had her first season which always takes its toll.

Sunday:

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Any suggestions? :(
 
if she is getting ad lib hay etc i'd take out the fibre cubes that are low calorie as she should be getting enough fibre from everything else... and will be bulking out the feed quite a bit...

i'd add outshine - expensive but i've seen it give amazing results to under weight horses
and maybe also add grass nuts...
possibly calm and condition - allen and page?
and maybe split feed into 3?
perhaps not ride for a week or so too to give her a good kick start in weight gain :)
 
Have you thought about Baileys No'1? It is the best thing I have every found for putting weight on and it does not hot them up or anything like that. My old TB used to thrive on it, and when my mare came back after being half starved at a loan home it got weight back on her really well (and quickly).

Good luck with her x
 
Great suggestions! Thanks!! I'm not sure she'll eat the fast fibre since she's being right fussy at the moment, I will try the other baileys and see if that makes a difference.

I too have heard good things about outshine.......a trip to the feed shop is in order. It's very annoying, she's actually always been an ok-doer, Monty was the poor doer. Bloody horses :(
 
I totally agree with posie-honey on the outshine. It's amazing. But introduce it really gradually as it's quite oily, a bag or two of that and I'd be surprised if she isn't back to her normal weight.

Also great call on the pink powder. It gives thier system a boost if they have been through a traumatic experience, which she has.

Have you considered Alpha Beet instead of sugarbeet/speedibeet? Very good for weight gain, but prob tastes quite different to regular beet which might be a positive!

Also, I have just started to give mine Mollychaff Herbal. It's full of lots of wonderful herbs and things (and I think it smells great) and I can't keep my boys off it, they go wild for it above everything else. It might not be a weight gain product but it might stimulate her appetite a bit!? Maybe try adding plenty of carrots too which could have a similar effect.

Mine went off alpha a oil for a while. Once she gets her appetite back it might be worth reintroducing to speed up the weight gain. It worked great for mine - he now gets about half a bucket full to munch on overnight along with his haylage and gobbles the lot.

I didn't have any luck with allen and page calm and condition - but each horse is different so it may work for your girl. It's a nice natural brand, I wish it worked for mine!

Finally lots of people swear by adding regular corn oil from the supermarket into the feed - might be worth a try gradually introducing a tiny amount and building up once she's used to the taste - thought personally I think if she's feeling picky she might not go for it.

So sad, poor girl, sounds like she's just pining. Makes me well up thinking about it so give her a cuddle from me!! Hope you're doing ok to.
 
i also have a fussy horse btw - wont eat soaked feed or mixes - just picks at them - but she likes outshine :) not that she'll ever get it - i jsut tried a sample on her - she's a fatty :o
 
Thanks hun :) I'm not too worried since there's nothing like a bit of spring grass to perk them up. We're both still feeling sad but it is now sponsored ride season which is our favourite time of the year!!

Cleaned Monty's tack last night which upset me alot. Luckily everyone at the field has been sneaking Zoomy extra bananas to cheer her up. She is being spoilt!
 
I used to feed Top Spec super conditioning mix to my 'hard to keep weight on' boy... he was very picky but you didn't need to feed much... it had lots of pretty coloured bits in though (!!!) so not sure whether it would cook her brain, although I never found it did....
 
I have my TB on A&P fast fibre porridge, Baileys topline conditioning cubes and Alfa A, and karron oil, and he's done well this winter.

I think it's natural that horses mourn for their mates. The good thing, is that the grass is on its way and (hopefully) the warmer weather. Does she have any other horses for company, or is she alone now?

TBH your mare doesn't look too bad. I've seen lots in a similar condition at the moment. Obviously you don't want her dropping any more, but the spring grass is on your side!
 
She looks ok you know... I didnt think she looked bad atall on Sunday.... and in a few weeks you will be complaining that she is too fat.. when the grass comes up.

My pony is fully clipped and out 24/7 he is not struggling he is well rugged as is Zoomy its just that time of year I think they all look a bit Sh** then may/june start to turn from ugly duckling to swan!!
 
My ex-polo TB loses weight in the blink of an eye too and I have him on the D&H build up mix. Last year I changed him over to baileys no 4 and outshine as I was told by several people he would do much better on those, in fact it had the opposite effect and he dropped weight even quicker than normal. From my experience with outshine, I think its an expensive waste of money. He lost weight and condition and even his bright orange shine. His coat went really dull looking. I have now put him back on veggie oil and he's thriving off that, he has about 3/4 of a mug a day.

Will Zoomy have oil in her food? Also agree with who posted earlier about molly chaff herbal, I feed it to my little ones and they adore it. Its also been great for any of the fussy eaters or those that had gone off their food in the past as it smells fantastic and I pay about £5 for a 15kg bag.
 
abercrombie&titch said:
I used to feed Top Spec super conditioning mix to my 'hard to keep weight on' boy... he was very picky but you didn't need to feed much... it had lots of pretty coloured bits in though (!!!) so not sure whether it would cook her brain, although I never found it did....
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Monty did very well on Topspec flakes but I am a bit worried about the Fizz factor

Misinterpreted said:
I think it's natural that horses mourn for their mates. The good thing, is that the grass is on its way and (hopefully) the warmer weather. Does she have any other horses for company, or is she alone now?
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She is out with 21 others so plenty of others.

amymay said:
I suspect she is struggling being out 24/7 and clipped out.

You need to get her in overnight, imo.
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I agree to a point, however she has been fully clipped and out since October and has only dropped weight very recently. She was out through all the snow and was absolutely fine.

She may gain weight if she was in at night, however I would have to factor in the fact that she would have to be moved to a different livery, which would take time to find a place, and would upset her. I do think most of it is to do with be upset so not sure I want to move her and upset her more. She could go back up to the stables we have but that would mean taking her away from the others and she'd have to be up there all the time.

Hmmmm.......I will be moving her somewhere in the next 6 months due to not having the Monty factor (he would NOT live in ever!!). Hmmmm.....what to do :(
 
Hiya - sounds like your using the right feeds but horses should be fed little and often not loads twice a day - i would split feed into 3-4 meals a day at regular intervals and would be bringing in overnight with plenty of hay or haylage aswell.
I hope that helps - my mums stud yard feeds 4 times a day at regular intervals and their horses are always in top condition. Mine on the other hand fluctuate in weight and condition and i can only feed twice a day like you. The problem for me is that i work and dont have services at my yard - but if you have someone that can help - little and often is the way forward x good luck :)
 
I agree to a point, however she has been fully clipped and out since October and has only dropped weight very recently. She was out through all the snow and was absolutely fine.
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But that's almost an irrelevance - she is not doing so well now. The snow will have buggered absolutely any grazing that existed. It has been wet and cold since then, and your horse is fully clipped out.

You can pile as much food in to her as you like. But a fully clipped out horse that is having to use all their energy to keep warm will not put weight on.

Sorry to be so blunt - but the logical answer is stable her.


its just that time of year I think they all look a bit Sh**
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My horse certainly doesn't - nor does anything on my yard. And unless a horse is ill or poorly managed, there is no reason why it should look like sh** as you put it, Tedster.
 
amymay said:
Sorry to be so blunt - but the logical answer is stable her.
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But if you read M&Z's post you would have seen that she will have to look for a new yard as she doesnt currently have a stable. This in turn will mean taking her away from all her friends that she currently has and given what she has just been through would probably upset her even more and make her loose more weight.

M&Z I think your doing a fine job of looking after her, you know her best after all. Personally I dont think she looks that bad, mine who isnt clipped and has lived in over winter looked worse than her a few weeks ago, but now that they grass is coming through and he's back to his old diet, he's looking much better already. Keep up the good work!
 
posie_honey said:
if she is getting ad lib hay etc i'd take out the fibre cubes that are low calorie as she should be getting enough fibre from everything else... and will be bulking out the feed quite a bit...

i'd add outshine - expensive but i've seen it give amazing results to under weight horses
and maybe also add grass nuts...
possibly calm and condition - allen and page?
and maybe split feed into 3?
perhaps not ride for a week or so too to give her a good kick start in weight gain :)
Click to expand...

I completely swear by outshine, I ummed and aahed about whether to put my TB on it, in the end I thought sod it it's worth a try as he couldn't afford to lose any weight over winter, I only used one bag of the stuff, he packed weight on and looks great now, he's got a lovely shine to his coat and I have had to cut his hard feed right down, he now only gets a total of 1 scoop conditioning mix, 1 scoop alfa a oil split between two feeds along with a linseed and mineral supplement since he isn't getting the recommended amount of feed anymore, carrots, the odd apple and about half a scoop of pony nuts in his treat ball. He is also on haylage, plenty of it. I did put him on pink powder for a month too before feeding the outshine, I've tried most things. You can see Toby in the blog on my signature :-)
 
But if you read M&Z's post you would have seen that she will have to look for a new yard as she doesnt currently have a stable. This in turn will mean taking her away from all her friends that she currently has and given what she has just been through would probably upset her even more and make her loose more weight.

M&Z I think your doing a fine job of looking after her, you know her best after all.
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I think horses cope with change far better than we give them credit for.

And I am not insinuating for one minute that M&Z is not looking after her - just that obviously the mare is not doing well under the present management regime.
 
I have a stress head, it has taken him a while to settle. I fed him 3 times a day from October to Feb and I have to wet his feed he won't eat his food dry but licks the bowl clean if I've wet it and stirred it up (fussy bu**er). When I first got him I put him on topspec fibre plus cubes because he hadn't had any forage for a long time and to get him to eat it I had to mix a handful of nice flavoured chop in or some bits of carrot.

Coolstance is a fantastic feed for weight gain but I would get a sample to try, Toby threw his bowl when I tried to feed him it.
 
No worries AmyMay - no offence taken!! If she was doing well on the current regime, I wouldn't be asking for help!

I'm sure she would adjust to the move fairly quickly, but I don't think it is the right thing for her just at the minute. She has lived not just out, but out in a big herd for the last 7 years and for 3 of those wasn't even fed or handled daily (before I had her!) so i think it would be too much change for her to cope with given her skinny condition.

I think I will give the outshine a go. It is expensive but I don't mind at the moment, would sooner be skint and have a fat horse!

Thanks for all the advice.
 
MontyandZoom said:
No worries AmyMay - no offence taken!! If she was doing well on the current regime, I wouldn't be asking for help!

I'm sure she would adjust to the move fairly quickly, but I don't think it is the right thing for her just at the minute. She has lived not just out, but out in a big herd for the last 7 years and for 3 of those wasn't even fed or handled daily (before I had her!) so i think it would be too much change for her to cope with given her skinny condition.

I think I will give the outshine a go. It is expensive but I don't mind at the moment, would sooner be skint and have a fat horse!

Thanks for all the advice.
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With the spring grass coming you will probably only need a bag, I started by putting a small handful in Toby's feed and increased to 2/3 to 1 scoop split between his feeds per day. You can get smaller tubs of it now for around £15, it might be worth getting one just incase she won't eat it. I don't think she looks that bad though and has done well given the awful winter we have had and her situation. You know her so by all means take on others advice then use it along with your judgement to come to your own decision. I find that in the equine world everyone knows best lol when really we can only tell you of our own opinions and of our own experiences and lets face it each horse is different :-)
 
Thanks hun. I will try and get a smaller tub. She is actually not as bad as she looks in the pics - Tedster rode with me on Sunday at Halton hence the fact she said she looked fine. It's just those ribs coupled with an very odd angle! I'm just not happy with the fact her feed has gone up so much and she's still not gaining.

This is us at Halton 4 hours later:

http://www.ultimate-images.co.uk/cg...45 brush and Laurel/Jump 44-45-1420-1445;i=36

I think stabling is something to think about for next winter, it was only Mr Monty holding me back.......but for now i think it would be too much.
 
[



My horse certainly doesn't - nor does anything on my yard. And unless a horse is ill or poorly managed, there is no reason why it should look like sh** as you put it, Tedster.[/QUOTE]


I hate the way horses that live out look at this time of year by looking sh** I mean the coats are being lost so moulting (unless clipped), they are muddy and everything a bit dull like the weather.. no horse that lives out is going to look like they do in summer(I dont mean weight wise) I think u took my meaning wrong by sh** I didnt mean poor.. I have seen Zoom in the flesh she doesnt look bad at all I think her Mummy is being over protective lol She may have dropped a bit because of being stressed at the loss of Monty. All my horse look good weight wise but I like the summer look best sleek and shiny :)
 
Feeding is a minefield isn't it, I didn't know where to start when I took him in, he's my first horse!

I can take photos of Tobes from bad angles that make him look awful, her bum is more rounded than his.

Just wanted to add: Good advice that I did receive was to keep feeding as simple as possible, it might be worth trying to feed 3 scoops conditioning cubes split in 2 or 3 feeds instead of the other stuff, I think 3 scoops is roughly the recommended amount to ensure they are getting everything from their feeds but they all vary. If she's getting enough forage I'd also be tempted to remove the fibre feed, just my opinion. I can't feed the conditioning cubes, he won't eat them so I have to feed mix, but he will eat horse and pony nuts in his ball :-S
 
amymay said:
Lovely photo - your both clearly enjoying yourself :D
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Zoomy really lives for sponsored rides. She just loves all the excitement and jumping! She was a real star on Sunday, my parents came to watch - first time they've seen us jump and fourth time dad's seen me on a horse and Zoom really showed off over the big jumps.

Loves my pony :D
 
tedster said:
[
I have seen Zoom in the flesh she doesnt look bad at all I think her Mummy is being over protective lol She may have dropped a bit because of being stressed at the loss of Monty.
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Thanks hun - she is doing a wierd donkey impression which is making her look worse. My friend put them on facebook and, even though in the rest she looks fine I just saw these two and thought - Jeeez she's skinny!! I can't help being a worrier!! It's wierd though, as you will testify Tedster, alot of people at my field don't give a **** about their horses and don't come once a day, let alone twice or three times!!

Sods law means their horses are constantly fat with no health problems and I've got a skinny-mini and a direct debit to the vets!!
 
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