TB - Is she too ribby?

ellie11987

ellie11987

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Just want some opinions on my 6yo tb.

Do you think she's too ribby? I'm finding it hard to cover her ribs with any sort of fat or muscle. She is currently on box rest and not been worked in just over 2 weeks and seems to have lost a little bit of muscle around her ribs, with winter coming up how can I cover them? A lady on my yard has told me the only thing that will cover a tbs ribs is muscle so I should work her hard.

She's currently on good quality ad lib hayledge and feed 2x a day of chaff, barley plus, calm and condition, seaweed and just put her on vegetable oil.

She had just had a clear worm count so can't be that. Just seems to be lacking in condition in that area.

Thanks :)

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I personally would want more weight on her going into Winter. Have you tried micronised linseed? Excellent for putting weight on, the veggie oil should help too.

Editing to say, that my boy didn't so well last year but he's on D&H build up conditioning cubes, Mollichaff extra, veggie oil and ablib haylage now and is looking really good - might be worth experimenting with different feeds to see which works best.
 
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Yes, she is. The images suggest to me and in my opinion, that perhaps she needs more rugging to keep her warm as thats one heck of a winter coat already for a TB. Cup of veg oil in feed will boost calorie intake and I'd move onto Baileys conditioning cubes. Hth's.
 
Honestly ... I think she could look better. Not just ribs, but over whole topline and in her coat.

Your friend is right, work is the key but this must be correct work and alongside good feeding - it doesn't happen overnight either.
 
I'd want more condition on, but all over, not just her ribs.

I'd be long reining and doing polework to build her up before working her too much under saddle personally.
 
Thanks for your replies. She is a very big poor dooer. I'll get her in a medium tonight then and fleece during the day. To be honest these are quite poor pictures I'll see if I can get better ones tonight.
 
Tbh yes she needs more cover plus her dull coat suggests she's not getting all she needs. I would add linseedto her feed plus a good vit supplement like equimins advance complete.
 
She does look a little light to me, considering we are heading into winter and it is likely that she will drop more weight.

However, I note that she is currently on box rest so you will have to be cautious what you feed her, as you could cause a lot of problems giving her cereal-based feed if she is not getting turnout or exercise. I would drop the Barley Plus immediately and definitely not use the suggestions of Bailey's Topline Cubes or D&H Build Up Cubes until she comes off box rest.

Might be worth feeding her something containing a probiotic yeast (Yea-Sacc, Pink Powder, a balancer) to ensure her gut is able to make the most of the haylage she is eating, particularly if she has been on any drug treatment at all as this can disrupt the gut bacteria.
 
get the rugs on her, only way really as youve already explained shes on box rest etc. In all honesty considering shes had time off she seems to have held her muscle pretty well. And youre feeding all the right stuff. If it helps im struggling to get weight on my boy (7yo wbX) he is in moderate work, got some good topline but again struggling with covering his ribs! He is double rugged at night (combo fleece+combo heavy weight) and just the heavy weight in the day. the couple on nights where it has been down to 2/3 degrees he has had a 350grm under rug on too! he is fed 2 kilos sugarbeet, 1 kg chaff, 1 kilo spillers reponse comp food and 200ml oil per day, a balancer and has adlib haylage. You could try sugar beet with yours mebbe?
 
Another vote for micronised linseed, put my skinny boy on it and I can see my face in his coat he so shiny, and he really put the weight on

I bought a £27 bag two months ago and still only half gone. He getting two cups a day
 
ellie11987 said:
Fleece at night if under 12 degrees, light/medium stable rug if under 7. Nothing in day unless under 12.
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You may find by upping her rugs that it'll help with her weight, try it and see how you go. Is she warm when you see her? Personally, I would put a medium weight on during the day and stable rug over night but it really depends on the individual horse so just have a play and see what works for her.
 
BillyBob-Sleigh said:
You may find by upping her rugs that it'll help with her weight, try it and see how you go. Is she warm when you see her? Personally, I would put a medium weight on during the day and stable rug over night but it really depends on the individual horse so just have a play and see what works for her.
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I'll try it :) She feels just right when I see her in the morning but who knows in the middle of the night? She does get a patch of sweat on her shoulder as she gets a bit emotional about other horses being fed before her :p
 
Agree with some of the other posts on here that she looks like she is lacking a little all over and could do with a bit of a health kick.

I had to double check she wasnt my old mare as she looks just like her!

I have a TB who arrived in a worse state earlier in the year, it is possible to get them looking bette!!

If she were mine i'd be feeding:
miconised linseed (1 mug twice daily - maybe more to start)
calm and condidition at least 1/2 round scoop twice a day
some sort of complete chaff mix with vits in it
additional vitamin supplement.
as much good quality hay / haylage as she can eat

I'd also look at extra rugs. Mine is in 200g medium weight at the moment in the day and medium + fleece at night, he is considered the hardier of the 2. The other is a wimp and loses condition really easily, he is in 250g + fleece during the day and 250g + 100g stable at night and is still starting to lose weight.

Good luck and keep us posted on how she is doing!
 
ellie11987 said:
Where did you get it from? Can't find it at any of my local suppliers!
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charnwood milling is the cheapest place to buy it in bulk. simple systems do one but they charge loooooads more for a much smaller amount. Our horses coat feels like he has just been bathed its so shiny.
 
As TGM has said... if shes on box rest you don't need to be stuffing her full of feed. Plenty of hay/haylage and nicely rugged up will help.

One of the manufacturers does a feed for horses on box rest (think it's either D&H or A&P) - maybe its worth trying this, or something like some Topspec balancer with a small amount of chaff and sugarbeet for her feed.

As also per TGM, there are lots of pre/pro biotics available, and it may be worth trying her on one of these. Protexin is well known, and you may well find that the Coligone liquid would help too.
 
just to add, my TB always looks ribby dispite, rugs, work and good grub!!. At the end of the day, it may be that this is just how she is built!
 
Angua2 said:
just to add, my TB always looks ribby dispite, rugs, work and good grub!!. At the end of the day, it may be that this is just how she is built!
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I always feel like a crimminal posting stuff on here :rolleyes: she's no crultey case just a poor dooer. Glad i've got lots of opinions and advice now though :)
 
Don't feel bad. TBs are often tough to keep on the weight. I own a fair whack of TBs and some live on air and some are more difficult to build up the weight. Mine all have lovely shiny coats though, something lacking in your mare (not criticism, just an observation). I would look into giving a probiotic and changing the feed to some of the suggestions mentioned above.
 
Seaweed contains a lot of iodine. Iodine will increase the amount of hormones secreted by the thyroid gland, which will reduce weight if that hormone is not required. Unless you are feeding seaweed because you are in a low iodine area, I would suggest that you stop.
 
Spring Feather said:
Don't feel bad. TBs are often tough to keep on the weight. I own a fair whack of TBs and some live on air and some are more difficult to build up the weight. Mine all have lovely shiny coats though, something lacking in your mare (not criticism, just an observation). I would look into giving a probiotic and changing the feed to some of the suggestions mentioned above.
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I'll have to get another picture tonight her coat looks horrendous. She'd just been rolling when I took these pictures and her coats ridiculous she needs rugging up more.
 
Angua2 said:
just to add, my TB always looks ribby dispite, rugs, work and good grub!!. At the end of the day, it may be that this is just how she is built!
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It depends how your horse is bred. I have a 6 year old TB, who has a really big rib cage, and is a distance bred horse. He has plenty of tummy on him, and is in full time work, as I am trying to build up his topline after a long layoff. I think he will always look ribby because of his build. Its more important to see how much muscle they have on their back and quarters. TB's are mean't to have real muscle definition, mine looks like an anatomy lesson, you can see everything working!
The sprint bred ones on the other hand, are usually built like brick sh**t houses, I had one that looked like she'd been blown up with a pump! She lived on fresh air.
 
Zargon_91 said:
get the rugs on her, only way really as youve already explained shes on box rest etc. In all honesty considering shes had time off she seems to have held her muscle pretty well. And youre feeding all the right stuff. If it helps im struggling to get weight on my boy (7yo wbX) he is in moderate work, got some good topline but again struggling with covering his ribs! He is double rugged at night (combo fleece+combo heavy weight) and just the heavy weight in the day. the couple on nights where it has been down to 2/3 degrees he has had a 350grm under rug on too! he is fed 2 kilos sugarbeet, 1 kg chaff, 1 kilo spillers reponse comp food and 200ml oil per day, a balancer and has adlib haylage. You could try sugar beet with yours mebbe?
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Crikey, you must live in a very cold place?!!:eek:
 
Mine is a poor doer too so I feel your pain, she looks a bit light for the time of year, but what concerns me is her coat....

I would make sure she is either getting full ration of a non-heating conditioning feed so she is getting all her vits and mins or put her on a suppliment.

I'd use something low sugar and starch and hi fibre as it is good for their guts and won't heat her up, if she is stressy you don't want to make her worse.

When I struggled with my mare's weight last winter pure feeds pure condition helped loads. I added speedibeet to it to add bulk and if she looked a bit light a slug of sunflower oil too. Although she's looked thin at times her coat is always good.

I've heard excellent reports about micronised linseed and will be using that this winter but I have to get it mail order which is a pain.

Make sure she is well rugged, on the warm side if anything, and make sure she has plenty of hay or haylage. She should have enough forage so that she never runs out - this might be lots more than you think. Weigh it so that you know you are giving her enough. Last winter I weighed my hay and increased it by 5kg or so if she had run out in the morning and continued increasing it until she always had some left then continued to give her that weight all winter.
 
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