TB loosing condition!!

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madgeymoo

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can anyone help please
my TB mare is loosing condition can anyone suggest to give her anything to promote weightgain and muscle development she naturally worrys and is a real fussy eater

she is currently having 3 feeds a day and on adlib 1/2 hay¬1/2haylage

breakfast consits of : 1scoop cool and collected (Allen and Page) 1 stubb scoop of HiFi mollases free chaff (Dengie)

Tea: 1scoop cool and collected (Allen and Page) 1 stubb scoop of HiFi mollases free chaff (Dengie) 200g linseed meal,40g 365, 150ml cider vinegar, 1tsp salt, 20g MSM

super: 1scoop cool and collected (Allen and Page) 1 stubb scoop of HiFi mollases free chaff (Dengie)


I WAS THINKING POSSIBLY SUGARBEET OR SOMETHING ANY IDEAS MUCH APPRECIATED
 
I was going to suggest Linseed, but then saw, amongst other things, that you have it covered. Sugar beet is always a good back up to help condition, as is a cup of oil (veg or olive) in their hard feed. Rice bran used to be very popular to help poor doers - don´t know if you can still get it!!
 
Try Saracen feeds Equijewel - you can buy it online. Great stuff which I would really recommend, I've had very good results with my horse who dropped off badly over the winter.

I would also suggest leaving the chaff out of her feeds, nutritionally you are not adding much and if she's fussy she may be better off with a smaller but more calorific feed....
 
i would suggest you swap the hi fi for alpha a. and add some oil, review your rugs as it is cold at the moment tho we were spoilt with the sunny 3 weeks. fast fibre works well too. you could also add some sugar beet. I take it her worming and teeth are up to date? and no on going vet issues? running some bloods might also give an indicator as to why she is losing weight. good luck!
 
I think there is something wrong if she is still losing condition, check your worming program and I would worm her with vets advice, maybe a blood test.
Is she worrying, is she getting too much fast hard work, or not enough steady walking?
Weigh out the feed and check against feed companies' recommended feed pla.
 
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What has changed (if anything) in your management?

What kind of grazing is she on and how much turnout?

Is she being kept warm enough?
 
All of the above. Have you had a worm count done - these will show if she's got a high worm burden.

Otherwise your feeding regieme looks complicated. If she's loosing weight, you need to up the calorfic content of feed.

If it was mine, I would do one of the following: Topspec Leisure time feed balancer, with their CoolCondition cubes, topped up the Baileys Outshine

OR

Conditioning cubes, sugarbeet, finished off with a good slosh of oil.

Really also worth getting bloods checked, vet/chiro check over, as often if they are not feeling well or are in pain they wont eat much. However, trying a more calorific feed first is the cheaper option, and may just work!
 
wench said:
All of the above. Have you had a worm count done - these will show if she's got a high worm burden.
Click to expand...

Also either worm for tapeworm, or have a tapeworm blood test done, as tapeworm don't always show on a count and tapeworm infestation can lead to lost condition.
 
Providing you are sure she has no other issues, worms etc.. I would change the A&P feed to their Calm and Condition. It put weight on my poor TB last year. Mine is losing a little at the moment because the grass in our small paddock is starting to come through and as long as there is a single blade to be had, she won't eat hay in the field!
 
thanks for all replies
she has had all checks done vet/pysio/dentist/ saddles she is regularly checked with all of this and they are pulled in when something is not right
she has around 2 hours grazing a day as then she is wanting to be in
she is well rugged and kept warm at all times so not to loose weight nothing has changed although she is a typical worrying mare with slightest change about a month ago we lost her next door friend which hit her badly and became depressed which ithink may play some part in it....
 
Sugar beet is brill, and maybe up the linseed (not sure if anyone else has suggested this as I've not read all replies!) My old boy is currently on 500g micronized linseed per day to get him to gain condition :-)
 
Start with the hay, how good is it actualy. Good hay has an ME nearly that of the average concentrate, My experience (40 years buying and selling hay and feeding horses)is that if your hay is poor quality you will never make the difference up with concentrates. If you add enough concentrates to make up for poor hay ,you will have generaly overloaded the system ,insuficient long fibre.
 
Tammytoo said:
Providing you are sure she has no other issues, worms etc.. I would change the A&P feed to their Calm and Condition.
Click to expand...

This... I've recently started using Calm & Condition again with Fast Fibre and micronised linseed as ours are dropping condition and it's starting to perk them up a bit... It's been really cold and no spring grass has come through yet so when they come in for a feed they're pretty hungry... Even kept them in for a few nights where it's really dropped so they can chomp on haylage instead of spending a cold night on bad grass...
 
update on mare we had bloods done again and all was fine

she started to lie down more and went off her feed ,a bit of mild colic
so opted to scope for ulcers

chose to have a mobile vet with a gastroscope rather than travel her and cause more stress --it was easier at home and the pictures (which i will post when i get round to it ) were crystal clear

it turns out she as 2 grade 3 ulcers and is now on gastroguard

as anyone got advice on how long it took to see some improvement in using gastrogard

her diet is being changed slowly from vets advice and once ulcers are clear she will go on a supplement
any other helpful advice much appreciated thankyou
 
Have you tried to turn your TB out for more than just 2/3 hours a day? A longer period of grazing per day would do her the world of good. Not only because it's a more natural lifestyle - also so she can benefit from the nutrient intake.

Also, I can't rate Simple System Horse Feeds high enough. All their products are excellent and based on the horse's natural diet. They've got a very good website and an advice helpline. Some of their products are particularly well suited for the stressed out TB! I've recently started using their Purabeet, Blue Bag Grass Pellets and LucieNuts and my TB not only loves it, but his condition has very quickly improved on it.
 
I would change from the hi fi molasses free to the alfa a molasses free as this is higher in calories as it is pure alfa (hi fi mol free is 50 % alfa 50% straw)
Alfa A mol free =calorie/energy level is 11.5mj/kg (slightly lower than a conditioning mix/cube but much lower sugar/starch)

one stubbs scoop holds 500g so you can increase the amount (up to 2kg a day)...if you can split this amount into as many feeds as you can this should help if she is fussy...

wilth gastric ulcers you need to keep fibre levels high and cereal levels low as these will increase acidity in the stomach.

Alfa is a great natural buffer against gastric acid!

Also, if you can weigh her hay, she can have up to 2% of her bodyweight in forage
:)
 
Hi, i would maybe see about calling your equine dentist. I dont know how old your mare is or what sort of work she is doing, so i can not comment about her feed type.
How ever if you can get her to eat some garlic powder in with her feed that should really help her to stay healthy, it is a naturall antibiotic and keeps worms and flys away too.
If the teeth are not the answer then for sure try bran or sugerbeet. And keep her nice and warm.
 
If you can keep her out more that would be quickest way to up fibre which is vital to keep the ulcers at bay when you come off gastro guard.

Protexin do a product call acid ease designed for horses coming off gastro gaurd, it's an ant acid (like a Rennie tablet!) and a probiotic so it works in the stomach and in the hindgut to help your horse absorp more from her feed and put on condtion. Google for protexin they have a good website and are happy to answer questions over the phone.

Hope that helps, good luck!
 
Agree with MyButterfly - I was waiting for someone to mention the word 'Probiotic'! She needs a probiotic to help her digest her feed and utilise it more efficiently, plus an ant-acid for maintenance of the ulcers once you have finished the course of gastro-guard. I would recommend something like Brinicombe Equine's Ulcereze.
 
See my last few threads on my poorly mare, whatever your worming programme, worm with equest and pancur five day back to back, there are huge worm problems this yr my mare is a good doer and had acute weight loss despite three feeds a day, equest didn't fix it but a combination of the 2 did
 
madgeymoo said:
can anyone help please
my TB mare is loosing condition can anyone suggest to give her anything to promote weightgain and muscle development she naturally worrys and is a real fussy eater

she is currently having 3 feeds a day and on adlib 1/2 hay¬1/2haylage

breakfast consits of : 1scoop cool and collected (Allen and Page) 1 stubb scoop of HiFi mollases free chaff (Dengie)

Tea: 1scoop cool and collected (Allen and Page) 1 stubb scoop of HiFi mollases free chaff (Dengie) 200g linseed meal,40g 365, 150ml cider vinegar, 1tsp salt, 20g MSM

super: 1scoop cool and collected (Allen and Page) 1 stubb scoop of HiFi mollases free chaff (Dengie)


I WAS THINKING POSSIBLY SUGARBEET OR SOMETHING ANY IDEAS MUCH APPRECIATED
Click to expand...

Have you cut the cider vinegar out?? if not, you might want to do so immediately...have you ever tasted that stuff? if not do so and then consider what that would feel like if you had ulcers (someone suggested this to me and i cut it immediately!)

All i can say is what has worked/ is working for my big TB (17h1), i've cut his hard feed by 2/3rds he now gets;

2/3 scoop d&h build up cubes
2/3 scoop chaff (not anything with alphalfa (or molasses) as it sends him through the roof)
1/2 mug micronised linseed
1/2 mug wheat bran
tsp slippery elm
tbsp chamomile flowers
balanced minerals

twice a day

adlib hay 24/7, paddock turn-out 07:30 - 17:30 and thereafter restricted turn-out

In 4 weeks he has gone from sensative just under weight worrier to non-senative chunky monkey...

he used to be very very picky about his food, now wolfs the lot. And i used to feel that i was shovelling food in and it was coming straight back out the other end...that is no longer the case.
 
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