TB's in winter...

gillianclaude

gillianclaude

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I'm sorry if this has already been posted, and I'm not sure if anyone will reply to this but..
What do you all feed your TB's on in winter? Especially those of you with poor do-ers? It's my first winter with my TB and I just want to make sure I can keep up his condition. I'm used to having a fatty that manages winter in a lightweight, not a skinnymalink that has to be rugged up to the eyeballs :eek:
 
My lad lives out all winter with two rugs when its really cold!!! A rambo underrug and a 350g full neck turnout rug, access to hay 24/7 and is fed on pasture mix, dengie alfa a and Dodson and horrell ultimate balancer..... and he does very well!

Good luck with yours, it took my two winters to get the balance right!
 
I have a TB x Arab
This year i will be feeding 3 times a day on alfa a oil, D&H build up cubes, sugabeet, oil, and joint supplement. Plus i plan on getting her big round bales so she has 24/7 access to hay and will be double rugging when it gets colder!
Good luck :)
 
Not anything special really!

If in work:
Scoop comp mix or topline cubes [Eco nuts if not in work]
1/2 Scoop chaff
Scoop sugar beet
1/2Scoop barley rings

Hayrack brimmed full of haylage AM and PM.

Usually about 3 stable rugs on, sometimes even his big full neck Y/O rug also :)
 
MY TB is on:

1 scoop of Alfa Oil
1 scoop of nuts
1 scoop of speddibeet
1/2 mug of soya oil

I double the above for the evening meal plus the supplements.
She also has big round bales of hay in the field so she can help herself.

She is out 24/7 with access to the field shelter & is rugged up with a 450g full neck heavyweight turnout, if it gets to minus 20 & upwards then she has an extra layer on underneath.
She copes fine.

XxX
 
do your best to get extra condition on before you start the winter - we had a grass livery with a 27ish full TB and he wintered out really well but starting in August, she would put him on operation show condition so he went into winter quite fat - he came out looking normal and well at the end of a very hard winter. The grass liveries do rug according to the weather and not keeping blindly to a patter, there is ad lib hay all the time and all, even the tiny pony gets fed.
 
My oldie might get barley rings added but otherwise they get original chaff, pony nuts, oil and supplement but lots of hay / haylage. I have learnt the trick with mine is to keep them rugged and toasty. :)
 
I looked after my friend's 25yo TB last winter, he was the very definition of a poor doer but we managed to keep weight on him.

Monning and evening he got -
1/2 scoop Alfa-A
1/2 scoop Sixteen Plus
1/2 scoop Bailey's No.1
1 cup Outshine
1/3 scoop Speedi-Beet

And at lunchtime he got the same, minus the Outshine.

Plus ad-lib hay at all times.

He was stabled for most of the winter due to problems with his feet/legs.
 
I have a 23 yearold TB who lives out most of the winter.
Has been fed hard feed all summer, 4lbs conditioning cubes or mix 12.5-13 DE
Winter - as much hay/haylage as he will eat
Summer rations plus 4-6lbs Coolstance coconut meal depening on weather.
Have tried every nut/feed but the Colstance is the most cost effective
 
My 21yr old Tb has lived out with natural shelter for the last few years.
I feed her the yard haylage, along with a slice of Horsehage Blue, and the following hard feed;
1 handful Spillers Meadowherb, I handful Senior Conditioning Mix, 1/2 scoop of Speedibeet (soaked), probiotics and mineral supplement.
I may double the mix as the winter progresses, but actually find the key to keeping her weight on is to keep her warm - so I rug her early, and use very warm rugs, underrugs etc.
S :D
PS Of course the downside to this is that you will have the yard 'experts' (who all own fat natives) telling you that you are overrugging at the same time they tell you how well your horse looks...and are you sure she's really 21, lol.
 
TB's do really well on summer grazing so the natural choice for me is Grass Pellets, along with alfalfa / lucerne pellets for muscle and topline
 
1 x Scoop of Mollichaff
1 x Scoop of high fibre nuts
1 x Scoop of speedi-beet
1 x Mug of baileys number 1

Same morning and night.

Lives out 24/7 on good grazing.
Hay when frozen.

She is not in work over the winter as she is being turned away now until she is 4.

I find she does well on this. She is a good doer though, and we have fantastic grass access and she is going into the winter looking brill.

Don't feed her anything like pasture mix or pony nuts even when in work, i'd be dead if i did that. lol
 
An absolute MUST is good quality forage ad lib (hay or haylage)

My two have wintered out for the last two years on as much haylage as they can eat - I don't work them in winter and so haylage is really all they get along with a handful of some type of conditioning mix.

If the weather gets really bad they have a scoop of sugar beet and a scoop of mix.

Both unclipped & rugged in decent medium rugs
 
Last year mine had 1 scoop alfa a oil, 1/2 scoop no4, 1/2 scoop TS super conditioning flakes and pink powder.
Year before he was on calm and condition but he never seemed as convinced about that!
Have also used grass nuts or unmolassed sugarbeet when extra covering needed.
Adlib hay/haylage is the most important to me.

He was out of work last winter so am unsure how the no4 affected him workwise - am soon to find out though!
 
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