The weight has dropped :(

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Jimmy260910

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Up til now I thought my boy had managed to hold onto his summer weight but I've noticed that he's suddenly dropped and is now too slim :( It's due to this poor weather and him being kept in over night and little grass to eat on, I wondered if anyone could recommend any feed that would be good to give him? He currently has hay morning lunch and dinner, and at breakfast&lunch he has a feed of mix, pony nuts and sugar beet, he's clipped because he's a fluffy monster and would sweat too much when he's worked, in the past I've found that by just giving larger feeds it fuels his energy and he gets silly in the school and I don't want this (he can be quite dangerous), I wondered if there was a feed I could give him which would put on the weight but not give him excess energy?
Thanks :)
 
almost without a shadow of doubt I would very gradually wean him off the cubes and mix and get him onto grass or alfalfa nuts alfa oil and micronised linseed lots f calories without the silliness of big feeds you dont say how big but my 14.2 connie is on 1kg of alfalfa, one 250 grm mug of micronised linseed and 300 grms of grass nuts and the same of soaked speedibeet to wet it all this feed is damp but not sloppy so they find it easy and palatable to eat.
Of course he will still need as much hay as he can get if he is short on grazing
 
Add some oil to the feed. Any vegetable oil will do. Its around 1000 calories a cup and it doesn't over fill their belly like adding more mix does. Add it slowly though because it can cause the squirts if they are fed too much at once. I swear by it. And it was recommended by the University of Edinburgh!!
 
Well I've always fed my lot on Winergy low energy, it keeps their weight on, with out them going over the top, I've fed it for over 10 years, to my older horses and to my youngsters, from a 4 month old foal (now 2) and growing well and it's no more expensive than other feeds.
 
again agree to change feeds. you would be better with sugar free beet, like speedi beet, so if you increase it they wont start buzzing! i use trident equibeet, oats, alfalfa pellets and 2 cups of micronised linseed a day. last year both of mine dropped a bit, but i think the linseed has made a real difference and alfalfa. but without causing any fiz and without having to give giant feeds. they also have generous amounts of hay when in at night.
 
I agree with the micronised linseed aswell - my older lad who is a poor doer is looking absolutely fantastic this year with it added to his feed ........ And he's been clipped this year for the first time in his life
 
I would recommend Winergy low energy aswell. Also try micronised linseed and perhaps adding a good balancer, with both of these you only have to add a cup to each feed to see improvement so are not as costly as filling him up with hard feed.
 
Are you certain about the amount of hay being given? I weigh mine in nets so I know they are getting the 2% of their body weight they need.

You do not mention if his teeth have been checked. Hope you can sort this out, otherwise a check by the vet might be a good idea if he has never dropped so much weight before.
 
More hay, and make sure it is good quality hay. I've rehabbed starvation cases and always found that no matter what sort of, or amounts of, hard feed or potions you give, it is always the provision of limitless hay/haylage/grazing (depending on the time of year) that ultimately does the job.
 
I agree with others above, to avoid silliness avoid cereals - they don't really help with weight long term anyway.

If he has an empty haynet/ hay bar in the morning - give him more and more hay until he has some left over - my big horse in very light work has more than a bale of hay a day and isn't fat.

If he always has hay left over in the morning then maybe consider swapping hay for haylage.

Get his teeth checked to make sure he's eating all he can efficiently

For a bucket feed think fiber again, speedibeet (without sugar) and grass nuts work particularly well for my oldie who's weight is terrible in winter. Linseed didn't work for him but lots of others swear by it.

And - unlikely given the weather this year but make sure he's warm enough so all the energy he has goes into this weight not keeping him warm - equally make sure he's not too hot - its been 8/9 degrees here recently and sweating under heavy rugs will certainly drop weight off him.
 
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