Underweight horse - no grazing, how to put on weight?

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Decision_Tree

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Hello all-

I seem to have the opposite problem to most people at this time of year - I need my horse to put on weight! I have owned him for 11 years and he has always been on the chubby side in summer! this is our first year on a livery yard as our old field is now houses :(

He is in a field with 7 our horses - field size about 3 acres max, and I would say it would be graded as rough grazing at best (far amount of weeds etc). The horses have been in this paddock for 3 months and there is nothing left and we have been told by YO they wont be moved any time soon (looking to move in OCTOBER?!). The yard has also run out of haylege and we have been left old poor quality hay - I would say cut about two /three years ago and it got soaked before baled! I am buying in my own haylege and feeding a haynet a day and giving my horse a feed of chaff and baliey competition mix ( 3 / 4 scoop each). I am going to split his feeds to two a day from now on as I dont want to overload him in a single feed - but I cant make it to him to do two feeds every day, would this be damaging to him? does any one have any other advice on how to help him gain weight gradually? should i consider a feed change? I am considering stabling him during the day and out at night all week so I can give him the same volume of haylege as I would in winter? I also should point out that the winter field is 2 acres max and will have had a crop of hay or haylege cut off it before the horses go in so it will be bare in little or no time esp as they are all large horses.

thanks,
Emma
 
yes, you need to stable him during the day. you simply can't get the bulk fibre he needs into him by standing him with a haynet and a feed while you are there.

I don't think it will take a lot to get weight onto him. you just need to feed fibre and lots of it. will field owner allow you to put hay in the field? can you split this cost with other liveries? this would be another good option.

Alternatively I would buy something like graze on / readi grass and feed this as a partial hay replacer. You could mix some speedi beet in with this to make it more palateable if you like.

But basically, hay, hay and more hay is what he needs.

I can also reccomend you get hold of some micronised linseed - it's great for condition , coat shine and hooves. just feed one mug a day on top of regular feed :)
 
Your livery sounds dreadful - 7 horses on a 3 acre field in summer, then 2 acres in winter??

I'd have him in for the day and give him as much haylage as he'll eat plus his feeds, maybe look at changing chaff to Alpha A Oil :)
 
thanks guys.

I just think with livery - that they all have their down falls and I am not sure if I am a fuss pot as I am used to havng my own control of everything! Its a hard call as one of few places with actually decent hacking but I am begining to think that might not be as important! when I moved there there was far less horses but now the yard is filling up and its gone from 6 free boxes to only one and its making a big difference.
 
Well put it this way, with that amount of horses in a field that size the potential for injury is huge - especially if there is no food!
 
If it were me I would be weighing up the cost of moving to another livery yard which may be further away (more fuel) with the extra feed you will need at your current one. I also suspect that if there are that many horses on that little land in winter that you will be asked by the yard owner to only turn out for an hour or 2 at most or not at all as you will be knee deep in mud !

the only other option is to section yours off in a small area of the paddock and maybe get a large hay bale delivered so that he can graze on it all day without the others eating it !

ps I struggled to keep 2 horses on 2 acres on my own land and now have 4 acres for 2 and its just about right and this is with them in overnight in winter or on wet days !
 
BBH - how right are you, he got booted 6 weeks ago and as much as isnt lame now I can still see slight swelling (vet been and checked etc so). I am investigating my current other options at the moment.... but until then I will go with in during the day and out at night. The kicker has been removed for now as YO horse and their horses are rotated between two other fields at the moment as they get first grass pick it appears!
 
He needs to be stabled, and hayed, and fed at least twice a day. So you will need to find a way to see to your horse twice a day.

I'd also be looking to move him.
 
Sounds like the others are saying the right thing. The grazing you have is no where near enough. If you can stable the horse then that's what would be best agree with the others. And I would move... it is heartbreaking to see them starve because of poor grazing and this time of year they should not have to come into a stable where they spend enough time in the winter - my opinion...but sad how grazing gets cut back so often at so many yards. It is a major factor for me as my horse really depends on ample grazing and I am not sure many yards allow for it, should I have to move her again; very sad.
 
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