underweight horse

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minimoo

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My horse is very slightly underweight. I can just see his ribs which I dont like. He is very active and highly sprung so he doesnt want anything that will make him more hyper! He has two feeds a day and hay but just wondering what other people thought to feed....

Advise is always welcome :-)
 
Micronised linseed from Charnwood Mill. I give my horse 250g per day and she is looking really well. Its not expensive either about £20 including postage and last around 4 months.
 
Another vote for linseed. My girl is highly strung and struggles to keep weight but this is doing wonders for her. I paid about twety seven quid delivered and its lasting me months. I feed about a cupful a day and she's never looked better coming out of winter.
 
claribella said:
Another vote for linseed. My girl is highly strung and struggles to keep weight but this is doing wonders for her. I paid about twety seven quid delivered and its lasting me months. I feed about a cupful a day and she's never looked better coming out of winter.
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Agree with the Linseed fab stuff one mug a day has made all the differance to my chap, his coat is super soft and shiny as well
 
I think you should just be able to see a horses ribs personally!

Is forage ad-lib? Have you tried haylage rather than hay as ad lib haylage often works :)
 
agree that ad lib hay or (better yet) haylage is the way forwards, but I also agree with jt that you should just be able to see a horse's ribs...
 
At the moment ours are ribby as we're yet to see this lush spring grass I keep hearing about... :D

Just visible ribs would probably be fine by me... Another vote for micronised linseed though for coat condition etc...
 
IMO ribs should be easily felt but not visable.

My first port of call would be teeth. Has your horses teeth been done recently? Might be worth a check and most EDT's won't charge for just having a look if no work is required.

Feed wise I am a HUGE fan of Haven's Slobbermash. It's great for putting condition/weight on horses without hotting them up. It's oat free and contains Linseed Oil.
As others have said, I would also be inclined to increase hay/haylage to ad lib.
 
Thanks everyone this has been a great help. I'm going to try the linseed as it as had a lot of good things said about it. :-D
Will update in a few weeks ... Fingers crossed...
 
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