Weight gain feeds

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Marmalade

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Any top tips please for the best way to keep weight on my horses this winter? Neither are particularly gtood doers and tend to be on the lean side all winter.. one is Welsh x TB and very stressy and the other is an ex racer. Both are turned out in the day and in at night with as much haylage as they can eat. Feedwise, they usually have Alfa oil, conditioning cubes and fibre beet. Was thinking of trying something like Blue Chip Pro or Equi Jewel added to their feeds, as neither have huge appetites so don't want their feeds to be huge as it'll get wasted.
Any experiences on what works best on similar horses? Thanks x
 
Soaked grass pellets, far better than any chaff; Graze On seem to be the best I've found.
Barley Rings, fed dry or soaked but most prefer them soaked; they have added linseed too.
Micronised linseed (from Charnwood Milling) is great for weight gain/maintenance with the added bonus of being good for skin and hoof condition too.
All of those are a fraction of the price of expensive oil based feeds (can get the lot for about £40)
You could also add brewers yeast which is the base for Pink Powder; it helps with digestion so they can get the most from their feeds.
 
I would second the micronised linseed. I started my mare on it 2 weeks ago giving her 2 mugfulls a day split between feeds and already she has put on a little weight and her coat is smooth and shinning. Its also pretty cheap at around £27 for a 20kg sack. I have tried all thr conditioning feeds in the past and nothing has worked for me so have been pleasently surprised by the linseed.
 
Feeding probiotics can sometimes work wonders on stressy horses. I prefer Protexin. Have used D & H Build & Glow to great effect when ours are doing fittening or competing but need to gain muscle and condition. You only feed a cup or two looks like a balancer.
 
I really struggled to get condition on my big gangly WB

Tried heaps of difo foods

He now on pure condition by pure feeds and 2 cups a day if micronised linseed and looks super.
 
I would definitely also look into linseed, equijewel and maybe cool stance copra.

Ulcer checks would be a good idea too :)
 
Another supporter of micronised linseed here. In days gone by we always has a boiler going of linseed and barley, these days I use the micrinised linseed and micronised flaked barley , saves on the cooker, but its tried and tested as a great way of keeping condition on anything. Also swear by soaked grass nuts, its the most natural feed for them.
 
Lets not panic the poor person... checking for ulcers yes is a good idea.. once we had heard of some other symptoms. I'm lucky and know enough not to be panicked by suggestions like that but a less knowledgeable horse owner might get a bit stressed. I'd like to back up suggestions of linseed and soya oil but point out that some horses just aren't good doers in winter and it doesn't instantly mean they have gastric issues.

Thanks :-)
 
Thanks for all your suggestions. Suggesting ulcer checks probably isn't really relevant in this case. The weight loss issue is definitely seasonal due to the poorer quality grazing over the winter. Incidentally the stressy mare has been scoped for ulcers in the past and was clear. She just is a busy body when she's worked and would rather bum around the field or chill in her stable!

The TB is displaying no other symptoms of having ulcers, in fact he's going the best he ever has, and is eating like the proverbial horse. But as the weather is worse, nights are darker etc he tends to want to come in by 3 whereas in the summer, he's happy out til 9 or all night if he can! So they are coming in earlier to have haylage to replace the grass but I really just wanted people's experiences on what had worked best on similar horses, as it is much easier to keep their weight up than leave it too late then have to try and fatten up a skinny horse.

I opted for Alfa A Oil, conditioning cubes, a cup of micronised linseed, fibre beet and so far so good :)
 
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