Weight problems on youngster?

[Kelly1982]

Help!!! My 4yo looks like a race horse and i dont know what else to try and i am getting really worried as the weather has dropped again. She is slightly tucked up and is quite ribbie (sp). She has a heavy weight rug on with a neck and a fleece underneath and is always warm but not really toasty so seen as the weather has dropped i am thinking of putting a bit of a thicker rug on underneath. I wad told though she is better off being a bit colder than too hot.

For her feed she has:

3 big round scoops of alpha-a oil
5 small scoops (half a bucket) of speedi beat
3 small scoops of pony nuts
2 small scoops of topspec

Thats split between 2 feeds.

She has been on topspec for about 3 weeks and has put on a slight amount of weight but not much.

She also has 4 wedges of hay a night, i do fill her haynet up with about 6 wedges but she wont eat anymore than 4.

I dont know whether to get her Bailey's No1 or swap the nuts for conditioning cubs??

Also i dont know if i am worrying for nothing and she is just having a growth spurt but she has been like it for about 2 months now

She also hasn't been ridden much over the last couple of weeks for fear of her losing the slight bit of weight she has put on.

Helps please, worried mummy

 

[ihatework]

By the sounds of it you are feeding her plenty!
From reading your other posts about her competing etc. (and she has been going very well) perhaps she has reached a point where she just needs a break to absorb what she has learnt and de-stress. If she were mine, and provided I was sure there wasn't anything physically wrong with her, I'd be inclined to give her a month off and a further month just light hacking.

 

[sleepingdragon10]

Hmm,perhaps change the Speedibeet to Fibrebeet,the pony nuts to grass nuts and the hay to haylage?
Not all at once though,obviously

 

[AmyMay]

Agree with the haylage - I'm sure that splitting the feeds in to three would also help. She sounds as if she's getting quite a bit of bulk, so may not be absorbing it adequately.

Personally I'd put her on something like Red Mills Horse Care Cubes, rather than the pony nuts.

But have you spoken to any of the feed manufacturers to get their feeling???

 

[Kelly1982]

Hi B&J

Her last show was on the 2nd December, she then had a week off and has only been lightly hacked a couple of times since then. She also wont be ridden much over Christmas but this still doesn't seem to be helping her weight.

I really dont know what else to try and i am getting worried that i am doing something wrong

All my other horses have been really good doers so never had a weight issue before.

 

[Rambo]

Calm and Condition......My answer to everything lol!

It worked wonders on Bo last year when he went decidedly ribby for a while

In terms of bulk, it sounds like you are feeding plenty tbh...

 

[Kelly1982]

No haven't spoken to any feed manufacturers yet, i am going to buy some feed at the weekend so was going to speak to the shop and see what they say although sometimes they haven't got a clue.

Cant split the feed into 3 either as our yard is completly DIY and no-one is about during the day as we all work. Our YO is also never there as he lives in wales and only comes back once a month so cant even ask him.

Was thinking of hayledge but i still have 30 bales of hay from a delivery i took a few weeks ago so dont really want that going to waste. I could always mix it though i spose.

Think i am definatly gonna change the pony nuts though

 

[Kelly1982]

Is that a mix or does it comes in cubes as well??

What brand would you suggest or will any of then do?

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Was thinking of hayledge but i still have 30 bales of hay from a delivery i took a few weeks ago so dont really want that going to waste. I could always mix it though i spose.

[/ QUOTE ]
What you could do is to buy yourself some Horsehage - Dengie I think - and add that in with the hay.

Are you able to get up to the yard at lunch time to give a lunch?

 

[miamibear]

I think you are doing everything right Kelly - dont worry - we have a 4yo on our yard, he isnt in heavy work and he goes gangly and ribby every now and again, theres nothing you can do about it - you are doing everything right. The topspec will help her get the best out of her food.

I also think calm and condition is brill, so would probably change the nuts to this, apart from that just ride it out with her. Dont over ride - and it doesnt seem like you are doing anyway.

Rug up to keep her toasty - dont know about you but round here its really cold -3 on night and 1 on daytime so maybe put a heavier weight rug on.

Haylage would be a good idea, although it is expensive.

I know from my friends experience no matter what you pump in to them, if they are having a growth spurt you cant put weight on them!!

Dont worry yourself - give her some time off over Christmas and reasses in the new year.

xx

P.S You could get a bag of carrots and feed these too, may help a little!! Also sweede in her stable hung up. Cheap but another way of getting fibre in to her.

xx

 

[Rambo]

[ QUOTE ]
Is that a mix or does it comes in cubes as well??

What brand would you suggest or will any of then do?

[/ QUOTE ]

The one we use is Dodson and Horrell I think (I don't buy it

)...and it comes as nuts

 

[Kelly1982]

No cant get down at lunch time, i work up london otherwise i would.

 

[Kelly1982]

Thats good, i prefer nuts, dont really like feeding mixes. Will look into that at the weekend

 

[Kelly1982]

Thanks Mel

It is pretty cold here too, think it was 1 this morning so was probably colder last night. Will put another rug on her tonight and also put a fleece under her t/o rug during the day.

Its such a worry as i aslo dont want her getting too hot and dropping weight LOL.

I hope she is just having a growth spurt and she starts to put weight on soon, i feel so mean and like its me thats doing it to her as she was too fat when i got her

 

[miamibear]

Don be daft - have faith in yourself!! Young horses always go through this and they also loose their grass bellies in winter!

My friends is panicing about her horse, he isnt thin looks perfect in my eyes but she says he is thin- he is thinner than summer but he was "fat" in summer!!

Dont worry hun

xx

 

[Rambo]

[ QUOTE ]
Thats good, i prefer nuts, dont really like feeding mixes. Will look into that at the weekend

[/ QUOTE ]


Ooops ! Just realised it's the Allen & Page Calm and Condition.....sorry !

 

[AmyMay]

Just seen that you don't give oil. You could start adding that which could help.

 

[Kelly1982]

Ha ha must be old age

Only kidding

Thanks

 

[Kelly1982]

Was thinking about that too but was worried she wouldn't like it and then wouldn't eat at all as i know some horses can be fussy but worth a try.

I will try it over Christmas and also change her nuts to condition cubes and see how she goes.

Thank you

 

[KatB]

Calm and condition is great stuff, she may just need more calories at the mo with growing etc. Topspec is ACE stuff, also worth considering Topspec conditioning flakes? Compliment the balancer.

 

[Kelly1982]

Sounds like calm and condition it is then

Also gonna add some oil and chuck an extra rug on and if that doesn't work i think i am gonna have no hair left coz i would of pulled it all out LOL

 

[AmyMay]

Careful about over-rugging. We haven't had any cold weather yet - although plenty of rain admittedly.

Interestingly, I used to find that if I put a thin rug under Amy's turnout, she never felt as warm. I think that sometimes putting rugs under some makes of TO's might not work particularly well, because of the material of some TO's and their particular specifications. Amy wore Rambo's and they were just not designed to be 'layered'.

 

[Tempi]

hi hun, im having a similar problem with Archie, in that im worried hes loosing weight. There isnt much grass out in the field hes in and he dosent finish his haylage at night, however he always eats all his tea.

He has a huge scoop of allen & page calm and condition (its little pellet things) and im going to put him on soaked oats aswell to try and help put a bit more weight on.

Im also going to start giving him a scoop of allen and page in the mornings before he goes out in the field.

 

[_daisy_]

Kelly, my 4yo has just gone like this over the last few days.Shes fully clipped and has got a summer sheet, light weight mast combo and a weatherbeeta 300 combo on top of it.
Shes been having split between 2 feeds
3/4 scoop C&C soaked (only has this on a night though)
2 scoops Happy Hoof (havent got anymore room to store anymore bags of feed to change her to alfaa oil or anything else as I already have 8 bags of feed open for all of my girls-1 being a lammi sufferer)
2 scoops Pasture Mix
3 scoops Speedi beet
oil
She has as much haylage as she can eat both in the field and stable.

im going to start feeding her the C&C as well in a mornign so shell be getting 3/4 scoked extra in her feeds. Im hoping this is going to help.

 

[BBs]

Snoops started to lose weight also a few weeks ago, he was kept busy but i was reluctant to feed him too much as i didnt want him to become unmanagable.
However, he was fed oodles of hay/haylage, chaff and a handful of nuts but obviously he was needing something more.
I now have him on D&H Ultimate balancer, conditioning nuts (small amount) HiFi Original, alfa beet and coligone as his tummy is a bit delicate

He now has as much haylage/hay that he can eat and kept warm (although he is a bit of a hottie).

Do you turn out daily? it maybe that if your mare is out from early till late she could be getting cold, plus hungry due to not much out in the fields.

Snoops when he goes out he only goes out for 5 hours now so he doesnt get cold and hungry but has time to relax and chill out.
He too has had a growth spurt! shame really, was quite enjoying having a smaller beasty lol

I have just ordered some Baileys No 1 for my old boy. will let you know how we get on with that, as hes now decided hes gone off his barley rings.

 

[CBFan]

Topspec do 'super conditioning flakes' which are very good and not too expensive. You could try feeding these along side the balancer and alfa-a oil. I personally don't like sugar / spedi beet but if you want to continue feeding it, make sure you drain off excess water as otherwise it will just flush straight through her.

As she is still young and growing you could feed her a youngstock mix / cube / balancer as this will be full of the relevant nutrients she will need to grow. - baileys do a good one.

Also try feeding her hay off the floor as this way they tend to eat more.

 

[Quarrybank]

I think it's a 4yo thing, so don't worry too much. I think they all go through it while they are starting their work (my boy was broken in june) & growing at the same time (he's 16.3hh already!).
My boy has been the same in the last few weeks. He'd put on weight during sep/oct but now seems to look ribby again.
This is what I've been doing with him-
He's fed 2 scoops of H&P cubes, chaff, readygrass carrots & bluechip - split over 2 feeds. Plus ad lib hay (of which he eats lots!) He goes out from 9am until 2pm and is def ready to come in. If the weather is bad he goes out less as I rather him tucked up warm indoors with his hay. He's got a low blanket clip & wears a Rambo supreme with neck, so he's def warm.
He gets worked 5 days a week. 3 days hacking & 2 days of a short hack & 30mins in the school.

From looking at the posts on here, most of us with 4yo's seem to be experiencing the same thing & it's def put my mind at rest so thanks everyone.

 

[Kelly1982]

It seems like everyone with youngsters is experiencing this so its put my mind at rest quite a bit now (i am a bit of a worrier LOL).

BBs - she does go out for quite a while actually, from about 8am til 4.30ish, i always check her when i get down about 6.30pm and when i get her in at the weekends and she always feels warm but they have been wanting to come in earlier recently. Unfortunatly she has to come in when my friends horses come in as there is no-one else to get her in and i dont get down til late.

I give her tonnes of hay but she just wont eat it, she will eat about 4 wedges and that is it but i always make sure it is topped right up as i would rather her leave a bit and know she is not hungry than her stand in her stable starving. She doesn't even touch it when she is brought in from being out all day

She loves her feed though and licks the bucket clean. My OH also told me she was rearing over the door last night when i went to get it, oops

 

[TGM]

As she doesn't eat a lot of hay at night but seems to love her bucket feeds, have you thought of putting a tub of something like Readigrass in her stable overnight as well as the hay? Might get her to eat a bit more.

Obviously the other things to check are teeth (especially if she is not eating much hay) and worming - but I'm sure you have done that already!

 

[LEC]

Just as a check have you had a worm count done? If you are pumping that much feed in I would have thought it would show some results.
Also when were the last time her teeth were done? Its just another thing to maybe consider.
The final thing maybe to consider is putting her on Coligone? I have heard some people get excellent results for gaining weight on their horses.
Just want to add I had this last year and now my nag has stopped growing he looks so much better this year and has really filled out. So possibly its just waiting and giving them time and spring grass will do the rest.