Weight problems on youngster?

[Kelly1982]

She is due to be wormed in January but i haven't done a worm count on her.

Also i was going to get her teeth checked after Christmas, i have only had her 4 months so haven't got round to doing it yet. I know bad mummy

Funny thing is she did used to eat all her hay until i put her on straw but she doesn't eat her bed so bit stumped as to why she has stopped. I have upped it though being winter and my friend says that her horse also wont eat no more than 4 wedges. Think the dentist may be in order too then.

My friend keeps telling me to stop worrying as her mare was like it last year but she filled out and matured over the summer and is fine now so i am hoping its just coz she is young.

 

[BBs]

Mares can be difficult to feed, although ive only found this during the summer months/competition times.

I had snoopys teeth done 3 wks ago and they were very sharp, dentist thinks hes never been done before - he also has a couple of baby teeth still to come out lol but no wolf teeth which was a relief

Have you tried adding just plain oil? I use cooking oil.

It there a chance you can put out some hay in the field? or a field lick.

Haylage would mean you could cut your feed down.

My ex racer I had was a devil to keep weight on, and the amount he had to be fed the poor love struggled even split between 3 feeds a day.

Perhaps she is feeling over loaded with the two feeds a day - instead why dont you split the amount and get your friend to give her another meal when she brings her in before you get there?

She maybe able to untilize the feed better if its split into 3

Alfa beet is good

but just dont use too much as it will act as a laxative.

 

[Kelly1982]

I do need to get her teeth done so it is something i will definatly be looking into once Christmas is out of the way. I am usually spot on with taht sort of thing but since i have brought her I have done nothing but pay out for new saddles, affiliation etc. I am naughty though i know i should of got her teeth checked before anything else really so that is first on my list now. Haven't noticed her dropping any feed or anything yet though.

I haven't tried using oil yet, was going to buy some at the weekend and see how she goes on it over Christmas. My feed bill is gonna end up more than my livery

LOL.

I can put hay in the field yes, they are moving to a bigger field next week also with a lot more grass in it so hopefully that should help her out a bit more too.

I might ask my friend what time her horses come in for definate and see about giving her 3 feeds. I would just worry that she would be fed late and i would come down and ride and then she would colic ha ha, i'm terrible aren't i??

Think i am definatly gonna try the Calm and condition cubes and with the oil and then if that doesn't work i will start splitting her feeds. I am also off all over Christmas so could do it myself for 2 weeks and see if it makes a difference.

 

[fairhill]

You could also try giving her a big bucket of something like readi-grass to supplement her hay overnight.

 

[BBs]

Yeah try the oil that wouldnt hurt

Hay in the field also.
But I wouldnt give her anymore feed but just split the feeds you already have into 3. Even if you make the 2nd feed smaller than the other two it wouldnt hurt just means she can get some into her

If she comes in at 4:30 and youre not up there till gone 6 she has plenty of time to digest.

Just buy cooking oil (veg) you dont need to fork out for expensive codliver oils etc that the feed retailer will try and get you to buy.

 

[Kelly1982]

Sorry i did mean split it into 3, i think she would bankrupt me if i gave her anymore ha ha.

Will go to the supermarket and get veg oil too, can you buy it in big tubs of about 5ltrs say?? (can you tell i don't do food shopping LOL).

Readi grass is also a good idea, we did feed that last year actually but haven't brought none this year. All the other horses have maintained their weight so thats probably why we haven't thought about it.

 

[BBs]

Readi grass is good, i know molineux used it on her horse and it helped put weight on

Umm the oil comes in about 2 or 3 ltr containers

should last a while lol

I think a lot of it is to do with their age etc like i say snoops has grown - now slightly croop high which makes cantering interesting

 

[Emma123]

I think it depends which calm and condition you get but the one I use is pellets and needs to be soaked

It swells so much its untrue and does so quite quickly so should need soaking 20 mins max

Just thought I'd say cos many people don't realise (we fed it a mare without soaking no wonder she didnt like it!)

 

[sleepingdragon10]

Have you thought of using something like Brewers Yeast?Acts like a probiotic and might help her get the most goodness out of her feeds without you having to spend too much more on additional foodstuff for her?

http://freespace.virgin.net/simple.system/Yeast.htm

 

[MillionDollar]

Boiled barley, sugarbeet and a bit of vegetable oil! You canNOT beat it to put weight on a horse, works every time for mine.