What feeds can you recommend to put on weight?

[LucyRebecca]

Hi, I've got a very large thoroughbred gelding that I am hoping to show this year. At the moment he is fed Saracens Conditioning Cubes, Ready Mash Extra and Chaff. He is looking well but I would like him slightly more covered as he drops weight very easily. Is there any feed, oil or supplement anyone can recommend. He eats huge amounts of feed, about 3 scoops of each feed every day so quantity isn't an issue. Thanks very much!

 

[TGM]

What forage is he getting ie hay or haylage and how much does he get and does he eat it all? Is he on good grazing? Does he show any signs of ulcers? Have you tried any type of probiotic supplement?

 

[LucyRebecca]

He's on good grazing in the day and haylage at night but he doesn't eat a lot of his forage at night. I hadn't even thought about ulcers, what sort of supplement would aid with that?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

My 2 tb's look great on 3-4 scoops of TopSpec Super Conditioning Flakes a day with Alfa A, Speedibeat and Linseed meal.

Some people say either the TS or the Alfa A sends their horses loopy but I have never found that they do.

 

[TGM]

If he doesn't seem to eat much haylage overnight then I would try and work out why, as it can be a waste of time and money feeding hard feed if they are not consuming enough forage. Have you tried him on hay to see if he prefers it (one of ours much prefers hay and has been switched to it and gained weight). Could he be a little stressed at night? Have you tried tying a net near the door so he can eat and see other horses at the same time?

 

[JosieB]

Micronised linseed, cup a feed .. always find it puts weight on easily

 

[wench]

Blood tests done to see if anything wrong there?

 

[TGM]

Also ensure teeth are checked - a common cause of horses not eating enough forage.

 

[Twiglet]

I feed a big bowl of soaked grass nuts and 'full fat' HiFi overnight (when I say big, i meant the 2ft wide shallow tubtrugs - it's a serious amount of food). That, along with a high oil mix (I used Balanced Show Mix), chaff and blue chip, has piled the weight on to both of mine when they needed it.

 

[mirage]

Barley rings, they have linseed in them and smell lovely. I have two 25 year olds who come out of winter looking poor,and barley rings get the condition back on them very nicely without fail.

 

[JillA]

I'm about to try rice bran on my two chronic poor doers who can't take sugars - Saracen do one and also KeyFlow, someone on here recommended. Not cheap but a friend has found it has put plenty on her metabolically challenged QH

 

[Scarlett]

I'm about to try rice bran on my two chronic poor doers who can't take sugars - Saracen do one and also KeyFlow, someone on here recommended. Not cheap but a friend has found it has put plenty on her metabolically challenged QH

I was just about to recommend both of those products. They have never failed to add weight to my horses. I'm feeding Falcon Omega Rice at the moment which is Rice Bran and linseed but would highly recommend KeyFlow KeyPlus which is just rice bran and is cooked in a way that makes it far more easily digestible. I'm just about to order a few bags of it as they looked and felt their best on KeyPlus.