What to feed to increase condition

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Mega

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Hi
I have a 13yr old 16.1hh Dutch warm blood cross tb. Traditionally a v good doer, last winter she lost weight and I can see her weight starting to drop now. She is fed on conditioning cubes and hifi original twice a day. She is currently out with a nz on 24 7 and I'm not wanting to bring her in, bar v bad weather until jan. They can have hay in the field and she has been wormed.
Any suggestions on some good feeds to stop her loosing weight again this winter would be v much appreciated. Thank you.
 
Micronised linseed has all sorts of benefits, start off with 100 gms per day, and build it up to 200gms.
Teeth............ some vets are not as good as others at rasping, weigh out the grub, add minerals to the feed, obviously age is a factor, but insufficient intake of feed is the main reason for thin horses. A rug will reduce energy loss at this time of the year.
I would try bringing her in four hours per day for her hay and her feed, do this for a five/ six weeks, check the weight with a weight tape and see if she is putting weight on or losing it.
I don't feed cubes any more, I buy the ingredients and I know what I am feeding. It seems to me that the most expensive ingredient is the minerals, so a cheaper feed will have less mins and vits, or the amount recommended will be greater!
In order to put weight on my 15.00hh boy [60-70 kg underweight], I had him stabled 12 hours per day, and built up to ad lib hay, and 400-500gms of speedy beet mixed with Dengie chaff and 100 gms linseed.
The cost of the minerals [40-50gms] was almost HALF the total cost of his short feed.!
He put on 20kg in week one and in week two, then 10kg per week after that. I kept him in every night it was cold and wet, reasoning that if he lost 1kg, compared to gaining 1 kg, this makes a difference of 2kg on one day alone.
 
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By the way, the weigh tapes are fairly accurate for the average horse, but it does not matter even if it is 10kg +/_, because what you are monitoring is the condition of the horse, make sure that you always measure the same place, I use the girth groove and the lowest part behind the withers
 
Would agree about micronized linseed, supermarket vegetable oil also great for adding calories.
My 26 yo TBX didn't do very well last winter, I think a lot of horses had weight issues. I'm adding soaked grass pellets to his feeds now and will consider adding a small feed midday if he needs it.
I assume she's otherwise well and that her workload hasn't changed. If she continues to struggle with her weight I would have a chat with your vet, if you live in a wet area might be worth checking/dosing for liver fluke. Also make sure when you wormed you included encysted larvae and tapeworm.
 
Yes this it the time of the year for moxidectin type wormer [for encysted red larvae], it does not show up on dung samples, as it is "encysted", also I think a blood test is the only definitive test for tapeworm, but always lift the tail for evidence round the anus.
Keep a record of everything on a spreadsheet, as even with one horse, the memory is not infallible.
I use micronised linseed from Charnwood Milling, it is delivered to your door for about £30 for 20kgs, and is less processed than pure vegetable oil, has fibre and minerals, all round good stuff
 
Thank you for all you comments. I have ordered some micronised linseed. My vet said worms shouldn't be an issue as only two horses grazing and followed by sheep. I follow a worming programme by the vet. Will get her teeth checked though. Thank you again :-)
 
Wouldn't disagree with your vet for 'typical' horse worms but I understand liver fluke is more likely if you live in a wet area and there are sheep about. Perhaps something to bear in mind if she continues to struggle with her weight. Good luck with the micronised linseed.
 
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