whats good to feed for putting on weight?

[serena2005]

subject says it all really, i need my horse to put weight on fast... any suggestions?


cheers xxx

 

[AmyMay]

Give it more food??

 

[Super_Kat]

Boiled barley.

 

[serena2005]

hes being fed just under half a bale of hay a night a large heaped round scoope and a half of build up mix and the same amount of chaff and a smaller size scoope of sugarbeet twice a day. the bucket is filled to about 2 inches from the top!

will barley make him go a bit wild though? i thought about a bit more of an engery feed but i dont want to end up on the floor... do u feed boiled barley? if so how has it affected your horse?

 

[Super_Kat]

My girls had it last Winter and were still as dopey as usual. The only way to find out how it will affect your horse I'd to give it a go

 

[AmyMay]

You are feeding an awful lot - but not seeing results??

You may find that splitting the same amount in to either 3 or 4 feeds might help.

Most of what you're feeding is probably passing straight through him, the full nutritional value not being absorbed.

More often than not it's about the way in which we feed rather than how much we feed that's the trick!

 

[serena2005]

iv never actually used it. do u buy it rolled or crushed? then just boil? or does it actually come in a bag saying boiled barley? lol

 

[Super_Kat]

You buy whole barley (I'm positive you do), stick it in a pan with water and basically cook it

 

[serena2005]

hes just had a temperary liver problem which blood tests just showed almost normal, i know feeding smaller feeds more often is more affective, but hes out all day otherwise hes depressed standing in a bit of a catch 22 situation, he is putting on weight just really slowly vet said i can ride now just hacking once or twice a week untill i cant see his ribs any more, but obiviously starting to ride will make it harder for him to put on weight.

 

[serena2005]

blimey thats dedication!! just think how much barley id have to boil! im breaking in to a sweat just thinking about it!! lol

 

[AmyMay]

Well, you can still give him a feed whilst he's in the field - just pull him out. And then a late night one.

You could also start adding a bit of oil which may well help. Soya oil is supposed to be best.

 

[serena2005]

he does get codliver oil and also garlic granules.

i could ask the girl that works up there if she could give him a lunch...

 

[dressagespain]

Try Mare and youngstock mix / cubes.

Feed small and often other wise it goes straight though them.

4 feeds better than 2.

 

[Minifletcher]

Try Bio Barley I have used it on several dull and underweight ponies and they have all looked well on it.

www.horsefair.co.uk

Its all ready to feed and has an appetising (well for horses anyway) cider vinegar smell to it.

 

[FMM]

You are running the risk of making your horse quite poorly if you are giving him that much food at one time. It is not just wasting the food, but the bit that doesn't fit in is just sitting around in his gut, and it is possible that he could get laminitus or colic. I had no idea that this was a problem (I had also thought giving too much food was a waste but not dangerous) until I went to a Top Spec lecture. Please be careful.

I would suggest that you email or telephone one of the feed companies, such as Top Spec or Baileys for example, to ask their advice.

 

[dressagespain]

FMM, I completely agree with you. A feed specialist will be able to help you.

That much food is too much.

There is no way to put weight on quickly and HEALTHILY. You just have to feed the right amounts of the right food.

 

[serena2005]

will defo change his feeds to little and often,

about ringing feed suppliers i feed him Dobson and Horrel which is quite resonably priced, just worried about rining other which are going to try and sell me the most expensive bag of feed they can find... and im not the one paying for the feed and dont fancy telling his owner his feed bill has gone up yet again!

 

[sleepingdragon10]

You could try feeding Barley Plus
It forms into a mash if you add warm water to it, and if he's been poorly then he might appreciate some 'comfort' food.
Echo what's already been said about splitting his feeds. I doubt his system is up to digesting so much in one sitting, even more so after an illness.

Good luck with him, let us know how he gets on

Bethxx

 

[dressagespain]

OK so if you feed D & H, Try the mare & youngstock mix, this will help to put weight on BUT don't feed too much at one go.
It is much the same as Build Up but will help with weight gain.

 

[serena2005]

thanks Beth! just had a look at that barley plus, looks good! cheers

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
just worried about rining other which are going to try and sell me the most expensive bag of feed they can find..

[/ QUOTE ]
No they won't.

 

[FMM]

I have had advice from Top Spec and they have told me to feed things like Speedi Beet which is not one of the feeds they manufacture. To be honest, most of the feed companies have the same types of food, it is just up to you which one you go with.

 

[buzzles]

Barley is great for putting on weight but depends on the type of horse whether its too heating, I wouldn't dare give it to our tb! How about a feed balancer like blue chip or top spec? Our tb (whos a rescue and was in pretty poor condition) is on baileys cereal meal at the moment and the weight is piling on; she gets it with a cool mix and beet pulp and is also on ad lib haylage. Try feeding smaller meals mors often as its harder for them to properly digest large meals.

 

[minesadouble]

Dodson & Horrell Build Up worked great on our skinny hunting pony - reiterate that you do need to be careful not to overfeed though

 

[Theresa_F]

I have had good results with spillars conditioning cubes and supa barley. Have you considered a pre/pro biotic like Equimins pro-bio to make sure his gut is working 100%? I have also fed hayledge rather than hay to top up the calories and this is better than stuffing in lots of hard feed.

I used to give my mare when she lost a of weight after a blood virus in the winter (16.1 TB) a scoop (big stubbs type) of cubes with a little sugarbeet and about 8 lbs of hayledge first thing, she went out until about 1 pm and then had the same for lunch. Early evening (5) she had more hayledge - another scoop of cubes and sugarbeet and 1/2 scoop of supabarley - saves all the work of cooking. Finally about 10.30 my lovely YO would put in a final feed of cubes, barley and beet and a final hayledge net.

Was a huge amount of food, but mainly fibre and in 4 feeds so was not all at once and along with the pro-bio she soon put back on all the weight she had lost. She was also kept well rugged when in or out.

 

[serena2005]

not sure whats in pro-bio stuff.. if you want to educate me!?

worried about putting him on something with alot of heating, he gets really jumpy with feed like that starts rearing and bucking, walking backwards stuff like that!

going to the feed shop tomorrow ad ill have a good look around, i just get so confused looking! lol thanks for all your advice by the way didnt expect such a big response!!

 

[air78]

IMO balanced horse feeds show mix is the best thing for putting on weight. You won't need to feed crazy amounts of it and can always add some extra oil or linseed etc if you want results quicker. http://www.balancedhorsefeeds.co.uk/
Everyone who I know who has used this has been impressed.

 

[catembi]

My horse is recovering from a v serious illness which resulted in him losing 190 kg, so I've done a lot of research into fattening foods...anyway at the mo I'm feeding D&H Build Up & Spillers Conditioning Cubes. I got an oil based food called Show Shine which is s'posed to be 2 1/4 times more fattening than cereal based food, but he won't touch it, so I'd try getting a sample before spending £30 on a sack... I also got some samples of powdered linseed which is s'posed to be v fattening & palatable - but he won't touch it. Got some weight gain powder as it was on buy 1, get 1 free at the feed merchants - we're not struck on that either but you need to feed very little of it. I've used full fat soya powder in the past which he used to eat & which showed quick results. Also I'm feeding haylage instead of hay. (Don't be put off that my horse doesn't like a lot of the things I've mentioned - he's been dangerously ill & it's made his appetite go funny. Up until recently, he wouldn't even eat oats...) Not sure about the 'nuts' factor of any of these - normally we bsja & BD off the calmest sounding food I can find, but at the mo I've got more to worry about than not getting put on the floor!!

 

[samerlin]

try giving him a pint of good old fashion Guiness if he likes it another good old fashion one is a mug full of Lambs milk sprinkled over his food..................

 

[Kezza]

get something for digerstion first which will help the horse digest his food and get the most from it, so either something like topspec balancer or NAF pink powder. Then maybe try readigrass as well as your hay. Maybe stop the mix and try topspec conditioning flakes as they are more conditioning than your average conditioning mix. then something like alfa a oil is good. It's much safer to use oil for condition than anything else. carry on with the speedibeet as that is full of fibre.

My friend's pony was terribly underweight and she has fed him alfa a oil, speedibeet, readigrass, hay, conditioning flakes and pink powder and he looks amazing already and it's only been about 8 weeks or so.