Who can make me the highest calorie feeding regime?

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zoon

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My 15 year old WBxTB is wintering out this year. I am all prepared with rugs (already in 100g and has had 200g on a couple of nights) and haylage (good grass at the mo, but will have ad lib haylage when it has been eaten away).

He's a tad on the lean side at the mo. I wouldn't say skinny, but ribs just in view and hips poking slightly, so poorer than I'd like this time of year (just bought him back after selling at beginning of year - long story!)

Currently fed saracen veteran mix (12MJ/kg), equijewel (15mj/kg) and molassed chaff.

Going to swap equijewel for charnwood linseed which has a higher digestible energy and is lighter on the pocket!

Need as many calories as I can pack into him in 1 feed per day (I can't go down twice everyday, but when I can I will give a second feed). Would ratehr not add oil itself as he is a fussy git when you slop oil in his food and tends to leave it. Other than that he'll eat most things

Also need something non heating and he is doing very nicely on veteran mix. Was going to try barley hoops instead, but worried they'll make him loopy (get it?! lol)

big sunday roast dinner with all the trimmings for person who jams the most calories into my horse!
 
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If you can get it Viamite cool performer has I think 17.5 DE. You may have to buy in bulk.
http://www.mitavite.co.uk/ I used it a couple of winters and was really good for and old TB aged 24.
Last year as I couldn't get any I went on to Coolstance. Its coconut meal, if he will eat it it makes them very fat and glossy.Reasonably priced at about £15 20kg My old boy had two stubbs scoops a day plus his Baileys No 4 and came out of winter looking the best ever. Only about 12.5 DE but seems to put more weight on them than grain.
 
If you can get it to stay on, using a double duvet under a turnout with neck, and over a fleece, is far better than even multiple layers of rugs, and is the only thing that has kept my TB's weight on over winter, in the 7 years I've owned her. I used to have to do what you're doing now - how many calories can I pack into one feed - but never got through a winter without her coming out lean. Now, I feed in winter what I do in summer (2 scoops conditioning feed per day) and that's all, she doesn't drop weight at all, and is cosy warm all the time!
 
Whatever you use make sure you keep it to 2 round scoops maximum per day as any extra will be wastage. If he's on ad lib haylage you shouldn't need any more chaff so stick to high energy foods like top line conditioner or racehorse cubes- the baileys ones are non heating. I also use a balancer and outshine. It's hard to stop a bit of weight being lost but maybe if you give some haylage a bit earlier you could get him to fill out a bit before "proper" winter?
 
I would first make sure his teeth and worming are up to date. Horses should be fed little and often so one meal a day isn't really ideal and one big meal won't do much good. Isn't there anybody to help?
 
Give the experts a call from Baileys and get them to do you a feeding regime... they take into account the current weight, exercise, breeding etc and they will have weight and stuff of which feeds :cool: You can get the number off of the website
 
zoon said:
I ordered some benevit from feedmark last night - is that as good as a pelleted balancer?
Click to expand...

Benevit is great if you just want to supply vitamins and minerals, but does not contain the same level of protein as most balancers or the probiotics which are meant to maintain gut bacteria and help the horse get the most out of the food it eats.
 
Is it possible for you to leave him with a big trug of fibre feeds in the field, or is he in with others? If you can I would leave a very large trug of sugar beet and alfalfa or grass chop for him to "graze" on during the day, or even several trugs of different fibre feeds so he can choose what he wants to have. Only works if you're on your own though!

Otherwise, with my elderly poor doer TB I tend to go for sugar beet (11MJ), topspec conditioning cubes (12.5MJ) or flakes (16MJ) and sumo original (24MJ) together with topspec senior balancer (12.5MJ) to cover his vitamins and minerals, digestive support and joint support.

Probably goes without saying but make sure his teeth are in a good enough condition to chew up what he's getting properly so its not just going straight through him, and I would also feed some sort of pre/pro biotic supplement to help his gut function as well as it can.
 
I also have a TB that struggles to keep weight on so I know how you feel, my boy lives out ( he wont stable), can I suggest that he may be getting too warm in his 100g rug, my boy only has a LW on atm, and he is perfectly warm under it. Dont forget they also loose calories when they are to warm !!
 
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