Why isnt he putting on any weight?!!

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vickers22

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After thinking I may have found a good weight gaining feed, i think i may have been kidding mysle. Teeth, worming etc all fine, but you can see his ribs easily. He is getting this two times a day;
large scoop soaked alfa beet
large scoop baileys No.1
1 1/2 cups baileys outshine
1/2 cup sunflower oil
pink powder

I just dont know what to do!!He isnt that bad but surely he should be putting on weight with that?!!I can only get to him twie daily so splitting up feeds isnt an option
confused.gif
 
Yes it is, although he seems to look ok in photos (or you may think he looked skinny i dont know!!) He gets just under half a bale of hay a night, although doesnt always finish all of it, and he is turned out during the day with hay.
 
What is his temperament like?

I put Star on Baileys 17, and she was fizzed up and fizzing off any weight gain she was supposed to getting.
I changed her to Spillers Condition cubes and she was a lot calmer, and put the desired amount of condition on.
 
He is as calm as anything when not being ridden, bit of a loony when ridden. Most cubes send him nutty, spillers sent him a bit loopy!!
 
You could try Bailey's Stud Cubes, they're very good for weight gain; you could then stop the Outshine. Another thing you could try is Blue Chip, I've had very good results with that too. What about Barley Rings too, they usually work.
I'm not suggesting you use all of them at one go, but you could try each one at a time. You really need to try something for at least a month before you can say something is or isn't working to be fair. It might be an idea if you weightape before you make any changes and then each week after; it needs to be done at the same time of day to be useful though.
 
In my experence weight gain takes a long time!
For the first year my boys weight sat at around 480kg, then this spring he hit 520kg which was like a miricle at the time ; I weigh taped him last week and he's just over 552 kg.Just goes to show that it really does take time, it's deffinatly a steady process. He's been on the following feed for a year now, split into 2 feeds, with ad lib haylage;

2 scoops Top spec conditioning cubes
1/2 scoop sugar beet- dry weight
1 scoop redigrass
1/2 scoop alfalfa pellets
2 mugs top spec balancer
1 mug oil

I think you need to give it a bit more time- but he doesn't look that poor.
 
I've had probs with Charlie's weight. I had tried most feeds, but spoke to my vet and he reccommended Barley Plus made by mollichaff. He has gained weight, looks great and it hasnt sent him loopy.
 
He sounds like mine.As much hayledge as can eat and Dodson and Horrell Suregrow, swap the sugar beet for fibre/alfa beet, no point in feeding the outshine as well as oil, PPowder is great, and possibly fibre cubes or bog standard pasture nuts (loopy on everything but the budget types!!) Also what about a week or two off? Just a thought, mine stresses off his feed but when he can chill it gets back on him better.
Anyone around to feed him at lunch?
Or put a snack ball in with his dinner so he is still eating.
Takes ages to put weight on.
 
What breed is he and what's his history?
If he's stressy to ride he may have digestive issues which prevent him from putting on weight (he may literally stress his weight off)
Kate x
 
Could he need an extra rug? in cold weather they use a lot of engery keeping warm at night.

Is he pacing the fence waiting to come in? My horses start to gate watch from about 2pm until 4pm when I bring them in and have developed a well worn path.

Another thing I watch in winter especially is that they are drinking enough, some horses hate icey cold water and that can affect things.

Good luck, I am sure you will crack it and hopefully some of the ideas we are throwing at you may help.
 
He isnt a stressy sort and doesnt pace, although he can be excited when ridden. But recently i have just been gently hacking him. Cant get a feed in at lunch time, which is annoying but just hyow it is. Thanks for all ideas guys, i will persevere and see how he goes-fingers crossed!!
 
what about Lickits for mid-day - they are full of molasses so should be fattening or one of those stable tub licks that take ages to use up - again full of molasses
 
What about putting a tub of Readigrass in the stable overnight to eat alongside his hay. Studies have shown that horses eat more forage if more than one type is available.
 
Cant remember which one No.1 is but I use Baileys No.4 (conditioning cubes) on mine and he seems to hold his weight all year round on those (and it was hard getting weight on him to begin with).

Like others have said, maybe just try boosting his forage with haylage or a big tubtrug full of Readigrass / Greengold Alfalfa / Hi-Fi etc. And just making sure he's super cosy?
 
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