Wont eat sugarbeet..alternatives please!!

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doris2008

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My TB was poorly a few weeks back and as a result has dropped all the lovely condition he had put on ready for winter. He is now looking much poorer than I would like and needs to put some weight back on.
He was just on 2 scoops alfa a oil a day with top spec conditioning cubes and pink powder.
I want to keep him cereal free if at all possible as he can be a sensitive chappie.
I decided on unmolassed sugar beet as this has always been a favourite of mine for conditioning. However said ginger has decided this is not his cup of tea at all, and will actually spit it out & refuse to eat his dinner!
He doesn't 'do' alfa beet either! :rolleyes:
So...alternative needed!
How about grass nuts? Have fed these before, and surely you cant beat a bit of doctor green?
Please dont advise simple systems as have tried this before and he lost interest after a couple of weeks. I want to stick with the alfa a oil and conditioning cubes as these work for him I think.
He's fed twice a day at moment, out in day (where possible currently) and stabled at night with adlib haylage.
 
He sounds very similar to mine! She needed to gain weight so I added SpeediBeet to her feed. However she doesn't like it and will spit it out occasionally. I found by adding mint to it and feeding it warm she is more inclined to eat it.

Sorry, not overly helpful. I'd be interested to see what people reccommed instead of sugarbeet.
 
Firstly are his teeth ok? -If he's eating the Alfa Oil and Topspec cubes then personally I'd stick with that as both are very conditioning feeds.

An alternative that you could feed to gain more condition would be Build and Shine (by D&H I think, anything with Rice Bran in ie Omega rice and the like, Barley rings -some horses can be allergic/ or OTT on Barley though), or Rowen Barbary have some conditioning feeds on their website that I've looked at before, but in the end I just stuck with Alfa Oil and Cubes.

You could also try feeding Mint and Garlic which will disguise some of the taste as well, my tub of mint and garlic was frozen up the other eve so they had to go without and one of my horses was turning his nose up at his tea!, he ate it in the end though!
 
Hiya, yeh teeth are fine, checked in summer.
I am not sure why I didnt up cubes/alfa a oil - I think my automatic reaction for anything needing condition is sugarbeet!

He is currently on 2 stubbs scoops of alfa a oil a day - according to dengie website this could be upped to about 5 scoops a day and fit in with their recommended amounts!:eek:

As for the cubes - does anyone know what a stubbs scoop equates to with tops spec cool conditioning cubes? I dont have any scales at the moment.
 
They don't state on their website, but if you email or phone them they may be able to let you know, I'm guessing that a scoop of of cubes may be anywhere around 1.5 to 1.8 kg? as cubes weigh more than a mix.
 
Agree with the micronised linseed (a horsey Superfood:) )

I have also fed Coolstance copra with success.

I feed my old boy carob kibble http://www.valleyviewanimalfeeds.co.uk/ it smells like feet but all the horses go mad for it.

Fenugreek and mint are really cheap to buy and last forever. They make feed more palatable too.
 
I havent fed linseed before..and for some reason I am slightly scared of it! :o:rolleyes: No idea why...do you only need to feed it in small quantities? I'm assuming its unlikely to send him doolally?
 
I love it!

It is good for joints, gut muclage, coat, condition.

I never have to groom my horses for them to shine.

I have never heard of it sending horses loopy.

I feed 300g a day to my old boy (2 cups) and 150g to my younger horse.

I use micronised linseed from Charnwood Milling, but I have bought smaller bags from eBay in the past.
 
i have just built up my old tb as she lost all condtion due to a foot abcess :(

I spoke with several feed companies and what I decided on was Dengie Alfalfa Pellets, D&H 16+ cubes and Black sunflower seeds.

Due to the price of Alfa A Oil, I chose the Dengie Alfalfa Pellets and Black sunflower seeds. Also I could feed smaller quantities of Pellets ie a stubbs scoop is approx 1.3kg whereas that would equal approx 3 stubbs scoops of Alfa A Oil - for an old girl that takes ages to eat quantities matter :p

I found Allen & Page Calm and Condition excellent for my mare but needed to feed 2 stubbs scoops a day, whereas D&H 16+cubes she only has 800g a day (2/3 a stubbs scoop ish!).
 
Both mine go mad for Fast Fibre so if you want a sloppy high fibre feed I'd try that.
If I was you I'd just up the quanity of what he already has and enjoys as others have said.
 
Thanks chaps. Have spoken to TopSpec and he can have another full scoop of the conditioning cubes a day if necessary. Although this is going to work out quite expensive!
The upside of the sugar beet was that it lasted much longer and did the same job!
 
I fed my poorly cob alfabeet it worked wonders, never looked better after 6 months of being on that, a balancer and hifi.
 
try feeding a pro/pre biotic supplement this will help the gut and you will find that he will start to put on a bit of weight, also chills out fizzy horses, mine since going on to this is now off of all calmers and is much more chilled in his stable no kicking walls etc best thing i have ever fed, both of mine are on it now and they dont get any mixes etc just alfa a and speedi beet
 
odd1 - he has pink powder in his feed whcih contains pre & pro biotics.:)
woodlandswow - he has wintered on that before, but again we had issues with the calm side! :D
 
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