fattening up?

[Deleted]

hi I bought a irish sport horse 2 months ago,and shes really sweet ,quiet and lovely to ride but when i bought her she was just stuck in the smallest field you can think of with no grass hardly and no water ,so as you can imagine she was extremely skinny so i rescued her really.!

Now i feed her 3 haynets of haylege a day and she gets 2 main meals 1 in a morning and 1 on a night eg.

1 scoop of chop
1 scoop of mix
1 scoop of sugar beat
and 1 scoop nuts

i also give her pink powder for her digestion system as this will help settle her stomach because shes not used to eating much food.

when i got her she wouldnt even touch a bucket ! dont think she knew wat it was?.

can anyone suggest any other feed i can use to fatten her up with because the place where she is at thinks that we dont feed her because we moved there 3 wks after we got her, so they didint see wat she looked like when we first got her (skinny) so i wormed her as soon as i got her and then once id moved to the stables i am at now they made me worm her again. Thinking she had worms.


so im goin round in circles thinking of things to feed her but not too much of as i dont want it to go straight to her head when shes a nice kind horse she even spends 9 hrs of the day eating in the fields with loads of grass. but if anyone could tell me what to use to fatten her up with then that would be great.

sorry its so long.
thanks.

[Debbie]

I wouldn't worry too much about the second deworming. In a lot of places its standard practice to deworm anything that sets foot on the place just as a precaution.

What you might consider is breaking her meals up into three or even four feedings and making them slightly smaller if she's struggling to eat all of it. Also, you can use oils to help her get more calories without the added fizz.

She sounds a lovely mare, and I bet you'll have a lot of fun with her

...oops! Teeth...I forgot to mention you might need to check her teeth. If they've got sharp edges, she won't be able to chew properly and will struggle with weight as well.

[lancslass]

definately get her teeth checked i agree with debbie, try and split her feeds into 3 or 4 meals.

baileys no 1 is good for weight gain and is also a convalecing feed for horses that are poor and sensative in their guts.
ive put a link on below..hope this helps

www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk/whatproduct/general/no1.htm

[Deleted]

thanks guys she eats like a pig at the moment and really enjoys her food its just nothings happening she just stays thin i which i know sport horses are ment to be quite gangly but muscley 2 but im used to riding dales ponies and its weired hopefully if i keep trying and try the bailey feed this may boost her up a bit?

hopefully come summer time she might look stunning.

many thanks guys x

[PonyGirl]

Calf mana (spelling could very well be wrong) but that is what my mom has used to put weight on.

[broxdown]

Have a chat with the very useful Topspec helpline, they are really knowledgeable when it comes to feeding all types of horses and ponies.

Also check the weight of each feed you are giving her against the guidelines on the manufacturers packaging to make sure she is getting enough of everything.

If she is rugged (and clipped etc) check that she is warm enough under her rugs too.

The spring grass will help her gain some condition as well.

[jec248]

I have never needed to fatten a pony up, only slim them down!!!!!

Extra calories could come from oils which are calorie dense.

[nars]

The Equilibrium range of feeds is excellent and the feedline suggested Equilibrium growth (even though the blurb targets it at youngsters) for a horse needing weight gain, but still using a fibre based approach. They also do a low, medoum and rocket fueld high energy food in the same range.

I use this on all mine now and they do great on it.

Our young QH had this problem, although the vet though she was okay. We insisted on blood tests and she had anemia!She is now putting on lots of weight as shei s also getting Visorbin.

If you go to Bradshaws website, their liquid supplement is also excellent for getting condition on horses.

[stevebartle]

try beef nuts as we use to fatten cattle be careful to introduce them slowly but remember that it takes time to build up a horses body weight a far safer and easier is to use barley as its less heating and easily digested or for slightly quicker results use both but dont give large feeds little and often works better

[clara]

I have the same problem with a SectionA Welshie, I bought him at Christmas and he was extremely poor with little or not muscle either. Frankly I bought him because i felt sorry for him! He is on two large feeds a day and ad lib hay and grass. He is only just beginning to fill out. We rested him for 3 weeks and he has had very light work ever since. He is only just beginning to fill out and muscle up. He is still a long way off looking 'well' and he is a native. I think youcan up your feed lots but gentle exercise, lots of good food and most of all time are the keys. Also the Spring grass when it comes through will make a difference.

[Deleted]

Fattening up does not happen over night. When we got Gem, she was like an RSPCA case. We had previously had Buzz who was a cob and lived on fresh air. We have now had Gem since September and although she looks 100% better than when we got her, you can still see her ribs but her spine and and pelvis are now covered. We feed 3 meals a day and ad lib good quality hay she is on per feed
1 scoop calm and condition
1 scoop alfa a
1 scoop speedy beet
vitamins
Oil.
Although you need to take into account the age of your horse, teeth condition etc.him.
Good luck, but just let people no the condition yours was in when you got them. As long as people are know you are aware of your horses condition they should be fine.

[clara]

Ooo and another thing which is so obovious but I'll mention it because I thought of it - feed according to weather and work. If it is cold she will go through more calories than in milder weather. Also if I am working a horse it will get more food than on its off days. You could try increasing the food given if she gets unmangeable you can always scale it back. Although I still think as Amanda says it probably takes about six months to get them right.

[tinkerdorisalison]

Yes do not try to rush it too much. Barley is a good weight gain feed.
also Badminton Feeds do Triple Top Up, which is a very very high oil product fed on top of good quality forage and a feed balancer.

[harleydales]

I have used grass nuts this year with great success on Apollo and Jenny, who both drop weight very easily. Apollo is 16.2 and gets 1 pound dry weight grass nuts (soaked for 24 hours), 2 pounds leisure mix (Dodson and Horrell) and some malt pellets (Pony nut type) plus a big handful of fibergy.
Jenny is 41 and she gets 3/4 pound grass nuts and 1 pound leisure mix.
Both have maintained weight this winter for the first time ever.

I also fed them to a thin sheep and he is now blossoming.....and on a diet!!

They are around £6.50 for 25kg so very good value as well. Google 'Northern Crop Driers' and then e-mail them for more info.