hart2hart
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putting weight on a 3 y/o TBHi All,
I have a 3 year old Thoroughbred who is ribby - not terrible but she has a ridiculous metabolism and I'd love to put some weight on her - especially as I start to train her more as I know she'll lose more. Our barn has a set amount of feed they give all horses, as with many barns in the area where I live.
She currently gets Alfalfa in the AM and Oat/mixed hay in the PM (my guess is 2 flakes at each time though I will double check with the barn manager when I see her saturday).
Prior to my getting her she was getting the following:
multivitamin
2 qts alfalfa pellets
2 qts Strategy
2 bails of alfalfa 2x a day.
I don't really like her getting alfalfa that much, nor do I like Strategy. She is a very calm horse for a 3 y/o Thoroughbred. She trained as a racer but has been off for 3 months and I'll be re-training her for dressage (and ultimtely once she's done growing, etc will start her over fences as well - though my guess is that's at least 2 years down the road).
Any advice would be much appreciated. She's about 16-16.1hh. Thanks!
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creekwood
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Your best bet is hay, hay & more hay. See if you can have your barn manager feed 3 times a day. Horses are grazers with small stomachs & they aren't meant to eat 2 big meals a day.
Is she turned out on grass?
Adding an oil can help too. Corn oil is pretty common, but has a lot of Omega 6. Flax oil is good because of the higher amount of Omega 3s.
A really high quality supplement for people who can't test their hay is Platinum Porformance. http://www.platinumperformance.com/animal/equine/
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hart2hart
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Hi Kelsey,
Thanks for the feedback.
Could you recommend how much flax seed I should give her?
Also, I'd love to be able to give her more hay but unfortunately I'm restricted by barn rules and because I can't get down ther easily every day to, say, store a bail in the back of my car and give her some. They will grain her though. That's part of the reason I was looking for a grain mix. Anyway, I'd definitely like to try the flax oil and I'm pretty familiar with platinum performance (use to give it to my 21 y/o TB) but I also know I need to mix it with something (because if I remember correctly it's in powder form and she'll just blow it everywhere sniffing at it). Could you offer any suggestions for grain? Trust me, in an ideal world I'd love to fatten her up on hay and supplements haha.
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Chris
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There was a Q&A article in the May 2009 issue of Practical Horseman, that is relevant. In this case the question was how to increase appetite......but the answer still dealt with how to get weight onto a horse.
One fat supplement recommended is rice bran. To quote Dr. Carey Williams' answer:
| Quote: | | "Adding rice bran will increase the fiber and fat content in the feed and create more energy for weight gain without the hyperactivity effect of a high-sugar diet. Your horse could probably get about a pound or two of rice bran per day, but different types vary so it is always good to read the recommendation on the bag. If the rice bran says it is "stabilized," that just means it is fortified with a higher level of calcium because natural rice bran is typically low in calcium." |
She goes on to say that it is important to be careful when adding fat to the diet, increasing the amount slowly over two or three weeks.
Also, she said that a horse who is getting alfalfa hay does not need "stabilized," rice bran, as alfalfa is very high in calcium.
Dr. Williams is a Rutger State University scientist who maintains a herd of Standardbreds for exercise physiology research, and is also involved with equine pasture management initiatives, according to the magazine.
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Chris
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P.S.
I thought everybody knew horses were not designed to eat two big meals a day, sheesh. What's with that two-feedings per day crap?
I hope you can move her to another barn. Might take some searching but they can't all adhere to that feeding nonsense.
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Horse Gypsy
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I have tried a lot of things to put weight on my TB and my Hanoverian who is very hot. Free choice hay is part of it-- but was not enough for either of my horses. I have been taking Ellenor Kellons nutrition courses- and she recommends a diet of beet pulp/oats 50/50 and 4 ounces of flax seeds for omega 3s- if a horse is on pasture they get the omega 3s from grass. You can feed more flax seeds than that- but 4 ounces is a good starting point. The beet pulp/oats diet has 2x the calories as hay so is a good place to start to put on weight-- and when you understand the digestion process-- which is that 50% of carbohydrate processing happens in the hind gut through fermentation- you understand why beet pulp is good- because it is a good source of digestible fiber. She does say to soak and rinse the beet pulp.
Then if that is not enough- which is the case with my horses add oil-- I just use Vegi oil because I am on a budget-- and it has made the difference for my horse between being ribby and being round. up to 1/2 cup a day. I hear cocosoya is popular also-- but if you do feed oil you should feed flax- ground flax-- or flax oil.
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hart2hart
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Gypsy,
Can I ask you, how much beet pulp/oats do you feed?
I like this combo. I'm looking at moving her to another barn but it may not be for a little bit as I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment myself and that's just too much for me at once. Anyway, I used to use beet pulp/rice bran for my 21 y/o ribby TB. I want to say he got the equivalent of 1/2 bucket of soaked beet pulp (as I'm sure you know the pellets expand with water added). I can't, for the life of me, remember how much beet pulp that was when not expanded.
You all have been so helpful by the way, Thanks!
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LoveMyTB
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Sounds like your barn has a lot of rules/is strict. Would it be easier for them to just feed a top-dress supplement? You might look into Buckeye Ultimate Finish. It's a top-dress fat supplement. It put about 200lbs on my TB mare a few years ago...AND it didn't make her crazy! It's great stuff.
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hart2hart
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Haha I think they're just lazy and don't want to put in extra effort and want to cut costs. Unfortunately the next cheapest barn in the area is $150/mo more than this one - which is why I'm here. I graduated from college about 2 years ago and don't have much money yet. Part of it is living in the San Francisco, Bay Area - everything here is so expensive. I'm afraid to leave though in this economy, as jobs for accounting and finance are limited at the moment.
I'll definitely look into the Buckeye Ultimate formula too! Thanks!
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Horse Gypsy
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I feed both of these guys one scoop of oats--2 1/2 quart- and one scoop of soaked beet pulp. 2x a say. That may be a lot for some horses. Beet Pulp is a pain -- because it has to be soaked- but it is far better to feed it than a lot of grain. Triple Crown makes some good feeds if you don't want to mix it yourself. I personally would not feed strategy-- and I try to stay away from anything with molasses or that is overly processed. But I do feed my old TB Triple Crown Senior and Beet pulp and he likes it- he is really picky and somewhat going senile in his old age-- he sometimes forgets to eat even if there is a bucket of grain in front of him. But the Beet Pulp/oats diet really worked on this TB mare I salvaged over the winter because no one was taking care of her.
Horses do need mineral supplementation and they really need salt. Salt makes a big difference if they don't have access. I feed my horses a Calcium/Phosphorus supplement-- and I see a big difference in coat and hoof quality. the best thing to do is have your forage tested- but that isn't always possible- I am having my pasture tested- so that will be interesting.
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Newfman
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It is amazing, some barns make you feed their way. Some barns shun you if your horse is barefoot or if you deon't use their farrier!
Find out how much control YOU have with YOUR horse that you pay YOUR money to board at the next place.
Here is some feeding help: http://www.safergrass.org/
Elanor Kellon as mentioned earlier is also a great rescource, and teaches an online equine nutrition class. (my wife is in her next class).
It can well spent money to have one of these two people help you set up a diet for your horse. It may keep you from spending money on crap your horse doesn't actually need or utilize. The money you could save on feeds and suppliments may very well pay for a consult. It isn't as costly as you might think. These are experts. Check it out....
Good luck.
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Leah
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Chris are you certain 'stabilized' rice bran is referring to calcium?
I believe stabilized refers to a process to keep it from going rancid.
Rice bran can then be calcium fortified or 'balanced' which refers to the calcium content.
Interesting little factoid....people often refer to Katy Watts and Dr Kellon in the same breath (I often do as well)-they actually have VERY opposing views on mineral balancing.
Dr Kellon has ratios she wants to achieve.
Katy wants to meet the minimum NRC requirements without focusing on ratios.
Some other considerations (making it difficult to organize a diet without sitting down with a total assessment)-I fed flaxseed for years. I have a horse with allergies and fed him EXTRA flax to help with his skin.
Found out 2 years later he is very allergic to flax.
So much for that brilliant idea.
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