Trouble getting weight on

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eventer757

New Member
Feb 6, 2009
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Hey everyone =] I'm having some trouble getting weight on my TB rescue mare.

Currently I'm feeding her a total of 6 pounds (equals a little more than 2 scoops a day if you fill a 2-quart scoop all the way to the top) of a 10% fat/11% protein/15% fiber complete feed plus a cup of corn oil per day (split into 2 feedings). She also has free access to a round bale of hay, plus the grass is coming in. However, she also cribs, and I think she eats a lot less hay than she should because of that (she cribs on the plastic thing that covers the bale). I'm still trying to find a collar that works =\

Now, the feed instructions on the feed say to start them at 6 pounds a day and go up or down from there to adjust body condition, with no more than 8 pounds given at any one feeding. Should I continue to increase her grain consumption, or should I try something like rice bran or beet pulp? I'm not sure where I can get beet pulp as I've checked our feed stores, but I know I can get rice bran. However, the feed she's on already has both of those in it (thought I'm not sure how much...beet pulp is the first ingredient on the list, which I think means it has the most of that in it). Any ideas? Thanks :)
 
If you think cribbing is causing the problem I would be tempted to take her off all cereals and feed a fibre/oil based feed. Cribbing can be the effect of an upset stomach or intolerance to the feed, or unfortunately something much worse.

You say she is a rescue? How long have you had her? Did the feed get introduced gradually? If she is severely underweight I would only be feeding fibre until she picked up considerably along side a multi vit/min supplement and digestive enhancer.

If she just needs to put a little weight on then I wouldn't worry about feeding her up, make sure you dont mistake lack of weight for lack of muscle.

ETA Have you had teeth checked? Chances are they will be uneven and not as effective due to neglect/cribbing.
 
Please dont use a collar for her cribbing. Phone Global herbs and ask which product out of their AcidX or the Anti Suck would be recommended.

Cereals are a no-no - pure fibre is what you want with oil for condition if necessary.
 
some people may disagree, but when it comes to trying to put weight on yur horse dont bother with measuring just feed as much as poss! sugar beet is good for weight gain isnt it?:confused::)
 
Do remember that any more than 2kgs in a bucket feed is too much for the average 500 kg horse however skinny they are.
 
Well, she's not severely underweight, and she does also need muscle, but her ribs are visible and I'd like to see a bit more meat there. Her teeth have been checked, too. She was at the rescue for about 3 months, eating about 1 kg total of pelleted grain per day. I gradually switched her over to the feed shes on now over the course of a little under 2 weeks. I've had her for 4 weeks now. What else can cribbing indicate? She cribbed at the rescue as well. I've heard its fairly common for TBs to crib. Not sure if this is a genetic predisposition, or from stress at the track maybe? I'm thinking of trying a muzzle instead as everything i've tried to apply to the wood or plastic itself doesn't seem to deter her :(
 
We use Baileys outshine (fabulous stuff) for our TB. We also use Equilibra 500 feed balancer which is the only thing that has ever stopped her food going straight through her (not diahorrea, just tons of droppings and being really skinny). On that, out of work, she can just have haylage and the Equilibra, whereas without the Equilibra she still needs additional feed.
 
eventer757 said:
Well, she's not severely underweight, and she does also need muscle, but her ribs are visible and I'd like to see a bit more meat there. Her teeth have been checked, too. She was at the rescue for about 3 months, eating about 1 kg total of pelleted grain per day. I gradually switched her over to the feed shes on now over the course of a little under 2 weeks. I've had her for 4 weeks now. What else can cribbing indicate? She cribbed at the rescue as well. I've heard its fairly common for TBs to crib. Not sure if this is a genetic predisposition, or from stress at the track maybe? I'm thinking of trying a muzzle instead as everything i've tried to apply to the wood or plastic itself doesn't seem to deter her :(
Click to expand...

There have been alot of studies linking it to stomach ulcers... common in racers because they are pumped with cereals and have very little forage.

Please, whatever you do, don't muzzle her! She is trying to tell you something and masking the problem (no pun intended) isn't going to help either of you, whether she is doing it to relieve discomfort or stress/habit... you ever tried taking cigarettes off someone who smokes 20 a day?

If she is not seriously/dangerously underweight, take her off cereals and stuff her with fibre/oil, whether you want to see more meat on her or not, she won't gain weight if she is cribbing. She is also a TB, notorious for being ribby and looking slim... she may never look as 'curvy' as some of the other breeds.
 
oh dear...lots more questions!

K, so she could very well have ulcers. She doesn't show any other signs of ulcers from what I've read (she has a good appetite, her coat is shiny, no signs of colic, etc). Just cribbing and poor weight gain. So maybe if she has them, they're not too severe yet?

I've read a lot online that plenty of turnout and grass can do wonders for horses with ulcers. She is turned out 24/7 with constant hay and grass. Could they resolve themselves with time?

As far as cutting grain, I could try that. I've also been looking at some other options that are offered at our feed store. There's a low starch formula that contains no grains, molasses, or alfalfa. Its first few ingredients are wheat middlings, soybean hulls, and shredded beat pulp. It has 13% protein, 6% fat, and 18% fiber.

There's also a 'lite' formula that has 3% fat and 20% fiber, and it says it is so fortified with vitamins and minerals that you can feed as few as 2 pounds per day. It just worries me since it says it's for easy keepers (I think that's the same as an easy doer?), and she's definitely not an easy keeper!

I don't want to treat her for ulcers until absolutely necessary since it's outrageously expensive for Gastrogard. I've also been researching some cheaper options and may try those first, such as Ulcergard (the same as Gastrogard but smaller doses...normally used as a non-prescription preventative) or proCMC.

I'm so afraid of taking her off grain completely, but I'll try it! What would I feed her to give her lots of fiber besides the hay and grass she is already on? Can ulcers heal on their own with a change in diet?

Also, what else can cribbing indicate? I've always heard that it's just a habit that comes from stress, and it's only risk is that it increases the risk of some
forms of colic.

Sorry for the all the questions...thanks for all the input so far!
 
I second the 'please dont muzzle her to stop her from cribbing'. She is doing it to help the pain in her stomach.

A diet/management rethink will go along way to stopping it.
 
Can I ask... are you based in america? If so im afraid I can't help much on what feed to get in terms of brands, but look for anything thats high in fibre and oil and low in starch and sugar, beet pulp (sugarbeet) is good for weight if you can get your hands on that. High fibre cubes by baileys are brilliant for weightgain without feeding cereals if you could find something similiar.

You can also add a fair bit of oil to the feed for increase calories (not sure how much exactly would need to look that up) either to the feed or poured over hay.

Don't be worried about taking her off cereals... weight tape her and give her a thorough condition scoring, take photos and if possible get someone to have a look at her who doesn't see her regularly (will notice weight gain/loss more than those who see her everyday) If she does start to lose weight then you may have to add the cereals again but try to stick with it, stopping/reducing her cribbing would be my main concern at the moment.
 
Yep, I'm in America...I'm pretty sure our feed store doesn't carry anything like those high fiber cubes. I used to buy Hi-Fi where I used to live, but I can't find anything like that where I am now :(

I will start to decrease her grain intake. I'm already giving her oil with her feed, and I found a feed online that is 20% fiber and 3% fat (which I guess is the same as 'oil'?). That's the feed that I'd only have to feed about 2 pounds a day of. Should I try that?

Actually, I'm not even sure our feed store carries it...they don't have out it in the store, so they may have it in the back, but I doubt it =\ Really all I'm sure they have is a senior feed with 17% fiber and 10% fat, and alfalfa forage. Could alfalfa be an option at 30% fiber?

I have no way of knowing exactly how much hay and grass she's eating in a day, but I've noticed her grazing a lot more, which is good! She seems to crib most while she's eating and right after, so I'm guessing that's because of discomfort from ulcers.

Could I also try a high calorie weight building supplement in addition to a high fiber diet? I'd guess that's what the oil is for, but I'm not sure if you get more potent stuff in a supplement form.

Sorry for all the questions, I really don't know anything about feeding =\
 
Haven't read all responses, but I would treat her for ulcers, keep her in as stress & boredom free environment as possible, ditch the cereal grains in favour of something more digestible - perhaps just hay & the oil - and if you're going to hard feed, esp. if including grains or high starch feed, you need to do it little & often. 2 times daily is not enough. Large &/or infrequent meals can often cause gut imbalances that can actually lead to losing weight.

Lucerne/alfalfa hay/chaff is high energy, so may help. She may also be unhealthy due to nutritional deficiencies or imbalance, not from lack of feed generally.

And seeing as people seem way too used to seeing obese horses(& humans & dogs), if she's not obviously really skinny, I'd advise doing a 'body fat score' assessment(google it) on her, as she may well be a good weight ATM after all. If she's well covered & you can just see her ribs, she's probably fine.
 
Go with the Alfalfa, its a great fibre source and adding oil to it will give it a higher calorie count so her weight should start to build.
My anglo arab is a stress head, I could feed him buckets of grains and he was always thin, he is now on a pretty much fibre only diet and he is a big fat bloater (too much so, he is now on a diet!)
Here he is mis summer being fed 2 big buckets of grain a day plus good grass and haylage (this is a better picture, he had ribs showing and hips poking out all the time, didn't keep those ones tho!)
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And here he is last spring looking much rounder after switching onto a more fibre based diet. Now he just gets Alfa, grass nuts and hay (on sand paddocks for turnout)
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Jessey said:
Here he is mis summer being fed 2 big buckets of grain a day
Click to expand...

This is but one of many problems horses can suffer due to being fed grain, especially in large quantities at a time, especially when it's fed infrequently - ie less than 3-4 small meals daily. It's a traditional, so little thought about feed for many, but it causes huge problems for horses.

That pic only came up small for me, but he doesn't appear thin at all to me. ...But then thinking about it, after the pony I saw today(who's owner didn't realise he was much overweight!), anything looks skinny! This thing was fair dinkum, built like a lowline angus bull!
 
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