advice on feeding rescue mini

[shaepony]

I have had this mini for three months now. He is 28.5" aprox 175lb(weight tape if you have a more acurate way to weigh minis please let me know) He is looking a whole lot better since I got him. Though 2 weeks ago he coliced from not drinking enough water for the hay he was eating. I now soak everything he gets and he is doing great. However, I can still feel his ribs when I run my hand acrost his sides.

Current diet is: Am 2.5lbs orchard grass(dry wieght)soaked over night and 1/4lb allegra senior horse soaked with 16oz water

Pm 3lbs hay(dry weight) soaked and 1/4 lb senior horse with 1tsp glucosamine joint fluid

Basicly he is on free feed hay(he has most to all of it cleaned up by the next feeding) I am so worried he will colic again, I am being very careful and don't know if I should be giving him more grain(nights here are currently 40dergree range as it gets colder I will obviously increase rations but should I be feeding more now? he has a fairly slow digestive track and some teeth problems. he is scedualed to have two extarcted next month wich will help hischewing/ wieght gain). he is a little bloated( hay belly) I've wormed again just to make sure and i've given him 30g of probios. I would just like to see a nice layer over his ribs before winter hits.

I switched from purina to allega for the extra fat content and the beet pulp.

any oppinions or advice would be great. I have full sized horses and this is my first mini I am basicly doing everything in smaller proportion that I would do with a large horse.

The drinking problem is the most difficult. most the water he gets is from his soaked food. he almost never uses his 5gal bucket(I've marked it to keep track. He seems to be a lot better since soaking his hay and giving him mashes. how much water should he be drinking a day? I am still figuring out how much his hay absorbs.

 

[Margaret]

I like feeding "Alfalfa/burmuda" pellets along with grass hay to bump up their weight and pull them through the winter. Some of the common brand names of these pellets are Sacat'e or Lakin Lite.. You can soak them for a few hours in water, prior to offering them to assure good hydration. I like the sacate brand as they seem a little smaller in size, because I have never needed to soak for mine, but if you plan on soaking them then either brand should be fine. I find that this is a good winter feed with hay, as in the summer they do plenty fine on pasture and hay when needed. Note: Allways introduce "new" feeds slowly, and increase amounts over time..

 

[rabbitsfizz]

If he is still gaining weight, and has not colicked again on the feed you are giving, and his motions are firm, I would not really change a lot. If it ain't broke.......

I would try adding Beet Pulp, soaked, if you can get it- it helps with bulk in the feed and also with the amount of water. As to drinking- try breaking the bucket up- put out two or three smaller buckets, not full. I have NO idea why this makes a difference, but it does seem to, nuts , I know

My 28" 26 year old weighs 100kgs (220 lbs) , usually, and is not over weight at this, a lot depends on build, Rabbit is quite stocky. And Bless You for doing this- so many people would not have bothered.

 

[weehoss]

What age is the mini you are trying to put weight on? From the senior feed I would guess he is aged or is his teeth in such bad shape that he digest the senior better? Depending on his age, we have two or three things we usually try. Purina makes a sweet feed named

equitech which is 10% fat. or Strategy which is 6%. Add to that soaked beet pulp for the hydration and also to help the horse to absorb as much of the nutrients as possible. As for water. try a mineral salt block or sprinkle salt on the grain. Hope these suggestions are helpful and our prayers are with you.

 

[yankee_minis]

As for the water, I got a couple yearlings that wouldn't drink out of the regular water bucket. They were a little skittish with people. I figured that they didn't like putting their heads into the bucket. I thought it made them feel vulnerable.

So I got a 16 gallon feed dish and put their water in that. It was wide and shallow. They started drinking from it and I had no problems after that.

Sometimes horses have emotional reasons for refusing to do something....

 

[shaepony]

Thank you all so much. He is 10 yrs old. I will try using multiple shallow bucket for water. I don't think he is putting any more weight on with his free feed hay and 1/4lb senior grain am/pm. I am going to work him up to 1/2lb grain am/pm. I thought with soaking his hay his bloated belly would go away,maybe it's not hay belly? I just don't want a compaction colic again

like he did 3 weeks ago before I started soaking hay (though I think the biggest reason was that he was getting a small amount of alfalfa, I was feeding it like grain basicly,as recomended be a few mini owners, I will not use that again)

he is a QH type mini, the bloat doesn't seem to bother him,though it bothers me, he has been eating a total of 5-6 lbs (dry wieght) of hay a day. It makes him look fat to a non-horse person but I can feel his ribs and back bone when running my hand over him. It just hurts me to think of how someone could let a mini get to the condition he was in when I got him(it was the end of summer, his coat didn't shed out all the way, he was standing almost on the sides of his hooves and you could see ribs and hips, the worst was the spurs on his teeth were like surenge needles. The dentist had never seem such a sever case!!!! he wasn't even able to chew side to side like a normal horse

Through all the problem I LOVE HIM

I have never regreted getting him it's all worth it to me

I really appretiate your time

 

[Miniv]

I agree about the soaked beet pulp......It sure won't hurt him. And have his stools checked for any worms. I'm sure you've wormed him, but with what sounds like a rough history -- you may have to be aggressive with the worming and that could be a reason for his "bloated tummy".....

Good luck and God bless for all you are doing for him!

MA