Big Horse Folks

[MyFriendFlicker]

Hi all!

I have a new mare, an 11 yo half-arab half-saddlebred (National Show Horse) mare. She needs to gain about 100 lbs. The last folks had her on 2 scoops of 12% pellets per day, but weren't feeding every single day.

I'm still in the beginning stages of learning about nutrition for horses, so all advice is appreciated.

She has pasture all day, Jiggs grass, is getting grass hay free fed and twice a day, I'm giving 1 scoop of 12% pellets and a small scoop of sweetened pellet with bites of corn, (cheap sweet feed given to me) to entice her to eat. (Doesn't seem to be a problem, though.)

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what to feed her to get her weight up at the correct pace and then what to change to when we're ready to maintain.

Gotta run.....grumpy, sleepy son.

OH!! Also, when folks say, "a scoop,", what size scoop do they mean? I just want to make sure we're all on the same page.

 

[SHANA]

You can give soaked beet pulp. Also how big are the scoops? My 2 arabians get 2 scoops of Avena twice a day, a salt block, a super block and hay and water in front of them at all times. They are pleasantly plump.

 

[kaykay]

IMO sweet feed is the worst thing you can feed a horse.

YOu need to weigh the feed and know exactly how much you are feeding. A "scoop" could be anything.

As said above you can add beet pulp

I would get her on a really good complete feed plus hay such as equine sr

Also body builder is a great tool for horses needing weight. You can order it online at jeffers.com

100 lbs is a lot so if she was mine I would put her on body builder for at least a month

Good luck!

 

[MyFriendFlicker]

Thank you guys, so much.

What brands are best? I would like to avoid Purina for a variety of reasons, but would use it if it were the best thing for her. I have a Tractor Supply not too far away, but only can get Purina in town. I'll check out the Body Builder, too....great idea.

I agree about the sweet feed...it's junk food. But, I thought if it helped her acclimate to me, the place and the new feed, it was helpful. It's all gone now, though, so no more of it.

I need to get a scale, obviously and go from there. Also, to give a little more clarity, I've had her a week now and when I had her vetted out, the vet is the one that gave the 100 lbs suggestion, it wasn't just my idea. I knew she was a little thin, but didn't know just how much she needed. She's not terribly skinny, though.

 

[Shortpig]

What a pretty horse. I agree with the beet pulp and good quality grain. One thing I do real well is put weight on a horse. But in the past I have rescued horses that need to gain about 300lbs. The most recent was

a Kiger Mustang a few years back and by the time I rehomed him he was looking great.

You should have great fun with your new horse.

 

[MyFriendFlicker]

http://tinyurl.com/2qgrnt Is this the Body Builder you mean, kaykay?

Thanks, shortpig!! She's an awesome girl and the epitome of the National Show Horse disposition and attitude. I really like her and am enjoying working with her to tone down a little. She was ridden Country English Pleasure up to Nationals, so she's a bit of a barn baby and is learning to relax.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

Well, she's thin, but I wouldn't say too bad. I don't know if I'd go nuts trying to put weight on her. It sounds like the previous owners didn't give her extra calories on a regular basis, so I think it'll happen naturally for her if you are giving her free choice hay and she also has grass access.

I'd add a complete feed in to make sure she's getting all the nutrients she needs and I would guess in no time she'd be at a perfect weight for her.

 

[kaykay]

Aww she is beautiful!!! She needs a few pounds but is not terrible

That link wouldnt work but its probably it. Its called body builder and its 74.95 per bottle. But it lasts a long time and horses love it!! Here is my before and after testimonial for body builder.

before body builder way underweight!

one MONTH later look at the muscle and bloom he gained!

/baxterspaintedpasture.com/ashlandcrunch.JPG

Ben before (just got this poor guy)

ben one WEEK later see how the hips are already filling in?

 

[Pepipony]

Get yourself a fish scale from walmart, the kind that has a big hook so you can put a bucket on it and that goes to 25 lbs. Then you can weigh her feed and match what the bag suggests. IMHO most feeds recommend feeding more than needed, so start on the low end. If you switch feed, do it slowly adding only a handfull every few days. Sweet feeds are junk, fast calories that leave them wired for sound LOL A good feed is a pelleted all around, maybe like Acco's Safe and Sound << I've feeding it for years and love it. To add interest add a little hay pellets or black oil sunflower seed. What , you never heard of feeding birdseed to horses?

LOL Mine LOVE it and many here use it, but call it BOSS , to keep some of us confused LOL

I have a mare that didnt mature and put on weight till she hit about 13. Before that I couldnt get her fat to save my life! She ate like a pig but was so hot blooded, she sweated it all out

 

[MyFriendFlicker]

OH! Oh!!! So, that's what BOSS is!!!

I have a mare that didnt mature and put on weight till she hit about 13. Before that I couldnt get her fat to save my life! She ate like a pig but was so hot blooded, she sweated it all out

Yep, that's my girl, too!! She's a twitchy spazz. When I stall her to feed, she weaves between bites. When I take Flicker (our mini) away to groom him, work him or for my 3 yo to ride, she frets like a worried mama the whole time. Like I mentioned, she is the epitome of the breed.

We're working very hard at calming down. We spend our riding time doing Clinton Anderson exercises. I'm ready to kill her by the end, all she wants to do is GOOOOOO! I need to read up more on helping to rein in that desire to go. She's all but uncontrollable for me. I just need to learn to work with her. I'm looking forward to the challenge, but I definitely have my hands full.

 

[chandab]

I don't think she looks that skinny, and if you just feed her consistently with a good quality hard feed and hay, she'll probably pick her weight back up faster than you think. I'd hold off on the weight builder, and just go with consistant feeding for a few weeks, if you don't see an improvement, then try weight builder. [i used to work at an Arabian Ranch and own a half-Arab gelding, they tend to have a leaner look than most other breeds.]

She will calm down some now that she's off the sweet feed, it can make them hotter.

Granted he's a mini, but I bought a stallion in November that was thinner than I like to see them; he looks great now. I started him on free choice grass hay, then slowly added in senior feed (its easy to digest and I had it on hand), after a month on senior, I slowly added in the ration balancer that I feed to most of my horses (working him up to the recommended amount), he is still on a little senior mostly because it is winter and very cold here. [so, he is now getting recommended amount of ration balancer, a little senior and free choice grass hay. I keep forgetting he also gets soaked beet pulp everyday; I slowly worked him into it. He is my smallest mini, but is getting the same amount of beet pulp as the larger minis, about 1/3# dry measure then soaked (which is probably one reason he doesn't wolf down as much hay as everyone else).]

Beet pulp seems to be really good for putting on weight, or holding weight. My senior half-Arab gelding gets 1# dry measure beet pulp soaked (all he will eat, he doesn't care for soaked feeds), 1# ration balancer, 3# senior (helps him hold his weight in winter, he won't eat it in summer when he's on pasture) and free choice grass hay. He's looking pretty good on this diet and at his age.

 

[MyFriendFlicker]

I agree, she doesn't look too skinny in the photos. I realized after I posted them, that they didn't 'showcase' her weight very well. I'm not suggesting that she's vastly underweight or anything, but her ribs show a little more than the pics suggest, as do her hip bones.

Was half of a small scoop of sweet feed (about one cup of feed) really enough to make her hotter?

I'm sorry I'm so ignorant on feeds, I've never learned the details.

I've always been told "feed a scoop of this, two scoops of that...." and did what I was told. (Not my own horses, but at a barn where I worked.)

 

[kaykay]

I do not think that was enough to make her hot.

The whole problem with sweet feed is it is just empty calories with no value. Like feeding your kids candy bars for dinner

I have weighed my feed so that I know one scoop of equine jr weighs 2 lbs. So my filly is on 2lbs am and pm so I know that one scoop is what she gets.

I think its best to know in pounds as this way you know exactly the body weight percentage you are feeding.

I do think shes a tad underweight and definitely could use conditioning to build muscles and tone

To build muscle not only do they need to work but they have to be on a good feed to build that muscle and sweet feed just wont do that

 

[MyFriendFlicker]

I do not think that was enough to make her hot.
To build muscle not only do they need to work but they have to be on a good feed to build that muscle and sweet feed just wont do that

That's good to know that it wasn't the feed, but it would have been an easy cure. I had no intention of continuing the sweet feed, as I think I mentioned above. I know it's junk food, for sure. DH and I are extremely cautious in our own diets; mostly organic, no corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, no this, no that, minimally cooked, blah, blah, blah. My dog is on a raw diet, my cat won't go for it, but he gets the closest thing. Point is, I am very concerned about what goes into my family (animals included.) I just need to learn all the details of equine nutrition, so I can make good decisions for them.

Thank you all!!! This is greatly helpful!

 

[chandab]

I do not think that was enough to make her hot.
To build muscle not only do they need to work but they have to be on a good feed to build that muscle and sweet feed just wont do that

That's good to know that it wasn't the feed, but it would have been an easy cure. I had no intention of continuing the sweet feed, as I think I mentioned above. I know it's junk food, for sure. DH and I are extremely cautious in our own diets; mostly organic, no corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, no this, no that, minimally cooked, blah, blah, blah. My dog is on a raw diet, my cat won't go for it, but he gets the closest thing. Point is, I am very concerned about what goes into my family (animals included.) I just need to learn all the details of equine nutrition, so I can make good decisions for them.

Thank you all!!! This is greatly helpful!

Get yourself a horse weight tape, they look like a seamstress measuring tape, but are marked with weight instead (usually one side has weight, the other side height). They are not perfect, but are good for tracking changes in weight, and give a decent estimate of the horse's weight. This will help give you a place to start with how much to feed her. All feeding should be done by weight.

In general, horses, regardless of size, need 1.5% to 3% of their body weight in feed per day, at least half of that should be forage (hay, grass, forage pellets/cubes). [The more forage the better, but they have to have at least 1% of their BW in long-stem forage per day.] So, for 1000# horse, that comes to 15-30# feed per day, minimum 10# hay/forage per day. Since your girl needs to gain weight, she'll probably need to start near the upper end of the range, then as she gains and gets to a good weight, she can move towards the middle of the range (if she turns out to be an easy keeper, than she may do well at the low end of the range, like my half-Arab gelding was when he was younger, he's 25 this year, so takes a little more than he used to, but still not bad).

What feeds do you have access to? What do you currently have on hand? And, what/how much are you feeding her? [You mentioned you have access to TSC; the Farnum Platform Senior is a good feed that is fairly low in starch/sugar (so it shouldn't hype her up).]

The fact she is arab/saddlebred cross may be it all it takes for her to be higher strung, but not necessarily. I worked for an Arabian ranch, that in addition to purebred Arabians, also did the Saddlebred cross, and all of them were so nice and well-mannered. [Mostly it was the training, my boss was awesome; a great trainer, mentor and friend.]