bsnlark
Junior BB Member
SAFE Adopter
SAFE's Larkspur and Ishmeal n Buckwheat, too
Posts: 71
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Post by bsnlark on Aug 15, 2007 23:58:15 GMT -5
Redmond wrote : I used to be like that - I called it my twenties......dapples, pimples...whatever....but skinny as a rail! what happened to those days?!? Not to worry REDMOND, the dapples come back, only its called cellulite
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Post by cat67 on Aug 16, 2007 10:46:27 GMT -5
cat can tell you that I got weight on Mesa when no one else could. right? I have the pictures to prove it! You are the only one who got weight on that poor old mare. I'm so happy it worked out for her.
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Post by leahlady on Aug 16, 2007 16:48:28 GMT -5
I didn't catch this thread until just now but everyone is recommending what I would as a longtime OTTB owner! My answer has always been: as much hay as they will eat, and as much fat as you can get them to eat. Usually TBs gobble up alfalfa so giving them a flake or two a day won't make them *too* crazy and get more roughage in them. Personally I don't like feeding excessive amounts of grain or concentrated feed so getting them to eat as much hay as possible is key. And if they eat alfalfa - FINE. Beet pulp is great (if they will eat it) but it can be time consuming to feed because you have to let it soak. I have always had luck adding corn oil - over rice bran if they will eat it - or over hay pellets if they won't eat the rice bran. When Lady needed to put on weight last winter, she refused to eat beet pulp and rice bran after a few days so she got as much corn oil as possible on top of plain oats, the only grain she would eat at the moment. The problem with TBs is that not only do they need lots of calories...but they are extremely picky. Lady only likes her grain for about a week, and then it will just build up in her feed bin until she decides to try it again. I have never met a horse who refused wet cob until I owned Lady. Yes, this horse refuses molasses covered oats. Lady won't eat supplements anymore so she doesn't get any. I gave up after trying mixing her food up with molasses, applesauce, honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, sprinkling it with cinnamon, mixing in brown sugar..... and we won't get into the interior design she does with her hay... Soo...I think the answer is...first find out what she will eat and then try to get her to eat as much of it as possible.
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Post by Gingersmom-Tate on Aug 17, 2007 0:36:37 GMT -5
I am so glad I asked, because she is very picky, I always tell Neil "I cant believe this horse doesnt like hay" and I buy good hay...but its the color she seems to care about. I've up'd the grain to 3.5lbs and increased the hay to orch/tim and alf 2x per day, but I have to hand mix them or she will ignore the orch. I plan on adding free choice grass hay too. I'm so happy to hear the alf will not make her crazy...she already cannot walk anywhere, its a trot or a run all day long...
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myhorsefaith
Junior BB Member
Run, baby, run... I miss you.
Posts: 71
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Post by myhorsefaith on Aug 17, 2007 10:36:22 GMT -5
I have a TB I am working on right now- he needs about 150-200 lbs. A big guy, well over 16 HH.
He's on 24/7 grass- lots of it- he couldnt eat it all if he tried.
I started feeding him Ultium, which i love. I worked up to about 5 lbs/ in the first feeding, and mix it with his hoof supp, flax, boss. I also give him alfalfa pellets too, but not a significant amount (1 lb).
Then a few hours later I'll give him he alfalfa pellets and another 2 lbs of ultium.
I just switched him to the new LMF Gold, which he LOVES, even more than the ultium.
He's looking awesome. Another 2 weeks of this regime, and I think he'll look very fine indeed.
Also, make sure she is drinking enough water. I know my tb's in the past will avoid drinking water if it is in an interesting place, if they get spooked while drinking, etc.
And also another important factor is relaxation & contentment. This may mean different things for each horse. For example, my ottb mare, Faith, was such a hard keeper when i kept her in a high traffic boarding barn, and also at a family's house- very different places. In each place we threw so much food at her and it didnt seem to make a difference. When I moved her to RB, her weight came on. I've never seen her more relaxed and truly happy- which i think makes a huge difference. I would've thought she was happy in those other places, but now that i can compare to RB, she's a totally different horse. I've realized with her that she needs her space (25 acres), and she needs a horsie family...both of which she gets at RB in addition to the food. She's just not the type of horse to be OK with 1 or 2 companions. She's a social butterfly- the ultimate prey animal! LOL
Food in an important factor, but I believe these other things are just as important!
Best of luck!!!!
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Post by Gingersmom-Tate on Aug 17, 2007 14:52:43 GMT -5
I couldnt agree more about the relaxation part of their recovery from stress. I thought I would share very current pics of Sione, from today. I didnt want to give the impression she was skinny with my post. Sione's only stress at this point is Ginger's constant reminders that she is the boss hoss.
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Post by Gingersmom-Tate on Aug 17, 2007 14:55:55 GMT -5
Of course, a pic of Ginger, since she is the queen who keeps the entire farm in line.
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Post by cat67 on Aug 17, 2007 15:04:38 GMT -5
Sione looks great, I don't think she needs any more weight at all. Her coat looks fabulous, she's all dappled - she couldn't be healthier no matter what you did. She looks perfect!
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myhorsefaith
Junior BB Member
Run, baby, run... I miss you.
Posts: 71
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Post by myhorsefaith on Aug 17, 2007 17:48:09 GMT -5
Wow I think she looks great too! Nice work!
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Post by Gingersmom-Tate on Aug 17, 2007 21:48:31 GMT -5
In person you can tell she still needs some and the vet also thinks about 75lb more.
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Post by qhflicka on Aug 17, 2007 22:36:04 GMT -5
For horses not gaining weight despite plenty of good nutrition, reconsider your deworming schedule.
I have a TB that just could't gain weight (fast enough for my liking) and guess what solved that problem......Tape Care Plus (TCP). The day he arrived on the farm, three months ago, he was given a whole tube of Equimax (for round and tapeworms), and was dewormed monthly after that. It is almost unbelievable how much weight he has packed on since deworming him with TCP, just two weeks ago!! Maybe he just had such a huge worm load that regular doses of dewormer did not get them all - A full tube of TCP is needed to get rid of tapeworms, and only half a tube is necessary to get rid of roundworms. A full tube meant a double dose for roundworms, and I believe that is what did the trick.
I also adopted a skinny, hairy, 20+ yr old mare a couple of months ago. Despite monthly dewormings (including Equimax), she would not shed her hair, until I dewormed her with a full tube of Tape Care PLus two weeks ago. My previous hairy golden girl is now sporting a shiny, short, soft, fine, brown coat. She has filled out wonderfully too. She had her teeth floated on Memorial day, and the vet said it was possible that she had Cushings because of her long hair. I am so glad my grand old lady does not have Cushings - She loves any kind of fruit, carrots and pumpkin!!
Tape Care Plus rocks!!
In the winter, we put out large bales of excellent grass hay for the horses to munch on all day. Each horse, except the two ponies, gets a flake of Alfalfa in the morning and another in the evening. My horses are not worked hard, so I seldom grain them, mainly just as a treat or for mixing supplements in. I have used 250lb protein tubs with molasses, vitamins and minerals (for horses) when the winters were colder than normal.
In Summer my horses graze on excellent pasture grass. I always put electrolytes (Apple Dex) in their water.
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Post by cutiepiepmu on Sept 1, 2007 4:22:02 GMT -5
Just my 2 cents here BUT- for thin TB and hard keepers- Unlimited quality grass hay(min. 9% protien) and per feeding 2-3 decent size flakes of alfalfa - as long as there is no Insulin Resistance. I would also mix up the following: Dry measure - 2 pounds beet pulp(needs to be soaked) Dry Measure - 5 pounds alfalfa pellets/Timothy pellets(Sterret Brothers is the best) 2 ounces full fat ground flaxseed 1 cup vegitable or corn oil 1 scoop cool calories or add an extra cup of oil 2 big scoops probios feed granules HorseGuard vitamins joint supplement if needed Add at least some water to the whole thing to make everything stick and make it softer to chew. I have issues with Purina senior since - although they no longer list it on the label - it DOES have animal fat in it(private lab study found this). I also have issues with feeding senior to non-senior horses unless they have bad teeth since feeding the recommended amount per day is the only way to get the full dose of vitamins and minerals needed for full health. Always read on ANY complete and pelleted feed how much you need to feed to get the recommended daily allowance. If you are feeding less for whatever reason - you really need to supplement a vitamin/mineral to the daily ration. Feeding the above 2 times per day minus the vitamin/joint suppelemnt - only 1 time a day there - along with free choice grass hay and supplemental alfalfa is generally what I do for a hard keeper. I will obviously re-evaluate once the horse is at a healthy weight, but as a genearl rule, hotter horses need more fuel. And Redmond - I miss those days too..... now I am like an IR Quarter Horse who has more dimples on my butt than dapples..... Life is cruel isn't it? Sara
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