Advice on non heating condition feeds & pics wanted of tb`s please

[posh ponies]

hi ya,
ive had my tb for two weeks and i`m really happy with the way he`s settled in, however he`s underweight at the moment and i`m getting different views on feeding condition mix`s.
At the moment he`s fed allen & page calm & condition, a little bit of standard mix and dengie hi fi lite.
I need him to put weight on but theres no way i want the fizz that goes with it as were not doing any work at the moment.
My friend has advised me just to feed a normal mix and not to bother with the calm & condition :confused:
Does anyone have any advice on this please :)
Oh and please post some pic`s of youe tb`s :) :)

[Ace87]

All the TB's at our yard are 'bulked up' on ad lib hay. Not good to pump them full of stuff. Feeding wise they're all fed on calm & condition (when in work) or regular mix/nuts (when not) and alfa a, fairly basic feeding.

Seeing as he's not working, I would switch him to a bog standard mix or nuts with chaff and plenty of hay, with the emphasis on the hay!

[*Sez*]

I definitely agree with ad-lib forage of good quality haylage.

However, my TB is out of work over this winter and drops weight very quickly. I have had great results with Calm and Condition. He had a serious illness in 2006 and dropped from 475kg to 412kg, and I initially used Build Up Cubes, but discovered C&C after my feed merchant told me that they wouldn't be getting Build Up Cubes anymore.

At present, he is fed 1.5kg Calm & Condition, 500g Alfa -A oil and a round Stubbs scoop of Speedi beet, with two scoops of Pink Powder to balance his gut (he's had a lot of penicillin and antibiotics over the last two years). I discuss his feeds with an equine nutritionist two or three times a year, because I'm completely paranoid about his weight! :o

My advice would be to continue with the Calm and Condition and perhaps add some oil to his diet. I'd probably drop the mix through - I don't understand why you would need to feed both? :confused: Make sure you regularly weight tape and condition score to ensure you're keeping an eye on his weight - It can be difficult to judge small changes in weight and condition unless you specifically go looking.

[Skint]

Between my daughter and I we got some really good advice from this board on feeding our underweight x racer.

For the 1st week, we gave her what the dealer said she had and then gradually increased the size of the feeds:

She had (twice daily):
1 scoop Mollichop chaff
1.5 scoop sugar beet
Economy mix and Bailey's conditioning cubes (cant recall exact amounts but it was quite a lot )

She put on weight, got a nice shiny coat but wasn't really doing the work to warrant this, and also due to a foot abscess had to stay in for 2 weeks. She became a bit rambunctious at that point.

We posted on New Rider and took on board the advice and now feed her:
(twice daily)
1 scoop of Alpha A oil
1 scoop Fibre Beet
handful of economy mix and conditioning cubes
Vit & Mineral supplement

Im at work and havent got any pics to post but this seems to be working for her too, she is continuing to put on condition and muscle from her light work and is not so fizzy!

Sorry for the novel, hope it helps!

oh yes, and as the others have said, ad lib hay and grazing as much as poss

[Ace87]

I agree with other posts Alfa A oil is good for condition.

A very expensive Russian TB at our yard has done herself a tendon injury and she and her best buddy (an ex racer) are both on box rest and on standard mix and alfa a oil with lots of turnip! :D


My hopefully new hoss is a 4yo ex racer who is fed on baileys standard nuts and mollichaff. Nothing else (IMO he needs a bit more weight!)

[Skippys Mum]

Haylage is better for weight gain than hay. My old boy got ad lib haylage and Spillers conditioning cubes. You can feed them quite happily as they are non heating - says so on the bag and worked in real life!!

[Skye08]

we used to feed our x racehorse adlib haylage and baileys outshine

here he is the day after we got him

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e268/shada05/bailey007.jpg

Unfortunatly my sister sold him on as he a little too much for her

[Yann]

If you don't want them to overheat a fibre diet with additional oil if necessary seems to work very well. I'd steer clear of sugary starchy mixes.

[gordysgirl]

My TB can be difficult to keep weight on over winter..
He is on 1.5kg Spillers conditioning mix, unmolassed beet, alfa a oil & a dollop of grass nuts! Pink powder is excellent - pre/probiotic, vits & mins & gives lovely shine to coat.
This is mine when I first got him 4 years ago...argghh...
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii29/gordysgirl/Gord/120_2081.jpg
This one was last summer...not in much work but you can see the difference in his neck!! I actually think he looks younger!
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii29/gordysgirl/Gord/CIMG0392.jpg
And this was taken Feb this year...nice weight to come out of winter in my opinion...
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii29/gordysgirl/Gord/CIMG0927.jpg

[posh ponies]

Thankd for all the great advice & the lovely pic`s (keep them coming in !!) :)

[lauraandsolo]

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x238/lauraandsolo/feb058.jpg

he's been on 2kg baileys economy nuts, 1kg baileys no.1 (cooked cereal meal) and 1kg of speedi beet, split into 2 feeds, all winter. this has taken me 5 winters to perfect and although he's been in hard work all winter (nanny galloper/pace-setter for a 3yo racer) he's kept the weight on well. i find that this doesn't fizz him up.

[posh ponies]

What company make pink powder ?

[*Sez*]

Naf :d

[allcluedup]

yes calm & condition good for weight gain without the fizzyness i give this to my id x tb in the winter when he starts to drop any weight.

[Sexy Sietske]

Barley rings are really good for weight gain...my TB has been on them 2 weeks and the results are amazing!! They can be know to heat some horses up but are ment to be non heating and certain doesn't fizz my ex racer up :p