Skinny tb off track 4 mths?

Question

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Hi everyone,

We have had our throughbred off the track for about 4 mths now. He came to us quiet lean and we are having trouble fattening him up. He is 8 yrs old, 16.2 hh, is rugged but not stabled, has access to 15 acres of average forage material. He is regularly wormed and has had his teeth done. He gets a biscuit of lucern a day along with 2 scoops of white chaff, 1/2 scoop of soaked horse grain mix, 1/2 scoop of cooked barley, 1/2 scoop of rice bran, molassas, tbs seaweed, tbs dolamite 1/2 ts blue stone.. What can i do for this boy. Can anyone please help me. I am a little worried about the rice bran as i have read that the phosphate level is very high compared to the calcium level?

thanks

Answer 1

OMG!!!!!! Sounds like my TB mare. shes 8 as well, 15.2 and rugged and outside!!!!

We got her 6 mths of the track... ANYWAY

I'm in Australia and we're feeding her 3 scoops of white chaff, 1 scoop of calm performer (pellets) and konkies own. we feed her gastro coat of that brand. Your horse may have ulcers so if you give him some ulcer gaurd, gastro coat or somthing that coats his stomach it should work.

My mare has put on stacks of weight from this but every horse is different.

Good Luck

Answer 2

I purchased a TB last year and also had trouble keeping weight on him.  He is also a big boy and could eat "like a horse'!  (more like a little pig!)  Now after being on pasture with only a handful of grain as a daily treat, he is in great shape.  Remember, horses need to do what is natural...grazing, running over different types of terrain, etc.  I bet you will see a big difference by this time next year if you just turn him loose.

Answer 3

Beet pulp is good for weight gain in horses

you put it in with it's feed I used it on one of my horses that i got "she was abused and on deaths door"

and in a mo. she was fat as a butter ball

You just have to make sure that when you soak it, there aren't any whole pellets left behind,

and that they are all completely soaked and soft. soak it in water overnight so it expands fully "and it will - a lot". Other wise it will expand in his stomach and then you're in for serious colic risk.

On cold mornings use warm water in it and it would be like oatmeal for them.

hope this helps

Answer 4

some fattening grains:

beat pulp

sunflower seeds

corn oil [also good for coats]

..they are relatively cheap as well... also, you may want to find a performance grain with alot of fat and fiber and between 8-12% protein..

Answer 5

i agree with the above

Answer 6

You mentioned food, but not exercise?  Steady exercise is needed to build muscle, not just food.

Answer 7

Beet Pulp and free choice hay! always have hay in front of him, as long as he is not waisting it!

I feed my 17hh Skinny TB mare 2lbs of soaked Beet Pulp, 6lbs of grain (sweet feed) , 8hrs of grass and 6-9 flakes of grass hay over night (you have to be very careful not to over feed if you have alfalfa hay) every day. when she came to me, you could see all of her ribs, and her hips were poking out....now all of her ribs are covered and we are just working on her hips! I also put her on a good weight/coat supplement.

Answer 8

start exercising him more and maybe because of his age he was losing weight at the track and racehorses are usually quite skinny it helps them run faster and he as probally eat something different at the track

Answer 9

Feeding him rice bran is fine from my experiences. I would give him free choice bermuda grass, and about 1/4alfalfa. And maybe add soem more excersise to his schedule. And TBs are not ever really fat horses in my experience. They are usually a little thin, I think its just the way there metabilismn is.

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

If you want to really fatten him up then gice him bran mash 2 or 3 times a week.