Winter's a comin... - Health & Supplements - Health & Supplements - Horse Community, Horse Pictures, Horse Forum and Information

Posted : 9/14/2009 1:37:56 PM

Hey ya'll. I'm new here but I do need some help. I have 2 appaloosa's. One's is a unregistered mare, but she is AMAZING, and the other is my double registered Gelding.

I got my mare back in jan and she was FAT. she's red roan in the winter and she sheds out to be silver in the summer. So i started riding her and what not and where i had her boarded was already pretty full with horses. well, she got thin, so i moved her to my buddies house that 45 min away. She's been out on 26 acres with only 4 other horses. She gained her fat back, but her withers and tail are still showing. She's UTD on everything. Oh, and did I mention she's 17? And hopefully (fingers crossed) in Foal? I need some advice on how to build up her back and rear.

Next is my gelding. I've had him for 3 yrs and i love him. he is my baby boy. He's a solid red dun with a bald face and 1 blue eye. He's only about 9 yrs old. He looks toned and muscly in the summer time, but once winter comes, he drops close to 300lb pounds and looks like a starvation case. I've had people call me in because he gets so thin, but once spring comes back around and the pasture grows up, he's fat again. He is also UTD on everything. He has 24hr access to a round bale and gets 2 scoops of grain a day plus wheat germ oil...

This is my idea.. Bring them in for the night from the pasture. Give them more that enough hay for the night, feed them a 12% sweet feed mixed with steam crimped oats plus beet pulp. Give them both weight supplements with their grain and add joint supplements to hers....

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

TanyaC97

Posted : 9/14/2009 6:03:53 PM

Good plan on brining them in for the night. But skip the sweet feed and give something else, that is high in fat would be a better option.

Sucker4Spots

Posted : 9/16/2009 6:01:34 PM

Should i feed a senior mix then??

CrookedPostQH

Posted : 9/17/2009 12:53:56 AM

If I understand correctly, they became thin at the other boarding place? Maybe too much competition for food and they did without?

I would avoid sweet feed as it is like feeding twinkies. Loaded with sugar.

Horses out on good pasture will gain weight and a lot of water weight, too. Be careful in the spring and limit the time they graze as horses can founder on the new grass if they get to eat as much as they want. The gelding would probably do well with a good grass or grass/alfalfa horse hay that is free choice. Even with light riding he should stay in good condition in a mild winter and do great if he is stalled at night and in severe weather.

Your mare will need extra nutrition or special diet consideration because of her age and especially if she is in foal. Cleaned high grade oats are good and how kind of you to have them crimped. That would probably make her happy! lol Free choice hay and I would agree to the supplements for her to make sure she can grow the foal without pulling her weight down again. Look for some that say they are bio-available - meaning the vitamins can readily enter the blood stream. (Too many supplements and bagged feeds are made on the cheap. The horses just do not get much nutritional value from them even though you pay a fair amount of money for it.) If possible, find a loose free choice mineral to offer and let the horses determine how much they need. If not, try to find a mineral block for horses only, not cows.

If the mare is pregnant, start reading up on what to expect during the delivery and the foal's first hours, days, weeks, and months. You want to be ready and know when to call the vet if something seems wrong at different stages.

On a last thought, a quality alfalfa pellet added to her grain could provide extra protein for the mare if you feed an all grass hay. Look for&nbsp ';p'

ellets that smell strongly like fresh baled alfalfa when the bag is opened. Stay away from cubes due to choking issues.

Consider having their teeth checked for even grinding and missing teeth and then once every year.

The weight they lost if they were very thin, will take time to return as they may have lost a good amount of muscle tissue too. It may take several years for a starved horse to stop eating like they won't ever have another meal! You sound like you have a game plan to return them to health and provide a good home. Have fun!