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Post by smsrumor on Feb 20, 2003 12:41:13 GMT -5
HI everyone...I'm new here and hope someone can offer some advice. I bought a now 13 year old OTR TB mare. She's wonderful, sweet but hard to keep weight on...she's been off the track for about 6 years, she has some fetlock issues and was pin fired.. my farrier puts navicular shoes on the front to tip her forward for easier breakover..I've been feeding her nutrena victory, Equinal CM (did'nt spell that right) and steam flaked corn. She's just out in the pasture for the winter... can't ride where she is ...hope to have her where my other horse is next winter with indoor arena. Going to do daily wormer this summer...any other suggestions.. also would like to find out more about her...don't have her tatoo number but know her parents name..her's is Miss Sonic, mom was greenie miss and dad was double sonic.
I think she raced in florida...she was owned by two other people before me... thanks...have a nice day
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Post by Big Tee© on Feb 20, 2003 13:41:26 GMT -5
If it was me, I would make sure her teeth were fine first, and that she was current on worming. Next step would be to toss those fancy feeds, and get some good whole oats, grass hay, supplements formulated for the area she is in, some beet pulp and black oil sunflower seeds. What I do with a horse that comes home thin from racing is pound the grass hay to him, cut back to half oats (down from 20+ pounds to 10ish) and add a few pounds (dry weight) beet pulp and a couple of cups of sunflower seeds. Since my horses almost always get beet pulp, I never worry about adding gradually, just up it from normal light ration of it to 5-6 pounds per day. Any supplements are added to the wet beet pulp/grain/sunflower seed mixture. Also remember to keep her hydrated and make sure she gets salt - loose salt as salt licks are for cows.
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Post by Skye Pilot on Feb 20, 2003 13:56:26 GMT -5
I agree with Big Tee, but I do add Ultimate Finish instead of the sunflower seeds and oil. Miss Sonic is on Delmar www.dmtc.com/dmtc98/pedigree/MISS SONIC ch. M, 1991 DP = 5-2-3-2-0 (12) DI = 2.43 CD = 0.83 Ch. m., 1991 (Feb) Fla Breeder: Gem Farms Ltd Sire: Double Sonic Dam: Greenie's Miss Dam-Sire: Dirham*FR you should be able to lift her lip for her tatoo...her winnings off turfday are $41,776 p.s. A big warm welcome!!!! |
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Post by adcooper on Feb 20, 2003 15:34:13 GMT -5
Welcome, Miss Sonic!
And my sympathies on having a lean TB mare! Good advice already from Big Tee and Sue. You mention the feeds you are giving, but don't say anything about hay. Does that mean you aren't feeding hay at all, or just didn't mention it? I've always heard about how important it is to give lots of very good hay.
If you are in a situation where you can control your horse's feeding, that's an advantage. I board and I can "suggest" that my horse needs more food, and I can buy special grains and supplements, but someone else is always filling the manger. It's hard to track the actual amounts.
By the way, Big Tee, I'm introducing sunflower seeds to Cypress. She thinks they are very tasty!
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Post by Lynne on Feb 20, 2003 18:32:47 GMT -5
Welcome!!! ;D Congrats on the new horse. I'd love to offer you advice on feeding but I have no clue. I feed mine beetpulp and a basic sweetfeed type thing. He is a hard keeper and the beet pulp seems to really have helped. Its my first tb and I keep expecting to not see withers   He's alsoa cribber and so his neck looks scrawny no matter what the rest of him looks like! Good luck and welcome to the best board on the web! imho.... |
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Post by kmmom on Feb 20, 2003 19:45:28 GMT -5
I've had one OTTB who initially was a hard keeper, and a couple of others that were in need of extra groceries. I found that adding a cup of plain old "cheapest you can buy" vegetable oil to their dinner did wonders to all of them. In the summer, you have to make sure it doesn't get rancid, and in the winter you have to keep it warm enough to stay liquid, but is is cheap, effective, and easy. Just pure 9 calories per gram fat. Doesn't make them "hot" like carbohydrates, either. What did the most for fattening them up was just age--they all became more "thrifty" as they grew up, and I think became more confident in their regular meals and less stressful lives. And like us, it takes less food to stay fat when one gets older. Good for them, not for me!
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Post by smsrumor on Feb 21, 2003 6:28:37 GMT -5
thanks everyone... I did forget to mention hay, three horses are given a large bale of good grass hay in the a.m and 1 bale in the p.m. I do control her feed, beet pulp is hard because I don't live where Sonic is....so if I mixed it and left it in the barn it would freeze, it's been 30 below zero here lately..alot...and bringing it home would'nt be good, my apartment is small. Everyone tells me that the flaked steamed corn is good for weight and helps keep her warm...had her teeth done end of december they are fine..due to be wormed soon...gonna check with my vet when he comes for shots...I want to have her where my other horse is next winter, controled hay..i'll know she gets her share..gelding where she is chases her around...plus she'd get feed what I want to feed twice aday.. just can't afford to have her there now... 295 a month for each...ouch
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Post by Big Tee© on Feb 21, 2003 11:36:22 GMT -5
Flaked, steamed corn (and any other steam processed grain) is mostly devoid of any nutritional value, and all it does provide is carbohydrates. The key to weight gain is good forage and in the case of horses that do not get silly, added calories in the form of whole, unprocessed grains.
Beet pulp CAN be fed dry, I do so in the summer so it doesn't go sour on Mr Pokey Eater; it will NOT expand and make the horse explode, and any incidence of choke is related to particle size, and eating habits - a horse that bolts its food is more likely to choke on any pelleted feed than any other horse. The big thing in cold weather is making sure the horses consume enough water. Now that we have 20 below again, I carry hot water to the barn 4 times a day.
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Post by Luci on Feb 21, 2003 12:05:07 GMT -5
Big Tee next time I complain of the cold I will think of you.  My boy looked like a greyhound when I got him. He is still lean, but looks more and more like a hunter. I have a great dentist and the first time around she filed off sharp points and did so much for his comfort. It was the lion with the thorn story. He loves her. I also feed a daily wormer, do the encysted small strongyle (spell?  ) treatment in Spring, probiotics, a very small amount of rolled oats, bran, Finish Line joint stuff, and a nice big bucket of hay cubes to munch on with his hay -he thinks its his treat and royal right now. He gets fed hay morning, noon & in the evening. I like the oil idea and will start adding that because he could use a little more and god knows I'm not adding carbos for this wildman. Of all that stuff, the probiotics have made a huge difference. This fall when his coat grew it was so nice and silky. The fall before it was rangy and thats when I added probiotics. Good luck  |
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Post by ZenRider on Feb 21, 2003 12:26:39 GMT -5
Are the three horses fed hay in the same place? If so are they placing the bales into piles well apart from one another? Even so, the dominant horse is likely getting the most hay and the bottom horse is likely not getting enough. Though, if they spread the flakes out, it does help, if it's in one pile, then one or possibly two aren't going to get as much as the boss horse. Welcome to the board, Sonic sounds nice. Um, pictures are in order. We like pictures here. ;D |
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Post by adcooper on Feb 21, 2003 12:58:51 GMT -5
Some advice I've heard is to have one more hay pile than you have horses. So for three horses, you'd want 4 piles of hay, spread far enough apart so the horses don't feel crowded or threatened by each other, but close enough so they still feel together as a herd. Some horses will eat together companionably side-by-side, but many just won't tolerate it. We see horses getting especially mean about their food when they are stressed by weather--both in the high heat of summer and the chill of winter.
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Post by adcooper on Feb 21, 2003 13:00:41 GMT -5
Oh! I forgot to say why the extra hay pile. It's because if a dominant horse chases your mare away from one pile of food, there will always be one open for her to move to. Makes sense, doesn't it? |
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Post by Einstein on Feb 21, 2003 13:24:27 GMT -5
Hi, and welcome! I just got my new CANTER baby in November, and he came to me thin. He looked like an endangered species thin! He had medical problems, so I would definately say that if Sonic doesn't gain weight, have your vet out. Something like 85% of race horses have ulcers. My Porter's were so bad he almost died. I had to deworm him several times pull blood work, and scope him for ulcers. I know what you're going through with the skinnies! Porter now gets free choice grass hay (He eats about a bale a day, and in good old drought ridden Colorado that's $7.90 a bale ) Then he gets 3 pounds Purina Athlete which is 25% fat and 1 pound Ultimate finish also 25% fat, and 2 big scoops alfalfa cubes twice a day. Once a day he gets Forco, a probiotic, and I'm starting him on hoof stuff. In 1 month I've noticed a difference. My vet did say I could just use corn oil on sweet feed and stop the Athlete ($25 for 50 pounds) but it's working and so I'm too chicken to switch him. He still needs about 150 punds, and had gained 150 according to the vet's scale and weight tape ;D |
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Post by smsrumor on Feb 21, 2003 13:29:15 GMT -5
Hi, thanks everybody... I've heard alot about probiotics..where do you get it and is that what it's called? I'd love to post a picture but can't figure out how...I spread the hay out all over the place...so Lucky just moves sonic from pile to pile. I'm house sitting where she lives so I'm going to try and feed her hay alone...I also have denghi which she really loves and it's good for her...I'll just keep trying... why isn't corn like corn oil?
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Post by Luci on Feb 21, 2003 13:45:34 GMT -5
I've seen them in several catelogs listed as probiotics (Valley Vet has free shipping and may carry them) I buy mine from the owner of where I stable. I feed "Horse Bac Pellets" but don't know if they are available all over. Heh! Probably some Utah thing. There are also ulcer medications you might want to consider to put him on the healty mend.
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He's alsoa cribber and so his neck looks scrawny no matter what the rest of him looks like!
) treatment in Spring, probiotics, a very small amount of rolled oats, bran, Finish Line joint stuff, and a nice big bucket of hay cubes to munch on with his hay -he thinks its his treat and royal right now. 
