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 Expert
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Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | Soo I've finally been able to start getting my mare in shape! I've been riding her about 3 days a week. Not hard bc she hadn't been ridden since November. Mostly long trotting around the corn field. But in the last week or 2 I've noticed her getting a little ribby. Not at a stand still can you see but when she bends and some when she moves. She is NOT under weight by any means or skinny but not how I like it. She has never looked like this. This is also the first year that she hasn't had consistency in riding so she is coming back more out of shape than ever. I upped her grain when I started riding her(she gets oats) and has alfalfa hay at almost all times. When I noticed I started her on alfalfa pellets also.
My question is--should I change up her grain? Lighten up on workout?
I had her on omolene 200 a couple years ago before she got hurt but took her off since she wasn't working and never put her back on but I never had an issue with her getting ribby on me so I don't know if that grain would be of help.
Also...for feed suggestions. What's the most cost friendly?
Thanks :)
Eta: she is on a normal deworming schedule and shoeing schedule.
Edited by lexyy12 2014-05-25 10:18 AM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| I would rule out teeth and ulcers. Then add probiotics and increase the fat |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | she needs more fat |
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Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | How should I add that? |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | fat and calories.. id find a grain that is more balanced.. or up her oats and add a good supplement.. or even beet pulp would help. Some horses dont thrive on Oats.. some do |
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Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | Bibliafarm - 2014-05-25 1:32 PM fat and calories.. id find a grain that is more balanced.. or up her oats and add a good supplement.. or even beet pulp would help. Some horses dont thrive on Oats.. some do
I'm wondering what's different this year. She is 9 this year and has been on the same thing since she was 3 |
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 Vodka for Lunch
Location: Lala Land | I would look into adding rice bran, flax, or soybean meal to get more fat. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | We had a ribby horse this winter and we put him on Renew Gold and he gained at least 150 lbs. I rode him this spring and no more ribs! RG is high in fat, low in starch. |
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 Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | Teeth are something to check too.
If she's had been sick/injured and on any type of bute, banamine or other meds they wreak havoc on their stomach and gut and can cause ulcers, cause all kinds of digestive issues and kill the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Is she on any type of mineral supplement?
As far as getting weight, besides alfalfa the most bang for the buck I've found has been adding sources of fat like rice bran and/or flax. Those add calories as well.
One thing that I've been feeding my old horse that has really made a bigger difference than I expected is the Chaffhaye. It's basically alfalfa silage and naturally has all kinds of good stuff for their digestion. His appetite has picked up along with his weight and his energy. He was already getting alfalfa cubes and beet pulp. |
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Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | She hasn't had her teeth checked yet which I didn't even think about lol. She is 9 this year. Hasn't been injured or on any meds. Maybe it is her teeth. I'll have to call him out. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 357
| Having your feed made at the local feed mill I feel is the most cost efficient and it is made FRESH. We also fed cripped oats with a few other things added in. Our feed is made at gerber's in baltic ohio. We buy a lot of underweight horses and all fatten up quickly with a great coat and long tails. |
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Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | bbennington - 2014-05-25 10:51 PM
Having your feed made at the local feed mill I feel is the most cost efficient and it is made FRESH. We also fed cripped oats with a few other things added in. Our feed is made at gerber's in baltic ohio. We buy a lot of underweight horses and all fatten up quickly with a great coat and long tails.
We get our oats from the mill with molasses added in. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 357
| lexyy12 - 2014-05-25 10:48 PM
bbennington - 2014-05-25 10:51 PM
Having your feed made at the local feed mill I feel is the most cost efficient and it is made FRESH. We also fed cripped oats with a few other things added in. Our feed is made at gerber's in baltic ohio. We buy a lot of underweight horses and all fatten up quickly with a great coat and long tails.
We get our oats from the mill with molasses added in.
My feed is crimped oats with Cocosoya oil (coat and etc) , biotin (feet), and a mix of vitamins.No molasses. Their hooves are in great shape and grow great. I will never feed anything else anything now. We also feed this to horses 3 to 22 years old. Cost $9 a bag.. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | Do her teeth, Lower the overall starch load, she will change in three weeks. Renew Gold of course in place of all or most of the oats. When you rely on the roughage for the majority of your energy needs, it has to start with the teeth in proper shape. The difference this makes in hay digestion is amazing. When you have someone float, ask that they do it with a hand float, not a power one, unless you know that they are very good at it. I see a lot of uneven jobs that actually reduce the surface area to chew roughage. Most people have gone to power floats, and that can be really bad news in the hands of someone who is not super careful. The teeth do not have to be really bad, just uncomfortable for the horse to chew as much as they should. This is easy to check yourself. Slide your thumb up from the corner of the horses mouth along the outside of the upper gum, back to the outside edge of the back teeth. If you feel a small ridge on the outside of the grinding surface of the molars they should be cleaned up. That is all it takes to make the cheek tender enough that they just do not chew enough to properly break the hay up. Many people wait until the horse is dropping feed before they have teeth done. This is way past the point that would have an impact in how a horse efficiently uses its roughage. If you feed mostly grass hay, this is even more important.
Edited by winwillows 2014-05-27 12:52 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| I may have missed it in the original post, but oats and alfalfa are hardly giving her the daily recommended amount of her overall vitamins and minerals.
I would ditch the oats; keep the alfalfa pellets, and add in a ration balancer so she is getting her daily vitamins and minerals.
Give that a month or two and reevaluate. If she is still not holding weight or gaining to where you would like her to be, switch her to a fortified full grain ration that is high in fat, and low in starch.
I'm not sure which brands you have available, but Blue Seal Sentinel Performance LS, Triple Crown Senior, Poulin E-Tec (this one is lower in fat that the other two mentioned) are great options.
Avoid sweet feeds, and even check pelleted feeds for starch content. Just because its a pellet doesn't mean its low in sugar.
Purina's feeds tend to be higher in starches comparably than other brands. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| lexyy12 - 2014-05-25 11:16 AM
Soo I've finally been able to start getting my mare in shape! I've been riding her about 3 days a week. Not hard bc she hadn't been ridden since November. Mostly long trotting around the corn field. But in the last week or 2 I've noticed her getting a little ribby. Not at a stand still can you see but when she bends and some when she moves. She is NOT under weight by any means or skinny but not how I like it. She has never looked like this. This is also the first year that she hasn't had consistency in riding so she is coming back more out of shape than ever. I upped her grain when I started riding her(she gets oats) and has alfalfa hay at almost all times. When I noticed I started her on alfalfa pellets also.
My question is--should I change up her grain? Lighten up on workout?
I had her on omolene 200 a couple years ago before she got hurt but took her off since she wasn't working and never put her back on but I never had an issue with her getting ribby on me so I don't know if that grain would be of help.
Also...for feed suggestions. What's the most cost friendly?
Thanks :)
Eta: she is on a normal deworming schedule and shoeing schedule.
Omolene 200 is very high in sugar - last fall when I contacted Purina to get NSC values of their feeds, the Omolene 200 was 39% non structural carbs, which is the highest sugar content I've seen in all of the brands available to me.
Would be like feeding a 5 year old Snickers bars for breakfast! LOL! |
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Weight and feed question