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Location: midwest mama | My daughter has a horse who is injured and has been on stall rest for 4 months. The horse has lost weight and muscle and I wondered what you all recommend to help with that.
His blood work is great, he is being treated for ulcers, his teeth were recently done and he was wormed.
He can't really be turned out in pasture with green grass because of his injury, or she would do that.
Any suggestions? | |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
 
Location: The best kept secret in TX | If you are wanting to put weight on him while working him out you may want to re think your feed plan.
What are you feeding him right now? Also, what type of injury did he have? If you don't mind my asking. | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 669
Location: Central Texas | We rescued one that I really thought would not make it. We fed a 12/8 pellet according to weight, beet pulp pellets (he responded to the pellets better than the shreds) twice a day and 3 scoops of cool calories once a day. He is back to his original weight (we knew the horse when he was in his prime). | |
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Location: midwest mama | IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 12:16 PM
If you are wanting to put weight on him while working him out you may want to re think your feed plan.
What are you feeding him right now? Also, what type of injury did he have? If you don't mind my asking.
He is on alfalfa/grass hay (2 big flakes twice a day) plus free choice grass hay. He gets a couple of large handfuls of all in one (ground up alfalfa hay with a little molasses), a good all around vitamin/mineral supplement, pelleted corn/oats/barley and probiotic.
He has always been on grass pasture before, but he hasn't been able to be turned out because of his lameness. (He pulled a ligament attachment away from the coffin bone in one of his feet). He does stress just being in a stall.
The vet feels he has lost muscle/fat from not being out on grass, and stressing. Like I said, his blood work is perfect, his teeth are done and he does not have worms.
I'm looking for something to get more calories in him but not make him crazy.
Edited by OldSchoolCowgirl 2015-03-18 12:42 PM
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | OldSchoolCowgirl - 2015-03-18 12:41 PM IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 12:16 PM If you are wanting to put weight on him while working him out you may want to re think your feed plan.
What are you feeding him right now? Also, what type of injury did he have? If you don't mind my asking. He is on alfalfa/grass hay (2 big flakes twice a day ) plus free choice grass hay. He gets a couple of large handfuls of all in one (ground up alfalfa hay with a little molasses ), a good all around vitamin/mineral supplement, pelleted corn/oats/barley and probiotic. He has always been on grass pasture before, but he hasn't been able to be turned out because of his lameness. (He pulled a ligament attachment away from the coffin bone in one of his feet ). He does stress just being in a stall. The vet feels he has lost muscle/fat from not being out on grass, and stressing. Like I said, his blood work is perfect, his teeth are done and he does not have worms. I'm looking for something to get more calories in him but not make him crazy.
I would definitly not be giving molases to him. It has little to no nutritional value and it only creates problems later on.
He sounds like my gelding with Ulcers. Stressing, pacing, etc.
Soaked beet pulp shreds or cubes without molases is a great way to add calories to his diet. I would also look into 707's Calming Essentials pellet or Digestive Essentials Pellet to add to his feed and I would also look into THE Animal Elements ITZ (In The Zone) Paste. It will calm him down and soothe his stomach.
Ask your vet as soon as possible to scope him for Ulcers from the stress and ask for Omneprezol as the medication to soothe them with. It sounds like ulcers are causing him to loose weight, and ulcers are caused mainly from stress.
Until you knew for sure he did not have ulcers I wouldn't stress him out with hard workouts. Hand walking him would be my suggestion to get him out but to keep his stress level down.
Hugs to you  | |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 1:01 PM OldSchoolCowgirl - 2015-03-18 12:41 PM IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 12:16 PM If you are wanting to put weight on him while working him out you may want to re think your feed plan.
What are you feeding him right now? Also, what type of injury did he have? If you don't mind my asking. He is on alfalfa/grass hay (2 big flakes twice a day ) plus free choice grass hay. He gets a couple of large handfuls of all in one (ground up alfalfa hay with a little molasses ), a good all around vitamin/mineral supplement, pelleted corn/oats/barley and probiotic. He has always been on grass pasture before, but he hasn't been able to be turned out because of his lameness. (He pulled a ligament attachment away from the coffin bone in one of his feet ). He does stress just being in a stall. The vet feels he has lost muscle/fat from not being out on grass, and stressing. Like I said, his blood work is perfect, his teeth are done and he does not have worms. I'm looking for something to get more calories in him but not make him crazy.
He sounds like my gelding with Ulcers. Stressing, pacing, etc.
Soaked beet pulp shreds or cubes without molases is a great way to add calories to his diet. I would also look into 707's Calming Essentials pellet or Digestive Essentials Pellet to add to his feed and I would also look into THE Animal Elements ITZ (In The Zone) Paste. It will calm him down and soothe his stomach.
Ask your vet as soon as possible to scope him for Ulcers from the stress and ask for Omneprezol as the medication to soothe them with. It sounds like ulcers are causing him to loose weight, and ulcers are caused mainly from stress.
Until you knew for sure he did not have ulcers I wouldn't stress him out with hard workouts. Hand walking him would be my suggestion to get him out but to keep his stress level down.
Hugs to you
I just re-read your original post.
HE IS BEING TREATED FOR ULCERS
Sorry for not paying attention to that.
Pull the molases. It upsets ulcers. And get him ITZ Paste to soothe his stomach and to keep him calm.
Sorry for being unobservant. | |
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Location: midwest mama | IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 1:05 PM
IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 1:01 PM OldSchoolCowgirl - 2015-03-18 12:41 PM IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 12:16 PM If you are wanting to put weight on him while working him out you may want to re think your feed plan.
What are you feeding him right now? Also, what type of injury did he have? If you don't mind my asking. He is on alfalfa/grass hay (2 big flakes twice a day ) plus free choice grass hay. He gets a couple of large handfuls of all in one (ground up alfalfa hay with a little molasses ), a good all around vitamin/mineral supplement, pelleted corn/oats/barley and probiotic. He has always been on grass pasture before, but he hasn't been able to be turned out because of his lameness. (He pulled a ligament attachment away from the coffin bone in one of his feet ). He does stress just being in a stall. The vet feels he has lost muscle/fat from not being out on grass, and stressing. Like I said, his blood work is perfect, his teeth are done and he does not have worms. I'm looking for something to get more calories in him but not make him crazy.
He sounds like my gelding with Ulcers. Stressing, pacing, etc.
Soaked beet pulp shreds or cubes without molases is a great way to add calories to his diet. I would also look into 707's Calming Essentials pellet or Digestive Essentials Pellet to add to his feed and I would also look into THE Animal Elements ITZ (In The Zone) Paste. It will calm him down and soothe his stomach.
Ask your vet as soon as possible to scope him for Ulcers from the stress and ask for Omneprezol as the medication to soothe them with. It sounds like ulcers are causing him to loose weight, and ulcers are caused mainly from stress.
Until you knew for sure he did not have ulcers I wouldn't stress him out with hard workouts. Hand walking him would be my suggestion to get him out but to keep his stress level down.
Hugs to you
HE IS BEING TREATED FOR ULCERS
Sorry for not paying attention to that.
Pull the molases. It upsets ulcers. And get him ITZ Paste to soothe his stomach and to keep him calm.
Sorry for being unobservant.
Thank you for your reply. I will forego the molasses.
Also, he is not being worked now. He is being hand walked only. | |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | OldSchoolCowgirl - 2015-03-18 1:40 PM
IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 1:05 PM
IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 1:01 PM OldSchoolCowgirl - 2015-03-18 12:41 PM IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 12:16 PM If you are wanting to put weight on him while working him out you may want to re think your feed plan.
What are you feeding him right now? Also, what type of injury did he have? If you don't mind my asking. He is on alfalfa/grass hay (2 big flakes twice a day ) plus free choice grass hay. He gets a couple of large handfuls of all in one (ground up alfalfa hay with a little molasses ), a good all around vitamin/mineral supplement, pelleted corn/oats/barley and probiotic. He has always been on grass pasture before, but he hasn't been able to be turned out because of his lameness. (He pulled a ligament attachment away from the coffin bone in one of his feet ). He does stress just being in a stall. The vet feels he has lost muscle/fat from not being out on grass, and stressing. Like I said, his blood work is perfect, his teeth are done and he does not have worms. I'm looking for something to get more calories in him but not make him crazy.
He sounds like my gelding with Ulcers. Stressing, pacing, etc.
Soaked beet pulp shreds or cubes without molases is a great way to add calories to his diet. I would also look into 707's Calming Essentials pellet or Digestive Essentials Pellet to add to his feed and I would also look into THE Animal Elements ITZ (In The Zone) Paste. It will calm him down and soothe his stomach.
Ask your vet as soon as possible to scope him for Ulcers from the stress and ask for Omneprezol as the medication to soothe them with. It sounds like ulcers are causing him to loose weight, and ulcers are caused mainly from stress.
Until you knew for sure he did not have ulcers I wouldn't stress him out with hard workouts. Hand walking him would be my suggestion to get him out but to keep his stress level down.
Hugs to you
HE IS BEING TREATED FOR ULCERS
Sorry for not paying attention to that.
Pull the molases. It upsets ulcers. And get him ITZ Paste to soothe his stomach and to keep him calm.
Sorry for being unobservant.
Thank you for your reply. I will forego the molasses.
Also, he is not being worked now. He is being hand walked only.
I would continue hand walking him for sure.
But look into getting him some ITZ paste. It made all the difference in the world with my boy. It's all natural and very affordable. Increases their appetite and keeps them calm in the stall.
Can't say enough good things about it! | |
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Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | Look into adding Empower to your grain. I would also look into feeding real C.O.B not pelleted. Anybody that comes in that needs weight I put them on COB and Empower and the weight pours on. Empower is a pelleted rice bran with probiotics and alot of good stuff added. It is awsome. | |
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| OldSchoolCowgirl - 2015-03-18 12:41 PM
IRunOnFaith - 2015-03-18 12:16 PM
If you are wanting to put weight on him while working him out you may want to re think your feed plan.
What are you feeding him right now? Also, what type of injury did he have? If you don't mind my asking.
He is on alfalfa/grass hay (2 big flakes twice a day ) plus free choice grass hay. He gets a couple of large handfuls of all in one (ground up alfalfa hay with a little molasses ), a good all around vitamin/mineral supplement, pelleted corn/oats/barley and probiotic.
He has always been on grass pasture before, but he hasn't been able to be turned out because of his lameness. (He pulled a ligament attachment away from the coffin bone in one of his feet ). He does stress just being in a stall.
The vet feels he has lost muscle/fat from not being out on grass, and stressing. Like I said, his blood work is perfect, his teeth are done and he does not have worms.
I'm looking for something to get more calories in him but not make him crazy.
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He is on alfalfa/grass hay (2 big flakes twice a day) plus free choice grass hay. He gets a couple of large handfuls of all in one (ground up alfalfa hay with a little molasses), a good all around vitamin/mineral supplement, pelleted corn/oats/barley and probiotic.
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Lets figure your feeding program by pounds ... 2x2 hay/alfalfa = less than 20 lbs ... regular hay free choice 8% protein; a couple of handfuls of all in one .. ='s less than a pound ... When you break this down .. you have your horse on a diet to lose weight and not gain any weight so he is barely being sustained on a <9% protein feeding program based on the amount he is being fed.
You need to crank up your feed program ... keep the 4 flakes of alfalfa/grass; add 3 lbs of whole oats and one pound of chopped or rolled corn fed twice a day will be 8 lbs per day ... change your mineral vitamin to ADM GroStrong and throw a handful in 3x per week ... Take 2-3 weeks to get to the above amounts ... i.e. increase his stomach load slowly ...
alfalfa/grass = 14% whole oats = 12% corn= 8% .. this will figure to be a 13% feed with calories from the corn and oats that will add calories and make him chew to get his saliva into his digestive process so you don't need the probiotics ... you will also like what the GroStrong minerals do to all of your horses .. it is a well formulated vitamin to mineral ratio for horses body to absorb them ...
Ditch the other stuff .. especially the barley .. it is a pasty sticky substance like wheat when it hits their bellies and can create ulcers if lodged in a wrinkle of their stomach ... same with beet pulp ... it is loaded with heavy metals from sugar beet processing that can build up over time and affect their internal organs ... ... avoid any waste products such as beet pulp from human food or ethanol production as feed for your horses ... rice bran included ...
If you want to really slick him off and add an extra shine to him ... feed a half cup of WHOLE FLAX SEED once per day .. even the slime that is on the exterior of the seed shell aids in digestion ...
GOOD LUCK ... Think simple and natural when feeding your horses ...
Edited by BARRELHORSE USA 2015-03-18 10:27 PM
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 Go For It!
Location: Texas | My gelding had a bad laceration and was in a cast and on stall rest for an extended period of time... Here is my thought... I don't want a fat horse on stall rest. A little thin is actually better, IMO.
I would get some good quality alfalfa cubes and feed him a 5 gallon bucket of them a day. Unsoaked. You can divide it up into several feedings. It gives them lots of time to chew. Not sure what probiotic you use, but I have had GREAT luck with the fastrack equine microbial pack. It's a little pricy but well worth it.
I would omit all grain with the exception of one pound of oats per day (that is just enough to mix the probiotic and 1/4 cup of coconut or canola oil in).
If a horse on stall rest gets too heavy, it can cause additional problems. Thin is a little better. When they can't exercise it is natural for them to lose their muscle tone, and it can happen very quickly. The good thing is that they will gain it all back once they are turned out again. Good luck... and try the cubes!
Edited by grinandbareit 2015-03-18 11:42 PM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I agree with others about increasing feed, but I disagree with feeding corn or whole oats, both when injested ferment in the hind gut causing a shift in ph to acidic in the hind gut that releases endotoxins which cause vascular spasm (poor circulation in the limbs especially in the feet).
Due to the shift in ph it also causes the hind gut to quit working, and this could be where his ulcers are as acid corrodes away the gut lining and you are left with hind gut ulcers.
I would either go with a pelleted feed with low NSC or soaked hay pellets add flax, and a coco soy oil, or coconut oil gradually.
I would also put him on probiotics
For my horses healing I like a pelleted feed over 20% as they need protein for cellular regeneration this is why the muscle has deteriorated.
If you don't want that much protein, milk powder you get from a grocery store has all the amino acids you need, I give 1/2-1 cup a day | |
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