I've been discussing Foxie's weight issues for a while here on the blog, and while she's recovering (slowly) right now, I'm looking into the future and I'm not sure what to do.
The current routine is:
AM:
Smartpak (currently SmartMSM pellets, SmartPituitary Senior pellets & Previcox)
2 qt scoop of Assurance Performance Blend (
Daytime: She goes out with Bailey into a small paddock. They each get 3 flakes to snack on while out
PM:
2 qt scoop of Assurance Performance Blend
1 full "smart scoop" (approx 1.5 lbs) of Amplify
3 flakes of hay
The main structure of this plan won't change; I'm not going to put her back out into the herd, because she's shown us that she's too submissive to fight for food, and that stress does BAD things to her. What you can't tell from the photos is that she had (and is currently shedding out) a heavier than normal coat, that was dull and almost fuzzy, vs her usual sleek self. She was sweating a lot in the humidity, and panting for extended periods after even light exercise. Her spine was extremely prominent, the fat pads on either side of her spine over the haunches were gone and she just looked... sad. Flat.
The first thing we did was bump up her hay, then her grain, from 1 qt 2x daily to 2 quarts 2x daily - this was in late June, early July, and gradually over a few weeks. We moved her and Bailey into a paddock with 3 flakes each the first week of August, and started her on Amplify a few weeks later. The thing I've really noticed since the move is that she's coming out of her shell; she's rolling, she's laying down and she seems much more relaxed and personable for a horse that is generally... not personable. She's shedding, and while this causes some complications (like bald patches weirdly appearing and everything she wears rubbing her, this week) she's also appearing to be more comfortable in the heat and doesn't seem to be struggling as much to come down after work (though the humidity has been better). She will be on Amplify for 3 weeks as of Saturday, so I'll get another photo of her tomorrow to see how three weeks of an extra 3k of calories looks on her:
In the future, though, I'd really like to not have to keep her on the extra fat. Or at least, a lot less of it. I'm nervous about cutting it out of her diet, especially with winter coming on ever so slowly. I mean, the weight isn't even back on yet! Her Thoroughbred-ness isn't helping us, and I know that, but I'm used to seeing her in a very different body state, and I'd like that back. I'm going to keep feeding both of my mares extra foods (right now, it's alfalfa cubes, though Foxie prefers pellets so we'll be going back to those) and stealing them extra hay when they need it (and Bailey is now getting additional grain, too, as she's lost enough weight to make my saddle start fitting very questionably). I've been eyeballing oils, rice bran supplements and half a dozen other things today trying to decide what do to, and I still have no idea. I don't know if feeding something when I'm at the barn is enough, and I don't know what I can have fed through daily by the staff besides Amplify (or something similar). I don't know if I love the idea of oils or liquids, even with the heated barn.
How do you, readers, put weight on your horse when you're in a controlled (boarding) type environment? Have you been able to taper off what you feed once your horse has gotten to the weight you were looking for?
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June 22nd
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The current routine is:
AM:
Smartpak (currently SmartMSM pellets, SmartPituitary Senior pellets & Previcox)
2 qt scoop of Assurance Performance Blend (
Daytime: She goes out with Bailey into a small paddock. They each get 3 flakes to snack on while out
PM:
2 qt scoop of Assurance Performance Blend
1 full "smart scoop" (approx 1.5 lbs) of Amplify
3 flakes of hay
 |
| August 10th |
The main structure of this plan won't change; I'm not going to put her back out into the herd, because she's shown us that she's too submissive to fight for food, and that stress does BAD things to her. What you can't tell from the photos is that she had (and is currently shedding out) a heavier than normal coat, that was dull and almost fuzzy, vs her usual sleek self. She was sweating a lot in the humidity, and panting for extended periods after even light exercise. Her spine was extremely prominent, the fat pads on either side of her spine over the haunches were gone and she just looked... sad. Flat.
The first thing we did was bump up her hay, then her grain, from 1 qt 2x daily to 2 quarts 2x daily - this was in late June, early July, and gradually over a few weeks. We moved her and Bailey into a paddock with 3 flakes each the first week of August, and started her on Amplify a few weeks later. The thing I've really noticed since the move is that she's coming out of her shell; she's rolling, she's laying down and she seems much more relaxed and personable for a horse that is generally... not personable. She's shedding, and while this causes some complications (like bald patches weirdly appearing and everything she wears rubbing her, this week) she's also appearing to be more comfortable in the heat and doesn't seem to be struggling as much to come down after work (though the humidity has been better). She will be on Amplify for 3 weeks as of Saturday, so I'll get another photo of her tomorrow to see how three weeks of an extra 3k of calories looks on her:
 |
| Still has ribs, but coat looks better and her topline and haunches are filling back in. So is her neck! |
In the future, though, I'd really like to not have to keep her on the extra fat. Or at least, a lot less of it. I'm nervous about cutting it out of her diet, especially with winter coming on ever so slowly. I mean, the weight isn't even back on yet! Her Thoroughbred-ness isn't helping us, and I know that, but I'm used to seeing her in a very different body state, and I'd like that back. I'm going to keep feeding both of my mares extra foods (right now, it's alfalfa cubes, though Foxie prefers pellets so we'll be going back to those) and stealing them extra hay when they need it (and Bailey is now getting additional grain, too, as she's lost enough weight to make my saddle start fitting very questionably). I've been eyeballing oils, rice bran supplements and half a dozen other things today trying to decide what do to, and I still have no idea. I don't know if feeding something when I'm at the barn is enough, and I don't know what I can have fed through daily by the staff besides Amplify (or something similar). I don't know if I love the idea of oils or liquids, even with the heated barn.
How do you, readers, put weight on your horse when you're in a controlled (boarding) type environment? Have you been able to taper off what you feed once your horse has gotten to the weight you were looking for?
We recently (several months ago) switched several of our older horses that were struggling with weight to Purina Senior Active. Before that, most of these horses were on beet pulp to help with maintenance. The difference has been pretty noticeable - weight gain and shiny coats all around. I'm not sure if that helps since it's not a supplement option, but it seems to have done a handful of our hard keepers a world of good.
ReplyDeleteI was feeding Purina Senior Active before we moved, to both of my girls! It's a great feed, and both of my horses looked great on it (along with nearly free choice hay). Where we are currently, the barn grain is included in board and I wouldn't get a discount for providing my own, so I'm trying to find ways to add calories alone. For some reason, adding more fortified, complete style grain on top of itself seems like we'd overdo it with nutrition and minerals - though Ultium is definitely cheaper than straight Amplify, and almost as many calories!
ReplyDelete