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Post by basilhorse on Dec 30, 2008 16:17:56 GMT 1
forest has had the works today:
teeth have been done with power rasp, he's had blood taken for tapeworm test and he's had poo sample taken for worm and egg analyses
he has dropped condition since the summer. he's on ad lib hay but lives out (fully rugged), he's 10 year old ex-racing thoroughbred
i'd like to get some condition on him. he's not worked so getting a good topline will be difficult but he could do with some extra covering over his ribs and shoulders
anyone used baileys outshine?
or is naf pink powder better (i think jill recommended this to me before last year) or something else?
thanks
nic
ps it looks like his abscess is coming out in two places at the coronary band. one at the heel - worrying (vet mentioned quittor and surgery - eek) and the other at the toe - also worrying but the vet thought definitely abscess exit rather than laminitic separation - i hope so. Really hoping i can get the gunk out and cleaned up. vet also mentioned shoeing him to prevent further abscesses (he's currently barefoot and not in work).
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Post by mags on Dec 30, 2008 16:19:30 GMT 1
What hard feed is he on atm
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Post by basilhorse on Dec 30, 2008 16:24:21 GMT 1
hardly anything. i've been giving him happy hoof
mta: i'm a bit scared of giving him hard feed as he choked last year. he's been fine all summer without any hard feed at all of course but the little bit of happy hoof i've been giving him this winter clearly isn't enough. Either that or he has something else going on. His teeth were not great but should be fine now.
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Post by colourfulpony on Dec 30, 2008 16:51:33 GMT 1
i give my mare (good doer in summer but tends to drop quite a bit in winter) safe and sound (dodson and horrell i think it is) which is similar to happy hoof with a small scoop of spillers conditoning cubes and some oil. if you are worried about him choking, oil may be a good option as it has lots of calories in liquid form. Maybe try to stick with the happy hoof/safe and sound sort of thing for the bulk of the feed and add other things in small concentration to that.
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Post by Karon on Dec 30, 2008 18:14:10 GMT 1
Ash is putting weight on well on Alfa Beet and Build up Mix, I hadn't thought about trying Outshine though. Oil is very good for helping to put weight on, too. I can't quite see the vet's logic in shoeing to prevent abscesses - if he gets an abscess while he's shod you are going to have one very lame horse and if you can't get his shoe off quickly in that case, he's going to be in far more pain for longer than if he's barefoot. It took 6 weeks for Ash to recover from an abscess when she was shod. I've always found when mine get abscesses they burst at the heel - bit gruesome but they seem to clear quickly then. Glad his teeth have been done I take it he didn't try to kill the vet?!
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Post by specialsparkle3 on Dec 30, 2008 18:24:29 GMT 1
If he can eat cubes mixed with a chaff so you can damp the feed well, and if he were mine, he would be on Dengie Alfa A and Baileys top Line Cubes. I absolutely guarantee he will put weight on with those, and they won't send him potty. If he lives at home, boiled linseed three times a week will also be a big help.
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Olivia
Olympic Poster
Sparrow's Flight
Posts: 533
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Post by Olivia on Dec 30, 2008 18:56:41 GMT 1
i use outshine and its brilliant. 2 mugs a day, and he is very well, shiny, bright etc and he competes on it. does look a bit odd though!
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Post by arabheaven on Dec 30, 2008 19:04:43 GMT 1
I used baileys outshine for Zac, great stuff but they have hiked their prices up!!! Mine are now on NAF pink powder which is amazing value for money - I order the big tubs in
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Post by june on Dec 30, 2008 19:18:12 GMT 1
Outshine is one of the highest calorie feeds on the market so it is a good feed for putting on condition. It has various vitamins and minerals in it too but isn't sold as a balancer and some horses don't find it very palatable. If you want a conditioning feed to add alongside your existing feed something like Top Spec Cool and Condition would be a good option as it doesn't have any added vitamins and minerals so you are in no danger of overdosing on anything.
We've had some quite thin horses arrive on livery over the last few years and we've found the best way to add condition is to feed little and often and to make the feeds quite wet to avoid choke and colic. We've had success with Outshine but I tend to use the TS Cool and Condition cubes instead now as we feed Top Spec Balancer so I don't need the extra vitamins and minerals in the Outshine.
Adding corn, linseed (food grade) or vegetable oil is a good option but you should add extra vitamin E as an antioxidant. The vitamin E 1000 iu capsules you get in health shops are perfect. Horses take about 2 weeks to adjust to using oil in their diet so add it slowly, about a tablespoon a day and build up to a teacupful at most. Again, some horses don't find oil very palatable, which is another reason I use the TS Cool and Condition cubes most of the time!
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Post by basilhorse on Dec 30, 2008 20:12:37 GMT 1
thank you so much everyone
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Post by Pauline on Dec 30, 2008 20:13:33 GMT 1
I would use Alfa Oil instead of the Alfa A.
I feed Baileys Lo Cal balancer and Alfa Oil and a small amount of Baileys No 6 (Endurance Mix) again a high oil feed so it is slow release energy feed. In the summer I add Outshine and My endurance horses look and work so well on it.
If you use thje Top Line Cubes watch because it ha#s barley which can be heating.
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Post by basilhorse on Dec 31, 2008 18:02:27 GMT 1
well i've been shopping today. not to a feed merchant by hey ho they had naf pink powder sitting there on the shelf and it was the last one so i took it as a sign. I bought the pink powder and will add some oil as well. If i can get hold of some linseed I could definitely do that. Will see what I can get thanks everyone will keep you posted
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Post by Karon on Dec 31, 2008 18:59:54 GMT 1
I really ought to get some linseed for mine, can get it mail order for around £30 for 20 kg - I'll look out the web site and email address next week (it's at work). Might be worth getting a bag between us first to see if the horses will eat it!
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