I have a thoroughbred mare who is six. I bought her a year ago and she was six months of the track. Last year she stayed very thin but i thought that was due to the fact that she would just pace, pace, pace. but this year she is much more settled and she is still thin. according to vet advice(she is dewormed, teeth done and a very engergetic horse) i feed her beet pulp, sweet feed 12%, and soymeal. I also give her biotin but that is for her hooves.

she is either at the hay or when i have to let her out (she still paces if alone) she is on pasture. at the moment it is fry so i know it isn't the best of pasture but i can't help that one.

do you have any advice. most of the stuff i have read you mentioned I can't say they sell around here.

thanks for you help

heidi

Where are you from? dawson creek bc

How did you locate this forum? search engine

Hi Heidi,

You might have read some of my posts before (underweight TB), well if you did then you would swear we were posting about the same horse, , my TB is 14 and exactly like yours, if he is left alone he paces constantly, and try and keep weight on him IMPOSSIBLE.

I also had the vet out and teeth done and worming but no weight gain, he gets:
Beet Pulp
flax meal
B.O. Sun seeds
Alfala pellets
Canola oil
and as much hay and pasture as he can eat,
but nothing, it looks like I starve the poor guy.

And as you said we can't get any of those good products here either, I couldn't even get a powdered vit/min supplent at the feed store here, so I had to get the min block for him.

If you wanted to you can email me and we can 'talk' about the different things that we have tried and other things that we are going to try for our boys if you like.
I'am also in B.C. (salmon Arm)

Good luck
Jenni

Where are you from? Canada

How did you locate this forum? internet search

schikows@telus.net

Where are you from? Canada

How did you locate this forum? internet search

Hello Heidi,

Thank you for writing. I have a few suggestions for you (and Jenni's diet plan is excellent, as well).

I would first remove the sweet feed from her diet since this would aggravate an ulcer, if she still has remnants of one. Beet pulp is your best bet, and the soybean meal is fine. Flax, sunflower seeds, and even stabilized rice bran are all excellent low starch feeds that offer enough fat to help her gain weight.

Ration Plus is also very much worth considering, and I can ship that to Canada for you. This will help her digest her forage more efficiently.

You might also look into a Vita-Flex distributor in Canada and see if you can obtain HardKeeper. This supplement is useful in weight gain.

Forage, 24 hours a day, either as hay or pasture -- that's very important as I know you are aware.

Please keep me posted on his progress.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Maybe your horse just needs a companion? My horse had a similar problem, she is now fat and completely content (I bought her a foal). Have you had your horse checked for ulcers from stressing?

Hi Chrissy,

You're correct -- companions are essential for a horse's health. If another horse is not feasible, then a donkey or a goat work well.

So Heidi, if that this the case with your horse, it would be one component of her health to take into consideration.

Dr. Getty