Weight Gain for an Older TB mare

[Bondama]

I have an older tb mare, she's 22, who just WON'T gain (enough) weight. In addition to increasing her senior feed, I have tried the following: A powdered product called Weight Builder, peanut hay, corn oil, alfalfa, black oil sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds, rice bran pellets, calf manna, and lastly, rolled oats. By no means is she skinny, but she needs more than what she has. I can not, for the life of me, get another 100 pounds on her. Her teeth are fine, she's regularly wormed, and I even did the Panacur 5-day wormer. I just don't know what's left to try......I did ask the vet, again this week, and she said to try brewer's yeast and sprinkle some in her feed.

Question 1: Has anyone ever used yeast for weight gain? Results? How much to use for each feeding?

Question 2: Are there ANY other suggestions?

Or is she just one of those, like humans who can eat anything, everything and who only gain so much then stop and never get really "fat"? Totally can't relate to that!!

I wouldn't be as concerned if she weren't in foal. She was bred about the 3rd week of January, so is about halfway along.

Any input will be appreciated. Blessings,
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Breeders of Fine Dilute Appendix Horses for Sport and Trail

[kylendiamond]

Along the lines of the brewer's yeast, I have had some success with the product Ration Plus. It is a probiotic, so it helps the little digestive buggers make more of themselves. That combined with a pound of rice bran in addition to the usual feed ration and free choice good grass hay has worked for me.

You probably do hav a bit of a battle on your hands with the combination of TB, older horse, and preggers all at the same time.

Good luck!
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[Bondama]

Kylendiamond wrote:

[kylendiamond]

For sure you can get it from Jeffers, I am not sure about Country Supply.

[quarterhorsesunlimited]

try beet pulp and calf manna mixed with oats
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you can ask a mare tell a gelding and disscuss it with a stallion...

[gypsy]

Empower by Nutrena is a good supplement. It is a fat supplement and I've had good results with it.

[JR]

I'm absolutely in love with Triple Crown Senior, check the ingredients in comparison to other products. You want fat content to help gain weight and I believe at 10% it has the highest amount

http://www.equineelders.org/comparefeeds.htm
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JR

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It's never the horse, it's the rider.
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[Tweety]

OK, I've had a suggestion to everybody that has a horse that will not gain weight, I've had it for awhile now but I've kept it to myself because I know people are just gonna freak out.

Alot of people have mentioned Manna Pro which I assume they are talking about one of their feeds or supplements.

Question: Have any of you tried top dressing your horses reg. feed with milk? Yep, Manna Pro Unimilk, the non-medicated kind for calves and foals?

I ask for 2 reasons:
1 The first lil Morgan horse I had loved fresh holstein milk, we had 2 and when they had calves we'd have to milk them because they had to much for one or two calves, we could sit a 3-5 gallon bucket of milk infront of him and he would drink every drop. That winter for the first time we HAD to put him in the barn so he wouldn't freeze to death. He was soooo fat that it was snowing and he didn't have the first long hair anywhere on his body, he was as fat and shinny as he'd been all summer.
2 After I got Dancer used to eating reg. feed for about 4 or 5 months I feed her milk... actually it was a top dressing mix of milk, rice bran, oat meal, dried peas, carrots, soybeans, apples etc...etc... you get the idea, as to date I still have not had her a year and she turned 10 in April. She loved it and she gained weight really fast and is still fat even though I don't give it to her anymore, honestly because to make it cost over $100 to make a 20 - 25 gallon drum of it but it worked.

If you deside to give it a try you'll want to keep a close eye on your horse and make sure it is not lactose intolerant, doesn't get colic or founder. You will want to start out with using just a little until your horses body gets used to it and you see how it is going to react to it. The same rules apply as when adding or changing any animals feed.

Anyway, that's my suggestion, not real technical or complicated but works really well or has for me anyways, besides, it is just a suggestion and you asked for other suggestions...LOL

LOL...now watch everybody go crazy about my suggestion...lol

Tweety

[Tweety]

BTW... I always have a bag on hand and just looked at the back panel....

Crude Fat Minimum 15.00%

And it also has other vitamins and minerals in it that your horse would probably benifit from.

Anyways, it's just a suggestion...lol

(Think I'll run for cover now...lol)

Tweety

[Dawn]

Bondama-

I have had good luck with a mixture of beet pulp, rice bran pellets, calf manna and purina ultium. With your mare, you would probably want to add the equine senior into the mix. I would also consider increasing her hay intake depending on what you are feeding.

My experience is that you can expect to see some results in 30 days, but the improved feed program really starts to be noticable 90 days and later. Usually you have to keep it up, and adjust for the weight gain/activity level.

Out of curiousity, is your mare nervous or out in pasture? If so, she may be one of those horses who likes to be "on the move" and expending more calories than a less active horse.

Some Thoroughbred horses seem to carry that lean look forever, I think it must have something to do with a generally higher metabolic rate than what most other breeds have.

You could also have your vet pull blood and make sure she is not deficient in something or have a low grade infection of some sort.

Good Luck

[horsewoman1965]

I can relate to what your saying for sure!
I called Purina today and spoke with one of the vets about strategy. I told her I was in contact with DAC about adding in one of their supplemnets for weight gain. I told her I had already tried Purinas Amplify, which is a fat supplement. I let them know I was not satisfied with the results. I was considering getting some of their "born to win" until I read on their site about it. It's for colts on pasture or a very small amount of unfortified feed. So that was out of the question.
I told her I had two mares that lost condition while nursing and that every time I start getting a colt ready for a show, giving them extra strategy (up to the recommended amounts) they will hit a growth spurt and end up ribby looking! She said what is on their bag is just a guideline to go by. I can actually feed a couple pounds more a day. she also suggested alfalfa. and I told her I was going to order some of DAC's Bloom which is like 25% protein and 35% fat. She said with increasing strategy,alfalfa, and adding that fat supplement, I should get the results I want. So, I called DAC and placed the order from them for Bloom. and while I was at it, I placed an order for their Orange superior (mineral supplement with probiotics in it) for my very obese mare that barely eats any feed.
and also I want to mention, she said with the broodmares that have trouble keeping weight on, to increase their feed about a month before delivery and start increasing it more within a day or two of foaling. she said if wait til they start dropping the weight, anything extra you give them will go to the milk and not the mare.
You can call them anytime. Have you checked out their website?
http://horse.purinamills.com/
Good luck with whatever you choose and let us know how it's going.
After a few weeks of the DAC products, I'll let yall know how it works. I've only heard good things about the Bloom so we'll see.
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