Feed advice? How much do I feed and how long will it take?
I'm putting my horse on topline conditioning cubes to build him up a bit, he's not underweight but he's a section d so I'd like him to be chunkier. He's 15hh and weights 430 right now. I'd say he was on quite a lot of work however he has a lot of energy! I ride about an hour a day 5 days a week. How much should I feed him in one feed? How many feeds a day? And how long will it take for me to see results?
Thanks!
2012-03-21T08:01:57Z
I meant 430kg not pounds he's actually average weight!
He's 6 and he's only on hay at night, grass in the day. He's gradually put weight on the last year but has stopped now and stayed the same weight the last few months. He was very underweight when I got him because his owners kept him like that so they could control him.
Anonymous2012-03-21T06:42:04Z
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I have always owned Welsh Cob D`s and would go very careful with the hard feed you give him. He is a Native and should put on weight quite easily. You don`t say how old he is, which would give an idea as to why he`s looking a bit `under` for his size?
I`m not one for measuring exactly how much each horse `should` have etc., i just go by what they look like after a few weeks and go by your own instinct?!
Personally, i would give him sugarbeet-say 1/4 of a bucket to begin with, morning and night. If you buy the sugarbeet in nut form, always soak it in lots of water for 24 hrs, otherwise could be dangerous as would expand in their stomach! You probably know that anyway.
You could add oil to that and some basic coarsemix. That, should be enough, to start with. You can easily overdo it! Hay should be given as normal and as much as he can eat in a day.
This shouldn`t `hot him up` and make him exciteable anymore than usual. You trying to put weight on, not burn it off with excess energy! I find sugarbeet is brilliant, its fibre and energy giving but not stupid and puts weight on naturally.
See how it goes for a few weeks and if needed, give him 1/2 a bucket a day?
I am assuming you are speaking of 430 kg which is equal to about 950 pounds.
I am also assuming the topline conditioning cubes are high protein and high fat. Over-graining a horse can lead to colic, founder and other conditions. To add calories without adding a lot of extra grain products, soaked beet pulp can be quite helpful.
Since he sounds like he has no shortage of energy, adding more proteins and fats will pep him up more .Adding additional calories without the extra protein and fats should help keep him leveled out.
Also remember, a good de-worming program goes a long way in maintaining the health and condition of your equine.
Typically native pony breeds just have to look at feed to put on weight. If you are intent on bulking him up I'd stick to two handfuls of the conditioning cubes, 1 scoop of beet pulp and 1scoop cool and easy , as if he's already quite hyper adding hot feed wont end well. if hes stabled to good sized hay nets per day should be plenty. If he's at grass during the day , 1 hay net would be plenty
A horse needs no more than 1 pound of feed for every 100lbs of body weight per day, to fatten one up increase it by 10% a week until you are feeding 1.5% of his body weight, it is better to feed this amount in 3 feedings per day if possible, they will gain weight faster than you can work it into muscle.
First off, if your horse is 15hh he should weigh alot more than 430 lbs! It depends on what you are feeding him right now, what kind of grain and hay is he on?