the daydream fund challenge thread

lostinrates

Alfie, did you consider top spec balancer and their conditioning mix? If he is in along he can have great buckets of soaked forage..grass pellets or beet.

Ours are choosing the barn a lot atm, but bear in mind in he will be likely to get a bit stiffer and more sore. Its an almost impossible balance at times isn't it!

Itismehonest

Alfie, is Barney's worming up-to-date? (I'm presuming so but just asking)

lostinrates

Ironically, my very ancient horse who i didn't think would make it through winter is nope obese, and we are considering brionging the, off the grass to slim down for a couple of weeks, otherwise spring will be a nightmare. Maybe you should send barney here to chow down on the cow grass we have.

alfie_1

i will get the best they have for him tomorow. i will see what they have in grass pellets...do i just soak them like speedi beet ??
he is just standing looking miserable at the mo so the stable will be a rest for him....but if he looks a bit stiff i can always walk him each day.
i know hes old and may be edging towards the end but want to spoil him abit if i can....

alfie_1

Itismehonest wrote: »

Alfie, is Barney's worming up-to-date? (I'm presuming so but just asking)

yes they are all wormed at same time...quite a feat i may add.!!! 6 minis,2 bigguns and 3 sheep all getting syringed in one hit... i buy the bulk big bottle £50 a time.. does em all twice.

lostinrates

alfie_1 wrote: »

yes they are all wormed at same time...quite a feat i may add.!!! 6 minis,2 bigguns and 3 sheep all getting syringed in one hit... i buy the bulk big bottle £50 a time.. does em all twice.

Are you rotating wormer class every year? Thats important if you are conventionally worming. We tend not to worm but fecal worm count. We give an autumn worm for the things that can't be worm counted and clear manure from the field ....although this winter that has been impossible, as the ground is water logged, so that stopped mid november, the land will be cleared next dry weekend.. And we will ache. Then we also gove a verm x dose occasionally, despite always having clear worm counts.


Rummer is best placed to advice on worming really. Iirc. Or am i wrong on who the parasitology student was? if so very sorry!

Itismehonest

Alfie - I was pretty sure you wouldn't have missed that.

Is it that he eats OK but just isn't keeping the weight on?

alfie_1

Itismehonest wrote: »

Alfie - I was pretty sure you wouldn't have missed that.

Is it that he eats OK but just isn't keeping the weight on?

basically hes approx 30yrs old, hes a thoroughbred ! and he was a show/dressage etc hoss in his prime BUT he was a cribber [prob bored stiff in a stable for too long ] before i got him as a rescue with his hoof almost split in half that previous owners did not think merited spending money to sort as he was then not up to "speck" !..so his teeth are well worn down BUT thats why i rotate to keep him on the longer grass as he can GUM that to death !!
basically he is OLD..........

lostinrates

Yes, re grass nuts soak, for a vouple of hours ish. I make mine up to 24 hours in advance, but doesn 't need that long. One scoop of nuts with about 5/6 of water to make a sloppy mix he can gum and slurp.

Itismehonest

alfie_1 wrote: »

basically hes approx 30yrs old, hes a thoroughbred ! and he was a show/dressage etc hoss in his prime BUT he was a cribber [prob bored stiff in a stable for too long ] before i got him as a rescue with his hoof almost split in half that previous owners did not think merited spending money to sort as he was then not up to "speck" !..so his teeth are well worn down BUT thats why i rotate to keep him on the longer grass as he can GUM that to death !!
basically he is OLD..........

Yea, getting old is a b****r for people & horses alike
He sounds the perfect candidate for problems, poor old boy - thoroughbred, then not "worked", foot wounds ......

It's often a case of "If it's not one thing it's another" as LIR said. If they're not losing weight, they're gaining.

It may just be that Barney's teeth aren't letting him get enough goodness & nutrients from the grass.
I'd go for one of the complete feeds designed for senior horses. They're made to be easier to digest than most things (even most soaked stuff). They also provide the balanced diet.
If fed as per the instructions it's quite a volume per day, though.
Soften them with a little water - just to make it a bit easier to chew.
Then treat any hay or grass as more of a treat.

Oh, & yea, you do need to make sure he moves & doesn't just stand about looking mournful

I've heard some people say that a good dollop of vegetable oil adds to the calorie intake but I'm not sure if that's an old wives tale or a valid treatment.