school has been like beyond crazy lately with AP classes and whatnot. Love AP Bio, APUSH and H. Anatomy but they're kind of crazy sometimes. And with 2 more classes on top of that plus riding plus pony club stuff plus a 45 min drive to the barn plus student government things are getting kind of crazy. one thing I'm realllyyy looking forward to with school though is the newly formed equestrian club at my school.
The first meeting was today and it sounds like its going to be REALLY fun to be apart of. I signed up to be a coordinator for the events which will consist of some clinics, shows and fund raising. There will also be some cross country schooling but I will probably be loaning Jazz out to one of the club members who cannot take her leased horse off the property. Either way it should be a ton of fun.
And last but not least, I need some help with something. Jazz is a 13 year old off the track thoroughbred who is THE hardest keeper to I have ever dealt with. No matter what I feed him he still looks skinny and underfed. His coat looks really good, his hooves are great without shoes (currently has them on for added traction while riding though), he's perky and has tons of energy but he just will not put weight on for anything. He gets:
1 lb of Purina Mills 32% (32% protein, 5% fat)
1/2 lb of Omegashine (flax seed)
1 lb of Dry Beet Pulp (soaked before feeding)
4 lbs of Alfalfa Cubes (soaked before feeding)
5 lbs of Seminole Wellness Senior Mix (12% fat, 10% protein) - soon to be switched to Seminole Wellness Show and Sport (12/12)
and Consequin with MSM and a daily strongid wormer.
he gets all that PER FEEDING!!! (cept for the consequin and wormer, thats once a day)
This is what he looks like: (add in a little more muscles through his hind quarters since this was taken this spring)
He had the Panacure Power Pack regemin done (with Probios to keep healthy gut bacteria) before switching to the wormer last week in hopes of getting rid of any possible resistent worms. It was also suggested last week that he could have ulcers so he's going on ulcer treatment starting this weekend. This treatmeant won't hurt him if he doesn't have any but it could always fix something. I'm not thinking he has ulcers though because he isn't displaying any symptoms besides lack of weight gain. After this though, I'm at a loss for possible reasons for the lack of weight. Any suggestions?I'm going to call the vet to come out and just go over everything if none of this works but really trying to avoid that. I've asked the vet about his weight a few times but have tried everything that was suggested so far but nothing has really worked. Giving free rein to a vet to just test everything will probably be extremely pricey though.... fabulous.
So any suggestions would be much appreciated!
I feel your pain. Since Riley can't have hay he is very difficult to keep weight on. I do NOT recommend the Show and Sport I don't know anyone who sees an improvement with it for hard keepers. It doesn't seem to be well absorbed.
ReplyDeleteWe discovered with Riley that added Fiber is actually really helpful versus increased fat.
He has always done the best on Banks Mill Low Starch. I know this is somewhat counter intuitive, but it worked even in the winter for him.
You also might consider increasing the beet pulp to closer to 3 lbs.
I would recommend the Wellness senior over the show and sport. I have seen really good results with it in the past for hard keepers. I DO NOT recommend banks mill because of their lack of quality ingredients. I have been studying horse nutrition for a while now and have found that something as simple as corn oil can help with weight and conditioning. Also I have had good luck with a rice bran products called Ultra Bloom and weight gain by farnam. You can up the beet pulp and that will give him some extra fiber. The omega shine is mainly for the coat and small weight gain. Whereas the ultra bloom is recommended for weight gain and coat conditioning. Sounds like he is on a good road and keep up the good work!
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