Alfalfa Cubes, Senior Feed, Beet Pulp... Or something else

[kris0227]

Hello all!

I have a couple of horses that struggled keeping on weight this winter. I have good quality hay and feed a forage first diet. Most of my horses maintained weight fine, but I’ll detail my two trouble makers down below.

Horse 1: Arabian X Tennessee Walker, 13 year old Gelding

• No known health issues that we are aware of, he has been wormed and teeth floated
• In addition to his daily hay, he is receiving a scoop of Tribute Senior Sport.
• Will not eat supplements like Cool Calories. I did manage recently to get him to eat 2 ounces of flaxseed oil but anymore and he will refuse the feed.

Horse 2: Friesian, 17 year old Gelding

• Cushings and completely blind
• Has been wormed and teeth floated
• In addition to his daily hay, he is receiving a scoop of Tribute Senior Sport
• Was getting 2 scoops of Cool Calories, but recently switched to 5 ounces of flax seed oil as we were not seeing any improvement on the Cool Calories.

Due to the blind gelding’s anxiety with being stalled, both horses are outside 24/7. Neither worked at all during the winter and still haven’t returned to work. They eat their grain from fence feeders due to the aforementioned issues with stabling in case that factors into recommendations.

If you had these two particular geldings with the aforementioned issues, outside of grass season, how would you prefer to feed them to help maintain weight better. I’ve not tried Alfalfa Cubes or Beet Pulp yet as these issues are new, so any good/bad/ugly about those would be much appreciated. This was the first year that I had issues with them maintaining weight on my normal feed regimen and I tried to adjust as necessary, but was not able to really get either to gain (they just stopped losing). Or do you have some other favorite weight gain product that has worked for you for hard keepers or those sensitive to sugar? I’m open to all options! At the moment, they have both been transitioned out to the big back pasture and we expect them to start gaining weight now, but I would like to prevent this issue going forward.

[Scribbler]

What kind of hay? How much? Did they eat it all? If so have you tried feeding more as much as they will eat? Have you tried feeding alfalfa hay? Are the horses getting all the hay they want or are they being run off by other horses? Do they wear turnout blankets in cold weather?

Honestly both alfalfa cubes and beet pulp which both need soaking are high volume and low calorie basically not much more calories than good hay. They make a good mash to carry supplements and a good hay replacement for toothless old horses. But they are not an efficient way to add total calories to the diet. Feeding alfalfa hay is. The volume of soaked hay cubes you would need to make up one modest 5 lb flake of alfalfa hay is immense.

Your Cushing’s horse may need a higher volume of very low NSC seniors feed if he can’t maintain weight on good hay and a ration balancer.

How big is “a scoop”? What does “a scoop” weigh? What weight are you meant to feed of the grain in question?

[kris0227]

@Scribbler

What kind of hay? How much? Did they eat it all? If so have you tried feeding more as much as they will eat? Have you tried feeding alfalfa hay? Are the horses getting all the hay they want or are they being run off by other horses? Do they wear turnout blankets in cold weather?

Honestly both alfalfa cubes and beet pulp which both need soaking are high volume and low calorie basically not much more calories than good hay. They make a good mash to carry supplements and a good hay replacement for toothless old horses. But they are not an efficient way to add total calories to the diet. Feeding alfalfa hay is. The volume of soaked hay cubes you would need to make up one modest 5 lb flake of alfalfa hay is immense.

Your Cushing’s horse may need a higher volume of very low NSC seniors feed if he can’t maintain weight on good hay and a ration balancer.

How big is “a scoop”? What does “a scoop” weigh? What weight are you meant to feed of the grain in question?

I don’t honestly remember the type of hay in my grass hay bales. I have fed alfalfa hay as well. They were getting 4 flakes regular grass hay twice per day, plus a FULL BALE of alfalfa to share overnight (just the two horses, everyone else is stabled overnight). I did not blanket them as they both have good thick coats and a run-in shelter, but I’m considering it for next year. The Tribute Senior Sport is supposed to be a low NSC feed, he does absolutely lose weight on a ration balancer. I left my scale (electronic) out in the rain (whoops!), but I believe the scoop is 3 lbs. I believe the ideal for an active horse in work would be closer to 6 lbs, obviously, I’d have to do multiple meals for that amount, which I’m also open to, but would be a little more logistically difficult as then I’d have the rest of the herd to consider.

I am concerned about feeding 6 lbs total of the senior sport because of the Cushings horse, I’m afraid this would make his condition worse, so I was really hoping to find some less sugary alternatives.

[Scribbler]

@kris0227

I don’t honestly remember the type of hay in my grass hay bales. I have fed alfalfa hay as well. They were getting 4 flakes regular grass hay twice per day, plus a FULL BALE of alfalfa to share overnight (just the two horses, everyone else is stabled overnight). I did not blanket them as they both have good thick coats and a run-in shelter, but I’m considering it for next year. The Tribute Senior Sport is supposed to be a low NSC feed, he does absolutely lose weight on a ration balancer. I left my scale (electronic) out in the rain (whoops!), but I believe the scoop is 3 lbs. I believe the ideal for an active horse in work would be closer to 6 lbs, obviously, I’d have to do multiple meals for that amount, which I’m also open to, but would be a little more logistically difficult as then I’d have the rest of the herd to consider.

How much of this hay were they eating? Were they finishing it all up?

Blankets are very useful to keep body heat in and have horses burn fewer calories keeping warm

If you are feeding a bagged feed you can go up to the recommended level to get all the nutrients needed, as long as the horse is not IR.

Are the horses really underweight or just under muscled? Photos could be useful.

[kris0227]

@Scribbler

How much of this hay were they eating? Were they finishing it all up?

Blankets are very useful to keep body heat in and have horses burn fewer calories keeping warm

If you are feeding a bagged feed you can go up to the recommended level to get all the nutrients needed, as long as the horse is not IR.

Are the horses really underweight or just under muscled? Photos could be useful.

The Arabian/Tennessee walker may actually be under muscled. The Friesian is definitely underweight. They finish every scrap of hay they get. The Friesian is IR, so that’s why I’m careful about how much feed I give him.

[Scribbler]

@kris0227

The Arabian/Tennessee walker may actually be under muscled. The Friesian is definitely underweight. They finish every scrap of hay they get. The Friesian is IR, so that’s why I’m careful about how much feed I give him.

Give them as much hay as they can eat for a month and then reassess. If they finish every scrap and they are underweight then they are not getting enough hay.

[kris0227]

@Scribbler

Give them as much hay as they can eat for a month and then reassess. If they finish every scrap and they are underweight then they are not getting enough hay.

They’re on grass 24/7 now, although they do not eat constantly, the Friesian typically spends a lot of time napping and not much eating as you’d think. I’m looking for a solution for next fall/winter to prevent this from happening again.

[Amy3996]

The Tribute Senior Sport has an NSC value of 16ish if I recall correctly. That’s not really what most would consider a low NSC feed. Probably not appropriate for an IR horse.

[Scribbler]

@kris0227

They’re on grass 24/7 now, although they do not eat constantly, the Friesian typically spends a lot of time napping and not much eating as you’d think. I’m looking for a solution for next fall/winter to prevent this from happening again.

Put on turnout blankets and feed them just a little more quantity of good hay and alfalfa than they will finish. Have a 24/7 arrangement with a bale in a net or trough out of the rain.

[DinkyDonk]

My PPID ulcer prone senior gelding gained weight this winter on 1 lb (dry weight) soaked beet pulp pellets, 2 1/2 lbs of alf pellets, and 3 oz oil twice a day, plus one tbs of Diamond V xpc and 20 lbs of first cutting brome/orchard hay. I ended up having to cut the alf pellets back to 2 lbs and the oil back to 2 oz. twice a day, as he was getting too plump. He seems to utilize this simple diet better than commercial feeds. When my vet was out for vaccs and blood pulls this month she was really happy with his weight, as he went into winter on the thin side.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

My guy does really well on a combination of a few things. He came to me very underweight and he has successfully put on and maintained weight (along with a shiny hair coat and great feet). I’ve gone soy free with him, so he gets Triple Crown Balancer Gold (which is new but I’ve been super happy with), with a 3 qt scoop of alfalfa cubes soaked, 1 cup of Renew Gold (also soy free and pelleted, he looooooooves it), 1 oz of Canola oil, and some added vitamin E since he lives in a dry lot and only gets hand grazed. Have you tried chia seeds? This is the new latest and greatest for getting omegas, protein and magnesium into them. I know lots of horses who won’t eat powder or oils as supplements, so maybe try a pelleted or whole food fat supplement?

[S1969]

I’m feeding beet pulp to my two senior horses at the moment and one loves it, and the other will eat it as long as enough senior feed is mixed in. One of them will not touch alfalfa cubes, and my Cushings gelding could use a few pounds, but won’t touch either beet pulp or alfalfa cubes. It’s been a challenge.

So, if you can increase hay - that is what I would do first. It’s much easier and more likely to be successful. My senior TB mare is a bit thin even with free choice hay, and my senior mini has dental challenges so she needs something else.

[CindyCRNA]

I fed mine about 1 pound of beet pulp and 2 1/2 pounds of alfalfa cubes soaked and then top dressed 1 pound of pellet rice bran and they loved this and added weight.

[enjoytheride]

I would up grain by 2lbs a day and increase hay for the non cushing horse. Keep it simple.