I’m about to begin a lease-to-own on an older TB who won’t really gain any more weight (he’s not thin, but could stand to put on another 100 lbs) and gets stomach ulcers every now and then. I’m about to put him on U-Guard and am looking for a feed that will put weight on him but won’t aggravate the ulcers but also won’t break the bank #brokecollegestudent . He gets ridden anywhere from 1-3x/week (he currently gets used in a lesson program every now and then) and he’s currently on beet pulp (I love it to help w/ ulcers) and sweet feed. Any advice?
How is he kept (pasture, stall), what kind of hay is he eating and how much, and how much grain and beet pulp is he getting in pounds?
Yes, we need to know this.
100lbs is a lot of weight. I’d have to think more hay or better hay would be at least part of the solution.
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Sweet feed certainly isn’t helping anything.
How are his teeth? When were they last done?
And yeah, what all does he get for hay?
I’ve certainly never found beat pulp particularly helpful–it take SO much volume to get anything of note into them. Swapping his beat pulp for alfalfa pellets could be a good first step.
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Free choice hay. Alfalfa/mix.
Nix sweet feed and beet pulp. If your beet pulp has molasses, it’s definitely not helping ulcers. Go for a Senior feed or low-NSC grain that does not have sugar or molasses.
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grass hay available 24/7. make sure his living arrangement is not stressing him. plenty of turnout. low starch feed NO sweet feed. U-gard is just tums for horses, only works for a couple hours while it is in the stomach. look at something like HorseTech’s GutWerks. it has fructo-oligosaccarhides, some other kinds of good gut stuff, and plenty of gut bacteria. It is NOT tums, but rather meant to repopulate the gut with good bacteria and food for the bacteria.
treat for a month with omeprazole (either name brand or generic from your vet). make sure you ramp down the dose over the last week or two to prevent rebound.
Purina now makes a version of Ultium call Ultium Gastric Care. That is a high calorie feed that is relatively low starch, and has good stuff for the gut in it.
good luck
He is on total pasture board, and we don’t feed hay during summer months becuase living in the south east it gets incredibly hot, and stays hot for atleast 6 months, if not longer, out of the year. As far as amount of feed he gets, we don’t weigh, but using a 3 quart scoop, he gets a scoop of beet pulp, and 2 scoops of sweet feed 2x daily.
Well, weigh your scoops and report back. All nutrition analysis is done by weight.
If he isn’t keeping his weight on your pasture perhaps he needs supplemental high quality hay like alfalfa.
Also often poor condition is missing nutrients as well as calories. I’d put him on a well fortified ration balancer and some flax for a start.
I agree sweet feed is counter indicated for ulcers.
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He’s on 12 quarts of sweet feed every day? :eek:
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“Sweet feed” is also generic and may not mean what we think it means.
Cheapest way to add calories in my area would be alfalfa hay. In general, hay is cheaper than grain, and also, they may get more calories out of their appetite with hay than pasture, depending on your pasture.
Rice bran adds fat and can be of use. Where I live, beet pulp is no longer a cheap way to add calories - it costs the same as a fully mixed and balanced senior feed. The money is in putting the stuff in the bags and shipping it. So, you might look at the senior feed options in your area.
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It’s important to know how much concentrate he’s getting by weight, not volume. Also, the brand or grade of the concentrate he is getting-all feeds are not created equal.
A couple of other blanks to fill for us-how big is he? He’s on pasture board, how does he get fed-is he separated, or is it as a group? Deworming history?
I don’t understand why the southern heat prevents feeding hay. What kind of grass/forage does he have access to? Is the grass he’s out on in good shape?
I have a hard keeper too-I worry constantly about putting/keeping weight on the beast.
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#brokecollegestudent
Don’t lease this horse. It seems as if you can’t afford it. Ulcers are not cheap to treat and TBs are not cheap to feed.
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Very good point. You are taking on a horse whose owners haven’t figured out optimal care, and committing to solving his problems. That means vet consultation, expensive meds, vitamin mineral supplements, etc.
There are lots of easy keepers out there. Lease an airfern with a shiny coat.
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I’ll definitely re-evaluate, Thanks for the help and advice!
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Nothing negative intended, just been there done that and could have made better choices.
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I have to echo others’ comments. A cheap horse is one who lives on grass hay or pasture, and is barefoot. Their healthcare does not involve ulcer treatment, expensive mandated supplements, or injections. And they can live in a field.
For example, monthly costs for two very different horses for housing, feed and maintenance alone, in my area:
Horse 1: easy keeper, barefoot:
Pasture board: $450
$450/month, $5400/yr
Horse 2: hard keeper, bad feet, joint issues:
Stall board: $650
Shoes: $200
Ulcer preventive/treatment: $10-40/day - $300-1200/month (not a year round thing obvs… hopefully)
Feed, supps: $10-15/day $300-450/month
Joint injections: $1100/year
$1542-2592/month, $31,100/year
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Have cheap to keep horse’s 2 no board fees kept at home. Hay cost 690$ for 2018. barefoot horses trimmed 6 times a year 30$ per horse two horses 60$ dollars a time. Total for farrier work per year is 360$ Feed cost for 2 horse’s 65.98$ two bags of TC 30% at 32.99$ a bag. Only feed it in summer months, only hay come winter. No ulcer treatments. Vet cost for 2018 400$ spring shots.
Total cost for care of 2 horses for a year is 1,515.98$
@warriorhorse I’m guessing you’re not including purchase price of property to keep horses on? Altho yeah - if you already owned that, keeping 'em at home is cheap!
No i didn’t include purchase price of our property that would of been 33,500 already paid off 2 years ago.
Around here anything with room for a pony is going to start at $3 million.
Anyhow in self board my feed costs for my shiny barefoot airfern come in at under $200 a month and that’s premium hay delivered and stacked and $1.50 a day in vitamin mineral supplements.
The folks with older OTTBs pay a lot more!
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