Definitely wait until she gets back.
I will say though that two cups of feed, even with the other things, wouldn’t be sufficient for a lot of horses. And even six flakes of hay doesn’t seem a lot unless they are big heavy flakes.
I think she just needs more calories. I would switch out most of the alfalfa pellets/cubes for pounds of a high calorie concentrate (higher in fat = more calorie bang for your buck) or add oil/fat to the existing mixture. Most commercial “grain” concentrates are formulated to be fed at about 5lbs/day; two cups is basically worthless unless it’s a ration balancer. You need to weigh the flakes of hay to get an idea of how much she’s eating in roughage.
What kind of “complete feed?”
I feed a complete feed meant for fat horses and even it has to be fed at 2 lb/day and that ends up being about 3 cups per lb.
A good high fat complete feed I would think would be more like 5lb per day.
[QUOTE=Ruth0552;8858174]
What kind of “complete feed?”
I feed a complete feed meant for fat horses and even it has to be fed at 2 lb/day and that ends up being about 3 cups per lb.
A good high fat complete feed I would think would be more like 5lb per day.[/QUOTE]
Just started her on Matrix Fat Smart this a week ago, so slowly increasing the amount. I can only feed up to 4 lbs in one serving per the label, and because I can only make it out there once a day right now, that is what I am working up to. The pellets are super heavy, so I’m up to 1 lb already.
Horses on pasture at this time of year can lose weight, even if hayed. The stress of being out all the time, also they may prefer to grub for grass even though there isn’t any rather than eating the hay offered–I had one that would not eat any hay if he thought he could find a spear of grass. If that is your horse, the only way to deal with it is to bring it in off pasture so it will eat the hay. Also, a simple change of grain type may elicit a weight loss. We rotationally graze in the summer, and it was so dry this year that the grass didn’t last as long into the fall as normal. Horses started to drop weight on pasture, so we brought them back in to stable and be turned out on dry lots with hay, because haying them in the field wouldn’t work–they would just keep at whatever grass there was, leaving the hay. Also, because they needed to go onto hay, I also needed to suppliment with grain as there were several TBs that are harder keepers among them. Finally, if I had left them on the field, it would have negatively impacted the grass growth for next year.
[QUOTE=x;8858586]
Horses on pasture at this time of year can lose weight, even if hayed. The stress of being out all the time, also they may prefer to grub for grass even though there isn’t any rather than eating the hay offered–I had one that would not eat any hay if he thought he could find a spear of grass. If that is your horse, the only way to deal with it is to bring it in off pasture so it will eat the hay. Also, a simple change of grain type may elicit a weight loss. We rotationally graze in the summer, and it was so dry this year that the grass didn’t last as long into the fall as normal. Horses started to drop weight on pasture, so we brought them back in to stable and be turned out on dry lots with hay, because haying them in the field wouldn’t work–they would just keep at whatever grass there was, leaving the hay. Also, because they needed to go onto hay, I also needed to suppliment with grain as there were several TBs that are harder keepers among them. Finally, if I had left them on the field, it would have negatively impacted the grass growth for next year.[/QUOTE]
Very interesting, thank you for the insight.
BM just got back to me. She said to bring mare into paddock at night for tonnes of hay all to herself. This should make a huge difference! Will keep you posted, and thanks for all the support COTHers!
Full board does not mean that the horse gets enough hay/grain to meet their needs. You should see if your contract or barn practices specify how much hay the horses get and see what you can do from there. Many barns budget a specific amount of hay per horse and can’t afford to go much beyond that.
[QUOTE=DancingArabian;8858794]
Full board does not mean that the horse gets enough hay/grain to meet their needs. You should see if your contract or barn practices specify how much hay the horses get and see what you can do from there. Many barns budget a specific amount of hay per horse and can’t afford to go much beyond that.[/QUOTE]
I will check with BM. She said she would feed alfalfa as well for an extra charge.
[QUOTE=Chestnut_Mare;8857617]
Thank you all, glad I’m not being OCD and that you agree that this is a problem!
At this moment, the horse is at a body score of 3.5 to 4. She is a big angular animal and you can see every rib and feel all of them. From behind her bum looks like an upside down V. She went to this barn with a body score of a solid 4 (ribs could be felt but not really seen and spine fairly covered).
I had this mare at a self care place for a year, so I know what and how much she needs to keep weight on. Her teeth were done a few months ago and she had a clean bill of health from the vet this spring.
The reason I feed extra at night is because I was asked to do so by the BM since the horses are still in the field. When they come in for the winter she will feed the food that I buy.
Currently the horse is getting a huge pan of alfalfa cubes soaked, 2 cups of high fat complete feed (working up to more, but can’t put too much in one feeding), 1 cup of flax seed, and supplements. All that probably weighs about 10 lbs. In the field she is getting 3 flakes of hay morning and night. I’m not sure if she gets to eat all that herself as piles are spread out in a few places.
I really respect BM and know that she would never intentionally cause problems, it may just be my mare who is definitely tricky to manage. When I was taking care of her I always had to tweak her diet every season - however, in previous full-board barns she was fat - like a 5-6 in score.
BM went on vacation for 2 weeks and left about one week ago. Should I text her now saying that the horse is losing weight or should I wait to speak with her face to face?[/QUOTE]
Going by your location posts, you need something better than local hay. Fraser Valley local is NOT the right kind of hay for your mare - I have a similar mare and she was skinny scarfing down 60lbs a day plus grain plus alfalfa cubes.
You need to go to a higher quality hay - contact Tamara over at Wrayton Hay Sales and she’ll help you out! My mare is now on a normal level of Timothy/Grass mix, plus 14% pellets from Otter (they also make Matrix and sell it through other feed stores - the Matrix Fat you’re feeding is the same as Equical) and no alfalfa right now, and she’s the fattest I’ve ever seen her.
