Shiaway
Oct. 27, 2009, 12:02 AM
This is a feed-related question.
My horse was away for a while and when he came back I found he had lost a bit of weight and I did a fecal and found he had large strongiles (but not that many eggs the vet said). I dewormed him the next day.
It's been two weeks and the twit hasn't gone back to looking brilliant! Ok I'm kidding, I know I'm being totally antsy but I just wish he was back to looking like his old self. I hate seeing his butt look sunken in and his back bone sticking up. I mean it's not horrible and even the eventers at my barn (I'm a dressage rider) all think he looks fine because he looks like a TB LOL but he's a lusitano!
Anyway, the barn's hay is not up to my standards. It's not horrible and I like that it's not dusty. It's just a bit course. I think it's 1st cut grass hay. Or if it's second cut, it's coarse second cut.
I've noticed that my horse looks the best on either a good quality second cut grass or even better on alfalfa mix hay. Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy my own hay on top of the board.
So I'm considering giving him maybe some soaked alfalfa cubes 1X a day. Good idea? Bad idea? Will this upset the Ca:P ratio?
Here's what he looked like last spring:
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8712/dsc01358o.jpg
I want to get him back to that. How long should I wait before I start worrying that maybe I haven't killed all the worms or maybe the weight was caused by something else?
Right now he's getting I think 1.5 or 2qts of grain 2X a day. I have to check. Mostly it's strategy pellet but I think the barn owner put in some sweet feed, probably I'll have her take him off the sweet feed after he gains the weight. I don't really like to feed sweet feed at all. He's also getting Omega Horse Shine.
My horse was away for a while and when he came back I found he had lost a bit of weight and I did a fecal and found he had large strongiles (but not that many eggs the vet said). I dewormed him the next day.
It's been two weeks and the twit hasn't gone back to looking brilliant! Ok I'm kidding, I know I'm being totally antsy but I just wish he was back to looking like his old self. I hate seeing his butt look sunken in and his back bone sticking up. I mean it's not horrible and even the eventers at my barn (I'm a dressage rider) all think he looks fine because he looks like a TB LOL but he's a lusitano!
Anyway, the barn's hay is not up to my standards. It's not horrible and I like that it's not dusty. It's just a bit course. I think it's 1st cut grass hay. Or if it's second cut, it's coarse second cut.
I've noticed that my horse looks the best on either a good quality second cut grass or even better on alfalfa mix hay. Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy my own hay on top of the board.
So I'm considering giving him maybe some soaked alfalfa cubes 1X a day. Good idea? Bad idea? Will this upset the Ca:P ratio?
Here's what he looked like last spring:
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8712/dsc01358o.jpg
I want to get him back to that. How long should I wait before I start worrying that maybe I haven't killed all the worms or maybe the weight was caused by something else?
Right now he's getting I think 1.5 or 2qts of grain 2X a day. I have to check. Mostly it's strategy pellet but I think the barn owner put in some sweet feed, probably I'll have her take him off the sweet feed after he gains the weight. I don't really like to feed sweet feed at all. He's also getting Omega Horse Shine.