# Keeping weight on your Hunter



## spotty_pony (10 October 2012)

How do you all keep weight on your Hunters? Mine is a bit of a stress head and wears his weight away really easily from being excited. He is already looking a bit on the lean side and we have only been cubbing twice!!  He is being fed lots of hard feed and is out at grass all day and in at night. There is still quite a lot of grass in the field he is in so I don't think he is very hungry when he comes in as he doesn't eat much hay overnight - he just picks at a haynet.

I am currently feeding him: -

AM
3 x mugfuls of Baileys Performance Balancer
1/2 scoop of Alfa A Oil Chaff

PM
1 x scoop of Baileys No.4 Topline Conditioning Cubes
1 x scoop of Alfa A Oil Chaff
1 x cup of Farrier's Formula
Handful of Carrots 
1/2 mini scoop of Cortaflex

He is due to be wormed so am hoping that should help. He has his teeth done regularly (due next month) and seems well in himself I am just worried he will end up loosing too much weight. Is there anything else I should be feeding him too/instead? He is ridden approx 4-5 times per week - mostly 1-2 hours of steady hacking and occasional schooling and is very fit. He is hunted 1-2 times per month on average throughout the season. At the moment he hasn't been clipped so has been sweating quite a lot which won't be helping his condition but he is being clipped next week. 

Any advice please?


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## DollyDolls (10 October 2012)

I found that Saracen equi-jewel was fab at putting weight on my horse.
It was easy to use and as you only gave a cup (or perhaps 2), it lasted well and meant they didn't eat too much in one feed.

I also switched from alfa-a to readigrass.

Good luck, the only other thing I will advise is to use a rug too, so he's not feeling the cold and that may help?


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## be positive (10 October 2012)

I think you are doubling up on the balancers, feeding FF and baileys seems rather extreme and expensive, both have a good amount of vits and mins and one should be plenty, I would give him cubes in the morning instead. Micronised linseed is a good way to add calories without making a feed too large. 

More fibre would help, if he is not interested in hay leave an extra tub of chaff/ redigrass for him to pick on overnight. haylage may be a better option than hay, clipping regularly will help reduce weight lost through sweating. Add some salt or electrolytes to his feed to replace those lost and encourage him to drink plenty of water.


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## spotty_pony (10 October 2012)

dollydolls - Forgot to say that he is rugged up. He is currently wearing a MW turnout rug during the day and a fleece and LW stable rug at night so he is definitely not getting cold or using any fat to keep him warm. 

be positive - I have always fed him the Baileys Balancer but recently added FF as his feet were starting to get quite brittle and crumbly. The result of feeding this as well has been amazing tbh. I had assumed that FF was just aimed at maintaining healthy hoof horn quality, not as an overall balancer. He has ad-lib fibre available to him (mixture of hay/haylage but the haylage is quite dry at the moment and neither are very appealing to him!) He is fed the cubes in the evening as it takes him too long to eat it in the morning and the yard like to get turning out after breakfast and I don't want him taking away from his feed to be turned out tbh. Also, when others start going out around him, he gets quite stressy and starts box walking and stops eating anyway. That's the reason, I feed him the majority of his hard feed in the evening so he has the whole night to eat it as he pleases.


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## Great White Hunter (10 October 2012)

I'd be less bothered about the balancer and maybe try sugar beet.


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## chestnut cob (10 October 2012)

I agree - think about sugar beet / Speedibeet and add linseed meal.

Can you switch your hay for haylage too?


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## Great White Hunter (10 October 2012)

Is it possible to squeeze another feed in? Little and often is very much the key. Half a scoop of nuts at lunchtime could make all the difference.


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## Maesfen (11 October 2012)

I'd change your chaff to soaked grass pellets, they do wonders for keeping them covered along with micro linseed too.  Also you can't beat boiled barley as a winter feed.


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## Amymay (11 October 2012)

He's not actually getting very much hard feed from what you've described.

How about upping the ration - to include boiled barley as well?


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## Polotash (11 October 2012)

I'd agree he's not actually getting that much.

You can easily up the fibre and stay on two feeds if you can't manage 3. I'd say (per feed):

Two big handfuls Alfa A oil
One big scoop soaked sugar beet
Micronised linseed
Equi jewell at recommended level


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## monkeybum13 (11 October 2012)

Micronised linseed is supposed to be brilliant for condition


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## laurapru (11 October 2012)

When my horse starts dropping weight I add a glug of oil to his feed and a bran mash, as it is sloppy he seems to eat it a lot quicker and you only have to soak for 10mins and seems to be tasty to them. 
Linseed oil is fab for coat condition too but vegetable oil has been just as effective.


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## JenHunt (11 October 2012)

you could try adding linseed or full fat soya to his feed - the high oil content will help him get lots of slow release calories in a concentrated form! 

I agree you seem to be doubling up by feeding a balancer and FF.

you could also add speedibeet or alfabeet to increase his fibre intake which will help keep him warm and hydrated.

feed electrolytes before and after hunting to help keep him hydrated so that his gut doesn't have to work harder to move food through the system, which will mean it's more thoroughly digested.

I would also say he's not actually get very much.... 
ours both get 1 heaped scoop of alfa oil, 2 mugs of balancer, up to 1/2 scoop of full fat soya, and we soak 2 scoops of speedibeet between the two of them.... and they get ad lib haylage, and we get through about one and a half small bales of haylage per day.


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## CrazyMare (11 October 2012)

I have one looking lean already - 3 days cubbing so far...!

Mine is extra difficult, as she won't eat breakfast - she just wants to go out! Nor can she have conditioning mixes as she either goes bonkers or ties up....

SO....

We are on TopSpec Comprehensive balancer, with Alfa A, Speedibeet, and TopSpec Fibre Plus cubes (in her bucket, and in a snack ball, as she quite likes that, and eats them all). I have noticed TopSpec now do a Performace cube, with the same sort of formulation but more energy than the Fibre Plus cubes, so we are switching to that.

I've found leaving mine over night with a couple of big  buckets to pick at works quite well, as she doesn't eat much hay.

Edit - I should add, she has the recommended amount of balancer, but I can up/down the others as I see fit to do so, depending on how well covered she is


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## lizziebinks (11 October 2012)

My full TB hunter is fed twice a day on:
alpha A oil, Dodson & horrell barley rings (I'm too lazy to oil barley and this dry stuff is pre done), conditioning mix and some micronized linseed. Once it gets frosty, he will get sugarbeet too.
He lives out 24/7 and is suitably rugged up. He's happier in his head outside. He gets hay from mid October too.


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## wench (12 October 2012)

I like the topspec stuff as you have the balancer, then you can adjust quantities of everything else as necessary. Baileys outshine is also very good. It's rammed with calories.


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## mischamoo (12 October 2012)

Hi Spottypony, I'm just in the process of changing over my 15.2 TB's hard feed as he drops weight in the winter too. I was advised, once fully accostomed to new feeds, to feed 3 scoops of Alpha A Oil per day, 2 scoops of Alphabeet per day (along with his cortaflex) and to consider adding micronised linseed, and to split it all between 2-3 feeds if possible, along with his usual grass turnout and ad lib hay at night. Obviously having only just started this I'm yet to see results but was recommended these feeds from numerous friends who have their hunters on the same and look very good!


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## JC1 (12 October 2012)

Mine get:
1/2 a scoop of A&P calm and condition (unsoaked which makes up to a scoop when soaked) 
1/2 a scoop of A&P power and performace (unsoaked which makes up to a scoop when soaked)
1 scoop of alfa a oil
They have this twice a day and look fantastic on it. One is a TB and the other a stressy ISH. The ration was recommended by an A&P rep.


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## bobajob (12 October 2012)

Maesfen said:



			I'd change your chaff to soaked grass pellets, they do wonders for keeping them covered along with micro linseed too.  Also you can't beat boiled barley as a winter feed.
		
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When you boil your barley has it already been rolled or crushed or is it whole? Also how do you boil it? On the stove or in a slow cooker? I cook linseed off in a slow cooker over night.


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## Ditchjumper2 (12 October 2012)

1 ID has 1 scoop Dengie Hi Fi and shock horror some Molichop chucked in too, 1 scoop Charnwood cool power cubes twice a day and ad lib hay. He had a little micronised barley when he got a lettle slimmer than I wanted. The other slightly stressier ID has  same plus some Charnwood conditioning mix, v expensive but keeps the weight on without making him fizz. I cut the sugar beet last year which made the stressy one a lot calmer and had no effect on his weight. Both are out more or less 24/7 fully clipped and rugged.


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## spotty_pony (14 October 2012)

Thank you for all of your replies. I am getting him clipped this week to see if this helps as I think he is loosing a lot of his condition through sweating at the moment. If he is still struggling, I am considering getting some Barley Rings to add to his existing diet, although I am worried that this will then need to be split into three feeds which is a pain as I will struggle to be able to give him three. He only has a small breakfast as he gets stressy as he anticipates being turned out so gets most of his feed in the evenings. 

Would 1 scoop of Alfa A OIil, 1 scoop of Conditioning cubes, 1/2 scoop of Barley rings + FF be too much in one feed?


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## TwoPair (14 October 2012)

Not read all the replies but the grey in my sig lived out, clipped, hunted well, and hunted on a scoop of Ride & Relax, a scoop of Alfa A, and a scoop of beet. He had ad lib haylage in the field.

Conditioning wise I have found the Pure Feeds Pure Condition GREAT it's just having £100 in one go to order in bulk as you have to.

At the moment I am using beet, Alfa A Oil, and Baileys No.4 (one scoop of each twice daily) for a poor doer.  

With yours I would switch to haylage over hay if you can, and maybe swap the nuts for the mix (Baileys No.17.) I have found the mix far more conditioning than the nuts but the two on the nuts can't have mix (one ulcery, one loses the plot). Maybe try adding some Barley do his diet? My poor doer hunted from the day before to the day after and dropped condition quickly, and I found Alfa A, No.17, and barley kept him looking amazing.

ETA I have been told a horses stomach can only digest three scoops of feed in one go (this was by a top feed brand nutritionist) Baileys nutritionist also told me to feed the S'beet separately.


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## TGM (15 October 2012)

What time does he come in?  Could he have an early evening and a late evening feed?

Is there an option for him to live out?  Some horses will eat more and stress less when kept this way, meaning they actually put on condition.

As others have said, changing to haylage may encourage him to eat more forage, as will feeding a tub of soaked grass nuts/grass chaff alongside his haynet.


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## chestnut cob (15 October 2012)

bobajob said:



			When you boil your barley has it already been rolled or crushed or is it whole? Also how do you boil it? On the stove or in a slow cooker? I cook linseed off in a slow cooker over night.
		
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You don't need to cook microionised linseed - the Charnwood Milling stuff doesn't need it.  They microionise it so you don't have to cook it (microionisation is the method used to prepare it), just feed it whole from the bag.


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## Sparkles (15 October 2012)

Back when we had the two hunters kept with us for land lady [both of which who were hunted _hard_ weekly], they went out for 2-3 hours a day, the rest of the time were kept stabled on ad-lib haylage and had 3-4 feeds a day of 1/2 scoop barley rings, 1/4 scoop sugar beet, 3/4 scoop topline cubes, cup of spillers balancer, 1/4 scoop linseed lozenges, 1/4 scoop mollassed chaff and 3 pumps of soya soya oil. They only had the balancer in one meal a day, and the 2 inbetween feeds, had the barley rings and linseed out.
Both hunter clipped and rugged to the hilt, hoodies, etc. Schooled once a week, and hacked the rest to keep them ticking over.
Again, they were hunted hard however.

For my lad, who I hunt occasionally over winter, maybe once a month or so? I bring him in the for the week he's due to go and let him have ad lib haylage and push it to 3 feeds a day instead of 2. Normally he lives out 24/7 in moderate work, rugged up and half clipped out. Works for him, as he can be a bit of a poor doer in winter and wouldn't cope with hunting too regularly to keep condition on him enough.


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## bobajob (15 October 2012)

chestnut cob said:



			You don't need to cook microionised linseed - the Charnwood Milling stuff doesn't need it.  They microionise it so you don't have to cook it (microionisation is the method used to prepare it), just feed it whole from the bag.
		
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Cannot get hold of any proper horse feed over here. I import linseed from a health food company, whole. I have always cooked it off from scratch as I have aways done (still old fashoned) remember years ago as a kid someone telling me that if it was not cooked it did not cook the cynide off.


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## TwoPair (15 October 2012)

Also, to add in, the grey in my sig was hunting with the Cottesmore on Tuesdays, had day off after hunting, and hacked every day for an hour mainly trotting. He did school once or twice a week but as a failed showjumper it was his nightmare so I didn't stress him with it (he didn't need 'school work'). He was in a HW rug normally, and when hunted he kept his fleece on for that evening so as to keep his back warm until the heavier rug had warmed. We also had a Nomad washer and washed him off at the side of the road. The washer was filled with HOT water, and left wrapped in his fleece whilst we hunted. It was then perfect temp on return. But, he was a gent and didn't mind


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## spotty_pony (20 October 2012)

Thank you for so many great replies! He has been fully clipped this week so that should stop him loosing condition caused by excessive sweating. I am now keeping him well rugged up. When I can, (on the days I am working at the yard where he is kept) I am splitting his evening feed slightky and giving him 1/2 a scoop of cubes and half a scoop of chaff at lunchtime and the rest in the evening as usual. Unfortunately, 24/7 turnout is not an option during the winter at my yard but he seems to have settled into the winter routine again now thank goodness. Will keep you all updated.


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## j17bow (27 October 2012)

I also feed baileys cubes , you need to feed more of it which could be 2 Stubbs scoops per day as I measured it out. Put the chaff and sugar beet in a separate bucket overnight otherwise the feed will be too big. Just put a handful of chaff in with the nuts.

Also try equimins micronised linseed, 2 scoops twice a day. 

Good luck!


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## tractor (29 October 2012)

Get him some haylage....we feed ad lib haylage to the hunters, they never look poor plus they love it so they happily wind it in as soon as they get home....we feed them 1 scoop of cubes, mix, chaff & sugar beet twice a day too, but it's the haylage that keeps the "top" on them. x


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