# Feeding a thoroughbred in winter



## AABBCC (17 August 2016)

Hi all, 
As the title says, this is my first horse so the feeding world is a little daunting at the moment so I apologise in advance for any obvious questions.
She is an 8yo tb mare who lives out 24/7 and will during winter. Currently she is in medium work with about 30-40 minutes exercise a day which I am planning on trying to keep up to the best of my abilities during winter but due to dark nights etc she may have a slightly lighter workload.
At the moment she isn't on anything but grass and seems to be doing just fine however I plan on adding some hay/haylage to her diet for winter but I was wondering whether she might need any kind of hard feed or if anyone has any tips about how much hay and how frequently and anything else that may help me really. 
It's my first winter/year at this livery so I don't know what the grass will be like but I suspect it should be ok with a few mud bogs.
Thanks for any advice in advance, as I said I'm knew to this and just want to do whats best for her.


----------



## Mince Pie (17 August 2016)

Mine was on haylage, alpha a oil, copra (changed to speedibeet as she was a fussy moo and decided halfway throught the winter she didn't like copra any more!) and linseed. I'd think fibre based feeds more than anything else.


----------



## be positive (17 August 2016)

First at the moment she is in light work not medium, 30-40 mins per day is not very much exercise for any horse let alone an 8 year old tb., so make sure any feeding plans take that into consideration in the future, medium work would be at least competing regularly, not just at the odd local show, hacking for 2 hours or so at a reasonably fast pace with a odd longer ride.

In the winter she may drop weight depending on the field but I wouldn't expect many tb's to do well on just average grazing with "some hay/ haylage added", unless the grass is excellent I would feed adlib hay/ haylage and probably give a small hard feed as soon as the grass quality, not just quantity, drops off, it is easier to maintain a good weight than to build them up once they lose weight in the winter so start with a small feed and build it up gradually as winter really sets in, if she is a good doer you may manage on one feed per day if not she may require 2. 

Don't forget they lose weight keeping warm so ensure she is well rugged and has some shelter to get out of the worst of the weather, a decent hedge is fine.

My horses get grassnuts as their basic diet with additions made to suit the individual depending on their condition and workload, I feed twice a day, 3 times if they need more than average .


----------



## TGM (17 August 2016)

Agree with the above, she is likely to need ad lib haylage or hay - ie available in the field at all times.  Do you know whether your livery yard will allow this?  Unless she is a particularly good doer, it may be difficult to keep weight on a TB out 24/7 without plenty of hay or haylage, however much hard feed you give. As for hard feed, you can only really suck it and see - some need more than others.  A good starting point would be a balancer or powdered vit/min supplement, with added fibre - things like unmollassed beet, grass chaff, soaked grass nuts etc.  The supplement or balancer makes sure she gets all her micronutrients, then you can vary the amount of the other fibre feed according to her condition and energy levels.


----------



## MuddyTB (17 August 2016)

TGM said:



			Agree with the above, she is likely to need ad lib haylage or hay - ie available in the field at all times.  Do you know whether your livery yard will allow this?  Unless she is a particularly good doer, it may be difficult to keep weight on a TB out 24/7 without plenty of hay or haylage, however much hard feed you give. As for hard feed, you can only really suck it and see - some need more than others.  A good starting point would be a balancer or powdered vit/min supplement, with added fibre - things like unmollassed beet, grass chaff, soaked grass nuts etc.  The supplement or balancer makes sure she gets all her micronutrients, then you can vary the amount of the other fibre feed according to her condition and energy levels.
		
Click to expand...

I'd agree with this and add micronised linseed if she is struggling at all. Stick to a fibre based diet and add oil if you need to maintain weight/condition more.


----------



## AABBCC (18 August 2016)

Really sorry but I'm still kinda lost with all the names of supplements and oils etc? Feel a bit like a deer in the headlights...  
Which brands do people use and how can you figure out how much? 
I'm going to ask my vet for his advice and recommendation on it as well but thanks to everyone who's trying to help me figure this out!


----------



## Mince Pie (18 August 2016)

Your yard owner/manager should be able to help, I wouldn't be happy advising over the internet without seeing the horse. It might also be worth saving now and putting your horse on part livery (or assisted DIY which includes feed) for the winter as they will be able to help you learn by being able to watch what they do and asking questions as they will know the horse better than us  The problem with TBs is that they can lose weight very quickly and then are a nightmare to put it back on.


----------



## smja (18 August 2016)

Depending on what yard you're on, feed companies sometimes come out to see groups - often bringing a weighbridge and samples etc. I've used Dengie and Baileys in the past as they were coming to the yard for other people. That's a good way to get some knowledgeable advice from someone who's seen the horse in the flesh.

ETA - they are going to push their own feeds, but the ones I've met were sensible horsepeople and owners themselves, so quite happy to discuss other options!


----------



## abbijay (18 August 2016)

smja said:



			Depending on what yard you're on, feed companies sometimes come out to see groups - often bringing a weighbridge and samples etc. I've used Dengie and Baileys in the past as they were coming to the yard for other people. That's a good way to get some knowledgeable advice from someone who's seen the horse in the flesh.

ETA - they are going to push their own feeds, but the ones I've met were sensible horsepeople and owners themselves, so quite happy to discuss other options!
		
Click to expand...

I once had a virtual consultation with Baileys and was relieved I knew enough to not be guided by her sales pitch/realise she hadn't read the information I'd provided. My good-doer, prone to excitability when fed well who was in light-medium work (more than yours is doing but still not doing real medium work load) and recommended to feed him a sack of high energy feed every 4 1/2 days! 
I have got a lot more from speaking to Topspec and they have even recommended non-topspec products to allow for my horse's intolerances (alfalfa).


----------



## Fiona (19 August 2016)

My 15yo tb mare maintains weight well through winter on two large flakes of hay ay night plus 2 feeds of alfa a and cool mix.

I'd advise starting with something average like chaff and horse and pony cubes/mix and see how you get on. 

Keep using your weight tape and take monthly pics to assess condition.  

Fiona


----------



## Roasted Chestnuts (19 August 2016)

Dengie fibre products and also spillers are a good base, you can bulkbuy linseed cheaply over the Internet and beet pulp and always good bases to start a feed. You can something like equerry mash or Roman barberry purple solutions mash for extra fibre based calories. 

Stay away from mixes and cubes as they are full of cereals which I would avoid with a TB. Add plenty of hay and your horse should be good. Make sure your horse is adequately rugged as all the feed and hay in the world won't keep weight on of the horse is thin skinned and cold 

Good luck


----------



## Mince Pie (19 August 2016)

Oh, yes had forgotten about Rowen and Barbary! I used their Ready Mash Extra to great effect with a skinny TB! Great customer service too.


----------



## TheMule (21 August 2016)

It really depends on the grazing. I've had a range of different TBs living out for a few years, always on good grazing and have never needed to feed hard feed, just haylage when grass has started to run low in February


----------



## Goldenstar (21 August 2016)

My Tb never loses weight in winter ( or summer )he's looks like a grey tick with long legs if I don't work him enough don't assume you will have to feed lots of hard food just because he's a TB .


----------



## TGM (21 August 2016)

Whilst I agree with the two posters above that not all TBs are poor doers and many don't need much hard feed, you cannot under-estimate how much forage (ie hay, haylage or grass they need).  If you are lucky enough to have fantastic grazing then they may not need ad lib hay/haylage in winter, but sadly this is not a common scenario at many livery yards.  I can guarantee you will find lots of posters on here in December/January/February every year saying their TB type horses are out 24/7, losing weight but the yard won't allow hay/haylage to be fed in the field.  Keeping a horse out 24/7 can be a great regime for a lot of horses, but the bigger, more highly-bred horses do actually need a lot of forage going in, whether that is from grazing or hay/haylage.  Unless you know you have access to acres of good winter grazing that is well-drained and not overstocked, do check what your yard policy is on providing hay or haylage in the field.


----------



## Goldenstar (21 August 2016)

TGM said:



			Whilst I agree with the two posters above that not all TBs are poor doers and many don't need much hard feed, you cannot under-estimate how much forage (ie hay, haylage or grass they need).  If you are lucky enough to have fantastic grazing then they may not need ad lib hay/haylage in winter, but sadly this is not a common scenario at many livery yards.  I can guarantee you will find lots of posters on here in December/January/February every year saying their TB type horses are out 24/7, losing weight but the yard won't allow hay/haylage to be fed in the field.  Keeping a horse out 24/7 can be a great regime for a lot of horses, but the bigger, more highly-bred horses do actually need a lot of forage going in, whether that is from grazing or hay/haylage.  Unless you know you have access to acres of good winter grazing that is well-drained and not overstocked, do check what your yard policy is on providing hay or haylage in the field.
		
Click to expand...

I agree totally with this a big TB will eat a lot of forage mine puts away a small bale of haylege a day when he's stabled in winter and he spends a lot of time in the paddock .
They often are very senestive to being cold and it knocks the condition off them .


----------



## be positive (21 August 2016)

TGM said:



			Whilst I agree with the two posters above that not all TBs are poor doers and many don't need much hard feed, you cannot under-estimate how much forage (ie hay, haylage or grass they need).  If you are lucky enough to have fantastic grazing then they may not need ad lib hay/haylage in winter, but sadly this is not a common scenario at many livery yards.  I can guarantee you will find lots of posters on here in December/January/February every year saying their TB type horses are out 24/7, losing weight but the yard won't allow hay/haylage to be fed in the field.  Keeping a horse out 24/7 can be a great regime for a lot of horses, but the bigger, more highly-bred horses do actually need a lot of forage going in, whether that is from grazing or hay/haylage.  Unless you know you have access to acres of good winter grazing that is well-drained and not overstocked, do check what your yard policy is on providing hay or haylage in the field.
		
Click to expand...

Also this is the first horse owned by the OP an experienced owner will be far more aware of the horse dropping weight and dealing with it before there is a problem than a less experienced person will, TheMule and Goldenstar certainly come into the very experienced category.


----------



## criso (21 August 2016)

TGM said:



			you cannot under-estimate how much forage (ie hay, haylage or grass they need). .
		
Click to expand...

^^^^ This

I have one that's a really good doer and atm is really quite round as there is plenty of grass still  but in winter whether out 24/7 or in at night he needs an incredible amount of forage.  One time the issue wasn't the yard but  the other owner in the field who  didn't want to feed as much hay as I did and wanted to go for a much poorer quality hay than I was buying..  Got round it by letting him to the yard next to the field for a few hours to stuff himself  on hay while his friends looked on enviously.
My other one who is an average doer not only needs ad lib forage but it has to be good quality/high protein or he starts looking a bit light.


----------

