Stallion losing weight...

[CyndiD]

Well, as the topic title said...I cannot get this boy to gain any weight!!!

In the winter he weighed more, no mares in heat then...but even then he was not at the weight I would like to see...now its breeding season..his hip bones are showing!!!

Any and ALL suggestions would be so appreciated.

He is on regular worming schedule...he just worries and paces all the time! I did put a mare in with him before and she got all the grain..put a mare next to him, more pacing...HELP...

 

[Bess Kelly]

I've been down this road.....and it's a long road! Fact is, they think every mare needs and wants them, so they have no time to eat!!!

: Most every breeder here, who has more than one stallion, will have some hints. None will work perfectly. For some horses, none will work at all.

Obviously the mares don't have the same concerns as the stallions :bgrin They LOVE double portions.

For the one whom I had the most trouble getting to eat -- purely that, not what to eat but, how much -- I actually put his feed in front of him 24/7. He NEVER had issues with founder, colic, etc. In fact, was the only horse at shows who had feed/hay constantly and looked great.

Some you can quiet with a companion but, as you see -- gotta separate from communal feed at feed time.

Those who run with their mares they will normally lose some but, not so severly, unless another stallion is around and then all bets are off.

Here's a trick my vet gave me -- it helped. Valium. Seems this not only calms them but actually tends to produce the effect of "the munchies", so they want to eat. It isn't perfect but worked for Indian Snow. For some I've had RedCell help. Be sure he's getting a great supplement. Here's where the hi-protein, vit/min stuff (Purinas Born to Win, Buckeyes Win & Grow?, Blue Seal now has a Sunshine something, Triple Crown has one, etc)......is essential, IMO. Add some corn oil.....the oil helps them to use for energy, etc.

Obviously, you have a "self proclaimed Don Juan" on your hands.

: Boys will be boys

 

[CyndiD]

THANK YOU...I think that idea of a little Valium, might just do the trick. I put him out on grass last year and he still spent more time watching the girls...

Will give Vet a call and try keeping the grain in his dish all the time...

 

[Jill]

I have a similar problem with my 2yo stallion. He has never been a "good" eater (just not into food the way my other chow hounds are). I can't see his hips but he's still too thin for me. He's NOT a hard keeper... those are horses who require a lot of feed to maintain weight. My guy just will not eat enough and always leaves some of his pellets, most of his beet pulp, etc.

One thing we've done is to stop feeding him in his stall. We now feed him in an aisle way that shares a line with a few other paddocks. That has helped some. He's also on red cell, which has helped his appetite some but not enough. We give him 3 - 4 HOURS to eat what he will, which is not as much as he should eat.

As soon as I receive it, I am going to start giving him "Body Builder for Horses" that is a liquid body builder from Jeffers that was recommended to me. It is a little expensive ($75) as supplements go, but if it works, worth it hands down! We are giving him a powder now, but since he leaves pellets and not too interested in beet pulp, he doesn't get much if any of this pouder. This liquid stuff I will syringe into his mouth, which is also how he gets his red cell.

I'm hopeful that this weight builder will do the trick.

Here's my skinny boy....... Now that he is "dating" he's not any less interested in food than before, but he's spending more energy so that's what is making it harder to keep him where I want him in weight.

 

[Erica]

I have one and he drives me crazy.......he's actually not one I'm breeding to (the ones out in the field breeding mares keep themselves in pretty good shape, they have good pastures and that works for them), this one he's a two year old and he has his own small pasture (with horses on all 4 sides) but he will not gain weight........got better this winter, but once mares started coming in season nope it all went off again. Of course they tease him through the fence, he's very high active and runs a lot, paces ext.......

Has hay out 24/7 - square bale and eats but not EATS..........I've tried different foods, oats, pellets, sweet feed, but he'll eat and them dump some too. But now I have him eating pretty good, he gets 4 cups soaked beet pulp, 1 cups oats, 2 cups pellets, 1cup alfafa; all twice a day all mixed together sort of soupy and he'll finish it, it may take him an hour but he does.......He's still not putting on a the weight I want; but yet again he's not losing any more.......

 

[Bess Kelly]

Jill, I've used Body Builder and it does help! Gamma Orzaynol (sp?)....from rice bran. My vet says he tried it himself and it will make you hungry :bgrin But, it has the effect of not having the feed go to fat but more to lean tissue. Also, there are "knock off" brands for less, but still work. I always use BB brand.

Other things it will help with.....not overnight, not EVERY case, but most.....improved fertility (especially in aged animals or those who had malnurished issues -- we KNOW that isn't your problem!

: ) I've had mares who conceived after a winter on this who didn't previously. Oh, goats really do better carcass wise on it (per testing!). Yearlings you want to show and are gangly, this is great stuff. It was originally developed for human athletes. Pricey but worth it.

Hey, the Body Builder brand is sorta vanilla flavored. Some like it enough to just suck it out of the syringe

: But then I have one mare who will suck the wormer out, too

:

 

[Robin1]

Be careful about using Body Builder if you are showing where they may test the horse. Although it is natural and the company "says" it won't test positive, it is a steroid.

Robin

 

[Leeana]

If you dont wait to invest $75 into body builder ...have you ever heard of Nutraglo? Its a suppliment that i swear by and it works. I used it on a gelding i had a while back and it showed results like i had never seen so fast. It costs between $22-$45 for 20-35oz of it. It comes in a tube and a little measuring thing and if you horse weights say 200-300 pouds, you give them to the 2 or 3 mark. Its a very small amount, it will last minis forever it seems even when you have multiple horses on it. We get our at Mt Hope when we go down there every 2nd saturday, if you want we will be in Ashland next saturday for a show and thats not far from Mt Hope and we could run down and pick you up a bottle of it. I have never used body builder but Nutraglo is the only thing i would ever use.

 

[Mona]

When I had that happen here with Timmy, I had to up his feed from 4 cups twice a day to 8 cups twice a day. He too paced non-stop!

:

 

[lyn_j]

Cyndi, we had that problem with Uno last year and we put him on Quietex and it has helped IMENSELY.

we also have him on a higher fat diet, not more carbs or protein but more fat.Flax and sunflowerseed are food sources of fat as are most Senior complete feeds.

Lyn

 

[Jill]

Thanks for the info about BB!

And, my guy IS on Senior Pellets for the extra fat / protein / easy absorption, but like I say, it's not that he's not fed good things, it's that he doesn't eat enough of what we put in his bucket.

As to steriods, I do not think the horse body builder supplement actually contains any steriods. It has plant STEROLS. Maybe that was misread? Anyway, I didn't think I was getting ready to give him something as serious as steriods (????????).

 

[CyndiD]

You guys are Awesome...I have gotten some excellent ideas.

:

Tried to call vet for something to calm him down, he is out on a call and will let me know later today....but now I have more ideas to try.

I even tried putting Vicks in his nose to see if that would take his mind off them girls (even for awhile)...didn`t even phase him...

:

 

[Jill]

You know, I have to say (but I should keep it to myself......) that I never thought of asking the vet for valium for DunIT. He's actually not very "excited" or pacing but maybe he will as he matures. I don't know. What crossed my mind is if I get him a prescription for Valium, I wonder if he'd share>>> :bgrin

 

[lyn_j]

I would not give Valium to a horse.... the Quietex can usually be found at feed stores or tractor supply. I get mine from Southern States . If you have something like that you can buy it over the counter.

Lyn

 

[CyndiD]

What about oats?? Another friend suggested via private email that rolled or steamed oats would put weight back on a horse. I never fed that before....will they even eat it??

 

[HGFarm]

Some friends had this happen years ago and turns out the thyroid test came back with an imbalance. It will make a horse nervous and jittery and depending on which imbalance- can make them hugely fat or very very thin.

 

[Sandy S.]

You might try just adding corn oil. My vet recommends this every time I complain about a senior mare loosing weight. He said just keep adding more and more corn oil but don't let poops turn to diarrhea. If they start being loose back off some. You do have to start out with just a little on the food if that is the way you want to try to feed it. Or syringe it whichever.

 

[sdmini]

Couple years back I visited an ol' cowboy's who had an aged stud (23? 24?) that was looking better than he had for a long time. When I asked him about it he chuckled and told me his "secret" formula.

He took oats, soaked them in water and then set them out in the sun in a large clear plastic Tupperware type of container. Once the oats started to germinate (1-2 days) he fed it to the stud. He said it worked better than all the senior feeds, supplements, weight builders etc that he tried in the years preceding his "high tech" approach.

I've never tried it myself, although I've been tempted.

**I should add he said he ate it like candy.**

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

I feed Born To Win and oats. During the winter Jinx got 1 1/2 cups of oat and 1/2 cup of BTW. Prior to breeding season he had a few extra pounds. Once the first mare came into heat, I changed his feed to 1 cup oats and 1 cup BTW his weight maintained. Once a couple mares came into heat at the same time, I noticed he dropped a few pounds and I added an additional 1/2 cup of BTW to his diet. He has maintained on this for 2 months now, good flesh on him, maybe even a few extra pounds. Jinx has a harem of 6 mares I believe and looks awesome.

I also feed beet pulp to everyone year round, 2 cups - 2x's a day.

 

[HGFarm]

Another suggestion might be to add some Equine Adult and a lot of really good quality hay. The Equine is a complete feed too.

Hey that is pretty interesting about the sprouting oats!!! Quietex doesnt always work- some it doesnt work on at all.

The problem with feeding the oats though is that oats is more high energy. They have shown that for putting on weight, more feed like a top quality hay or that type of feed works better than grains.