Hey

[Dontpretenditssuchamystery]

Can I have a bit of advice please?
I’ve recently taken on a 11 year old cob mare , she’s skin and bone thin.
Shes got the dentist booked next week to check her teeth and I’ve got a wormer for this weekend.
i just don’t know what I should use supplement wise for her , so far she’s on ad lib hay , she’s having speedi beet , linseed , keyflow pink mash , chaff and pony nuts currently , three meals throughout the day
I’ve never had a underweight horse it’s really a worry to me
thank you

Sounds like you are doing the right things. Steady rather than rapid weight gain should be the goal. Is she getting any turn out? Once the spring grass gets going you'll probably find you need to cut the feed back quickly. Stick to fibre based feeds not grain based with cobs unless there is a medical reason that means they don't hold weight.

Unless she's got something physically wrong with her a cob should put on weight with adlib hay / grazing and small feeds. It might help if you weigh tape her every week to see how she's doing. Slow progress is good.

Some wormers can be too much for a very thin horse so take care with that and consider doing wec and saliva test for tapeworm before worming.

Do you know why she's thin, has she been starved? If there's no good reason for it or she's not putting weight on then consider a vet visit with blood tests. Things like liver damage can cause weight loss.

If she's not getting much grazing consider supplementing extra vitamin e with a general vitamin / mineral supplement. Forage plus or progressive earth are good places to start.

Agree with the above - what's her background, was she starved? How long have you had her and is she putting on weight? If there's no explanation for the weight loss or she's not putting on any weight on the regime you have her on, then I'd recommend getting the vet out ASAP and some bloods done. The supplements you are giving sound fine if she doesn't have any identified deficiencies, you could feed a general balancer that's like a multi-vit to cover all bases, but be careful of stuffing her too full of hard food to get her to put on weight quickly as you could cause her more problems, plenty of good quality grass/forage will be much better for her...

EQUI-JEWEL is very good for weight gain

https://saracenhorsefeeds.com/products/equi-jewel-performance

i was told that speedibeet is the low sugar slimline version of sugar beet that you soak overnight. For normal to overweight horses.

The traditional overnight version of sugarbeet is better for putting weight on. i used molasses and alpha A mixed with pony nuts or course mix too. twice a day.

If you get sugarbeet make sure everyome knows it must be steeped overnight. or it will swell up in the tummy and give the horses colic. So keep it separate or locked up woth a note on the lid.

I can’t remember the ratio but i think it was about one or two scoops of sugarbeet in a bucket of water. it’s very dehydrated when you buy it dry.

Once you make it, the next morning when you go to use it there should be water over the top of it, ie not all the water has vanished, some is still there so you know it’s fully rehydrated with water to spare.

It’s great stuff. Horses love it. Just make sure everyone knows it’s NOT speedibeet and tries to use it after 20 mins of steeping, no mate, overnight required here!

Use within three days (or less in hot weather) or the sugar will turn to alcohol and the horses will be drunk!! you can tell by the smell when its gone off.