greybeard
Well-known member
Sigh.....I don't know how I keep getting into these problems with other people's horses...a neighbor.
I am NOT really a 'horse' person..been several decades since I owned one but have taken care of a few in the last 2-3 years.
Gelding, about 20 yrs old. Very thin, hip bones are prominent and ribs are showing. I estimate weight around 750-800 lbs, maybe less. It was in pretty good shape until the grass all died off. (I don't know how many hands tall)
The guy that is 'taking care" I use that term loosely) this horse and 4 others is feeding this gelding Nutrenea Senior, but just one scoop X2 per day which in my opinion isn't nearly enough, then, is filling it up with crimped oats...all the oats it wants to eat at one standing. My guess is it is getting less than 4lbs per day of the Nutrena.
Free choice hay, and I suspect not the best hay.
Has supposedly been de-wormed in the last 30 days.
What I observed when over there 2 days ago. It's losing lots of both the pelleted feed and oats out it's mouth when eating.
Every time it goes to the hay ring, the other horses push it off the hay, even if they aren't interested in eating hay.
The non-resident horse/property owner, stays gone and out of state much of the time, and makes an appearance about once a month.
I really don't want to stand by and watch this horse starve to death.
What I want to do:
I have an empty little pasture, with a 3 sided 'barn' 32x22 and fresh water available and I want to offer to take the horse to my place, and feed it until after the spring grass comes on. Just try to get some weight back on it.
My thoughts are it needs to be brought up to a feeding rate of about 9lbs-10lbs of the Nutrenea per day..fed 1/2 of that in the morning and again in the evening, but from what I've read, I think the feed needs to be soaked, which I've never done before. It will have it's own bale grass hay, but I may put a cow in with it to help eat the bale.
How do I soak the feed? To what consistency..like cooked oatmeal thick?
Do I need to supplement with some kind of alfalfa as well?
That whole "fill it up with oats" thing just seems counter productive to me.
Thoughts?
(and I guess I should add, there are 'extenuating circumstances' , the guy currently doing the feeding is the same guy that showed up at my door last Christmas Eve with a little hole in his belly...he isn't there every day so this one doesn't get fed every day)
I am NOT really a 'horse' person..been several decades since I owned one but have taken care of a few in the last 2-3 years.
Gelding, about 20 yrs old. Very thin, hip bones are prominent and ribs are showing. I estimate weight around 750-800 lbs, maybe less. It was in pretty good shape until the grass all died off. (I don't know how many hands tall)
The guy that is 'taking care" I use that term loosely) this horse and 4 others is feeding this gelding Nutrenea Senior, but just one scoop X2 per day which in my opinion isn't nearly enough, then, is filling it up with crimped oats...all the oats it wants to eat at one standing. My guess is it is getting less than 4lbs per day of the Nutrena.
Free choice hay, and I suspect not the best hay.
Has supposedly been de-wormed in the last 30 days.
What I observed when over there 2 days ago. It's losing lots of both the pelleted feed and oats out it's mouth when eating.
Every time it goes to the hay ring, the other horses push it off the hay, even if they aren't interested in eating hay.
The non-resident horse/property owner, stays gone and out of state much of the time, and makes an appearance about once a month.
I really don't want to stand by and watch this horse starve to death.
What I want to do:
I have an empty little pasture, with a 3 sided 'barn' 32x22 and fresh water available and I want to offer to take the horse to my place, and feed it until after the spring grass comes on. Just try to get some weight back on it.
My thoughts are it needs to be brought up to a feeding rate of about 9lbs-10lbs of the Nutrenea per day..fed 1/2 of that in the morning and again in the evening, but from what I've read, I think the feed needs to be soaked, which I've never done before. It will have it's own bale grass hay, but I may put a cow in with it to help eat the bale.
How do I soak the feed? To what consistency..like cooked oatmeal thick?
Do I need to supplement with some kind of alfalfa as well?
That whole "fill it up with oats" thing just seems counter productive to me.
Thoughts?
(and I guess I should add, there are 'extenuating circumstances' , the guy currently doing the feeding is the same guy that showed up at my door last Christmas Eve with a little hole in his belly...he isn't there every day so this one doesn't get fed every day)
