Posted 2006-10-16 12:41 PM (#50146) Subject: Need to add muscle.
Member
Posts: 10
Location: Leesburg, GA
I have just acquired 2 16yo geldings that are in need of muscle tone. They have not been worked for over a year. 1 horse is all QH and the other is QH/Arab mix. We have been riding them on the weekends but have not been doing any other work with them yet.
They are pastured but there is not much grass left so I give them 1 bale of hay a day and 1lb of Seminole Gold Chance 12 each.
Should I start working them in the round pen and maybe supplement their diet to get some bulk on them?
Posted 2006-10-16 2:28 PM (#50155 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
To get muscle tone horses are just like us. Need to put them on a workout schedule. Round Pen, Riding or whatever. Just go slow. They get sore after a workout just like us. I use Seminole feed also. Great feed by the way. You may consider switching them over to the new Spillers/Seminole Safety first Performance horse. It is low in starch,sugars, and high in fiber. 8% fat and 12% protein. It is a feed based on beet pulp and soybean hulls. You can also use the Spillers/Seminole Cool mix Herb blend if your horses are a little hot. This feed does have some grain but is also low in starch and sugar.
Posted 2006-10-16 2:33 PM (#50156 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
Oh yeah, you must keep an eye on their weight with the high fat % feed. Feed them to much and they will get fat and sassy. Gotta walk a fine line between to skinny and too fat. Don't up their feed just to put weight on them. They will gain it with time. A fat horse is way worse than a horse that needs 100lbs. Just try to exercise them once a day.
Posted 2006-10-17 6:57 AM (#50197 - in reply to #50195) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Elite Veteran
Posts: 954 Location: Hagerstown, MD
I agree with everything spooler said and what applies to us as far as nutrition applies indirectly to the horse since they are herbavoirs and we are omnivores.
As a suggestion, go back a couple of threads and read "feeding corn oil to horse" and "feeding corn stalk bales to horses" as it will make good reading on diet/nutrition for your horses. We have a little 4 year old mare that is a "hard keeper" as far as weight. Plus the fact that she likes to bolt her food, runs where ever she goes, always too busy, has her mouth on everything and has tremendous potential as an athletic horse. We struggle with keeping weight on her, but she's worth it.
Posted 2006-10-17 7:51 AM (#50204 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Veteran
Posts: 127 Location: PA
Did you say you fed them 1 pound of the seminole feed per day per horse? Is that what you meant?
Unless you have a really fat horse on a diet.....1 pound of feed (grain) each day is not enough. I would check the label on your feed bag....most labels recommend 1/4 to 1/2 pound of grain for every 100 pounds of horse just for maintenance.
Also, I wasn't sure if your horses just need more muscle tone (more exercise) or if they are lean and need more weight put on them. ????
I agree with the last post on the beet pulp and oil, the horses love it, it is easily digested and it is great for hard keepers, horses with poor appetites or elderly horses.
Posted 2006-10-17 11:37 AM (#50223 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
When you feed an 8% fat feed you don't need to feed as much. Also, Not all feed is grain based it may have small amounts but not much. If you have a picky horse you can use the Meadow herb performance feed or Senior feed. They have 8% and 10% fat with protein at 10-12%. The starch levels are also low at from 10-13%. I do believe she dosen't have any issues with weight, she just wanted to get some muscle tone on them. That takes time just like muscle tone on people.
Posted 2006-10-19 10:11 AM (#50310 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Veteran
Posts: 127 Location: PA
Malcolm
If it were me I would read the label and feed accordingly....most feeds list requirement levels to guide you in this. For example: maintenance, light work, heavy work, gestation, or lactation. It will usually tell you how many pounds to feed for every 100 lbs of horse weight.
Also I would have their teeth checked/floated and start them on a worming schedule. Good Luck.
Posted 2006-10-19 1:24 PM (#50317 - in reply to #50310) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Expert
Posts: 2828 Location: Southern New Mexico
The feed lables are just a guide line. Not all horses need feed. Hay/pasture is their natural feed and they will do quite well on it unless under a heavy work load. I have a young mare that gets 1/2 lb of feed per day and an older one that gets 14lbs of sr feed per day. They have free choice of hay and are both almost at their ideal weight. The younger one is a bit fat though. That is why she only gets 1/2lb per day. The older one has digestive problems and doesn't eat hay like she should so she gets more feed. I have a gelding that gets no feed, just hay.
Posted 2006-10-20 6:58 PM (#50369 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Member
Posts: 14
Location: Central Iowa
Please don' take this wrong!!! We raise halter horses. why do you thnk they need more muscle? Are they halter horses? Most riding horses don't have a lot of visable .. "Muscle" What I mean is they have muscle, just not halter horse muscle. And if they did, believe me...they don't ride very well. I agree with the earlier post. 1lb. of feed is clearly not enough for a horse.
Posted 2006-10-22 8:23 PM (#50425 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Member
Posts: 40 Location: Richmond, VA
Be very careful when working older horses inconsistently (and weekends only is inconsistent). They are MUCH more prone to injury.If you want them to muscle up, you're going to have to bring them back into work very carefully and consistently.What discipline do you ride and how hard are you currently working them on the weekends?If it were me, when I got back on an older horse who hadn't been worked in a year, I'd ride no longer than 15 minutes (walk and trot only for the first month), carefully monitoring respiration and heart rate, and add 5 minutes a week after that.
Posted 2006-10-24 9:19 AM (#50525 - in reply to #50369) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Member
Posts: 26 Location: NJ
I agree 1 lb is not enough to build up muscle. What we do to build muscle on our halter and pleasure horses is work them in a round pen or work them under saddle, and we feed then 3 to 4 - 1 lb coffee cans morning and night of senior feed 14%. The senior feed is made to total break down in the horse’s stomach, and lets them absorb all the nutrient of the feed. If you check the manure after feeding senior feed you will not see any grain in there manure. It’s a little more expensive but it puts the weight on both young and old horses.
this company is the nutritionist for USEF and have done alot of studies on equine feeds, grains, sweet feed, beet pulp, and forages. they do not try to sell feed.
Posted 2006-10-29 1:32 PM (#50798 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Veteran
Posts: 127 Location: PA
putting muscle on a horse is a combination of protein/nutrients and healthy excercise.
putting weight on a horse is about increased nutrition/calories, very light exercise, and addressing health issues.
For some folks "muscle" and "weight" are the same thing. They really are not. That is why I felt that 1 pound of feed/day was not enough to accomplish what the poster was asking.
Posted 2006-10-29 11:04 PM (#50805 - in reply to #50146) Subject: RE: Need to add muscle.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 378 Location: Nebraska
It seems owners think they have to feed protein way to much. Most horses only need 8-10% protein in their total diet, good grass hay supplies 6-10% and can easily meet their needs. Protein is a building block for growth and repairing the body and needed in larger amounts by young growing, gestating, and lactating animals and their need for protein can be meet with a mixed hay with some legume (alfalfa and clover have 15-24% protein) So if you feed grain I hope your primary purpose is not to meet his protein needs. This is two 16 year old geldings if they get 15# of mixed hay at 14.5% protein plus 5# of sweet feed at 12% protein their daily intake will be 13.875% protein. This is way more than what they need. And don't forget horses are designed to function quite well on fibrous forages.
Need to add muscle.
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