I attended a holistic horse-keeping clinic yesterday. Of course, I wasn't surprised that they said beet pulp is an unnatural diet for horses. They also said that alfalfa should only be given at a ratio of 10% or less of the horses overall diet, if used at all. They also said that grains are unnatural for a horse to digest and should only be given for energy, they don't produce weight gain. I figured as well that they would frown on the fats... and they did. They said oils are very unnatural and hard to digest in a horse, that it stresses the liver. There was a lot of scientific proof backing up their information and it did make sense.
Their advice: Hay, hay pellets, hay cubes, maybe some alfalfa for a little added protein. A little grain, preferably oats for energy when needed. Lots of access to pasture and all the hay he can eat...
I may actually switch to timothy hay pellets, in place of the beet pulp, and see how it goes. I may ease off the weight builder and see how he does without it. He is shaping up nicely. I can't take pics now, my camera battery is dead! He is improving, I can see it and feel it now.
I learned therapeutic exercises to help develop a topline on this guy. These were more than just your basic "belly tuck" exercises and even horses on stall rest have been shown to develop a muscle and eliminate their boney looking backs and rumps by doing these exercises daily. I really think that my horse's lack of a topline and that hunters bump make him look thinner and older than he is.
A few ribs show on her ever so slightly, which is normal for a TB. I still get people wanting to know why she's 'thin'. Its usually non-horse people that ask this question however, the ones who think all breeds should be built like a big stout quarterhorse and a coat as sleek as a racehorse, even in the dead of winter! That drives me crazy.
