What should I feed my hard keeper horse who is getting on the thin side?

Question

Comanche is a TB/QH/Arab cross. Not very stocky but a little on the thin side. Was shipped for slaughter but picked up by a horse dealer and sold to me. He is comming to live on my land after being at a boarding stable and I wanted to know what I should feed him to keep his wieght on and him in optimal health.

Comanche is a TB/ARAB/QH cross. Coggins is negative. Was on oat hay at training stable. Brining him home after I moved from CA to FL.

He also prfers hay over pellets. I had him on pellets before at a different barn and did not do good on them (excess energy, ate pellets all at once and was still hungry). HE LOVES HIS HAY. I have some sweet feed I bought at my feed store called Triumph(thought I would try that). We tried All in one and seemed not to like it. He is bring transported to my house from CA to FL and will be here tomorrow.

forgot to also mention-

we have a 5 acre pasture he will be turned out in everyday(eventually he will be full time grazing in it)

Answer 1

Go to your feed store and ask them for what is called sweet feed that will bring him back to optimal health and also get a vet that specializes in horses. You want to do a coggins test on him too. Do a total health screen by your vet when he gets to your property other wise you could have an epidemic on your farm or land. Take my advice do it. Bought horse from auction infected ,my mom's farm and ended up losing 2 expsensive arabs due to illness.Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Beet pulp is great as it is a very safe feed no chance of foundering. You soak it with water and mix it with feed.
You can also add stabalized rice bran just top dress it over the grain or pellet feed. It is fat and will add calories but not make the horse hot.
If you can not get the rice bran you can add oil to the top of the feed start at 1/4 cup and work up to one cup per feeding. Back off if the horse gets loose poop.
Free choice grass hay is best. I use a pelleted feed rather than sweet feed as I do not like all the molasses in the sweet feed and my horse looks much better on the pellets. He is shinier and holds his weight better. I have a Thoroughbred that used to race.

Answer 3

Ask your vet first.

Then go talk to the feed mill / feed dealer in your area. Get good quality feeds and hay.

I really like the Progressive Feeds.

Also, take a look at a supplement called Succeed. It's great for hard keepers, horses in transitional periods, horses with stress, ulcers....a whole mess of stuff!

Answer 4

You could add Beet Pulp to his feed. It's great for putting weight on one, and you don't have to worry about foundering him with too much grain. Make sure he eats (the other horses aren't running him out) and is getting plenty of hay.

Purina Strategy is also an ecellent feed you could start him on. I have found you literally use half of what you would on a sweet feed. He'll fill out and have a nice bloom to his coat in no time.

Answer 5

Build him up on forage and roughage(bulk) but dont give him a lot at once. His system needs to get used to the feed intake. I would advise on feeding him hay or haylage along with concentrates such as a mix or nuts(ask your local feed supplier which wil benefit your horse best - preferably a build up source) and also a chaff or grass replacer (such as Afla-A) and for extra weight gain sugar beet is recommended. This is what i fed my Appaloosa when she lost weight and it helped her gain it back without making her loopy. Also it would be handy to put him on a worming plan to see if it might be worms affecting his weight gain.

Answer 6

Add corn oil to his diet. This offers a ton of calories, will not make him act "hot" and the fat is easily digestible and won't cause colic. Introduce it slowly, and gradually work up to 1 cup a day. You'll have to pour it over his Triumph grain, I don't think it'd work too well in the hay. Good luck!

Answer 7

I have had a few rescue horses and getting weight back on them can be a challenge. You don't want to feed too much too soon. How long has he been at the training stable, and what are they feeding him/her. You also don't want to change feed quickly. If you are not going to feed him the same grain as the training barn, it will take you about seven days to switch him and you will need some of the feed he is used to to mix with the new stuff. Is he still under weight? I use Purina Mills products, and with my TB rescue here is what I fed him to get him at optimal weight.

GRAIN
Stratagy - higher in fat and protein, but will not get your horse as high as other commercial grains. I started him out at 2# at 8 am, 1# at 3 pm and 1 1/2# at 8 pm. He did fine on this for two days so I increased his stratagy to 2# at 8 1 1/2 at 3 and 2# at 8. After another three days he was increased again to 2# at 8, 3 & 8.

HAY
Unlimited free will second cutting alfalfa hay. He actually ate a bail a day for about three weeks before he slowed down. This was given to him in addition to grazing for at least five hours a day, (he was fed lunch (or his 3 o'clock) in the field). The hay was not offered all at once, but gradually throughout the day and four flakes in his stall at night.

WATER WATER WATER
Make sure he ALWAYS has fresh clean water available to him. Eating this much grain and hay, he will need to drink a lot of water to help with proper digestion. Water is VERY important!

SUPPLEMENTS
Again, I use Purina Mills products, so was also given a supplement called Amplify. I started him out only getting 1/2# in the am and gradually increased until he was receiving 1# in the am and 1# with his 8 pm feeding. For the first week, because I really didn't know him yet and what he needed, I added Electrolyte supplements. After the first week, I stopped giving him the electrolytes. After he put on a sufficiant amount of weight (approximately 200 lbs.) I gradually took him off the Amplify and substituted Born to Win. Born to Win did not add the weight as quickly as Amplify but helps to maintain body weight and continues to give him added vitamins and minerals. Although your horse may look a lot better, just putting the weight on doesn't mean they have reastablished a health body, and being that much underweight, he'll need the vit. and min for while. After I had him for about month and weight was coming on, (this is a slow process by the way) I noticed his creeking and cracking under his new weight so I added Glucosimine and Condroitin with MSM once a day to help lubricate and streghnthen joints and ligiments. I order his supplements from jeffersequine.com. They are typically cheaper than your local feed store, often has special offers on products you already use (such as buy one get one or free with purchase promotions), and it comes right to your door. They always have I need in stock, so I don't have to run around town if local feed store is out.

Just as you gradually build up to feeding this much, once proper weight is achieved, gradually back down. Watch your horse carefully for a while after each reduction to make sure he is still maintaining weight. Again, it's a long road to figure out the exact formula for feeding your horse. Each one is different, different motabolism, different working schedule, etc. You may need to feed a lot more than I did, or less, it all depends on your horse and his specific needs. TB and Arabs typically are hard keepers and require more feed to maintain a health body. Just pay attention to your horse, he/she will let you know if your on the right track by the amount of weight gained/lost. Be patient, keep an eye on him, he'll do just fine.

Oh yeah, I also keep a binder for each of my horses. Everytime I change their feed I mark the date and the change and make any notes as to why I changed the feed and the results. That way you can look back and see what you did a month ago that worked so well or know not to try something again if it didn't. Another consideration is whether. If you have cold winters, you will want to let him get a little extra fat to help keep him warm and remember that depending on where you are located, once the first frost hits, the pasture he is grazing in will no longer give the vitamins and minerals of late spring fields. You may need to increase hay at this point. Again, it depends on where you live so do some research on your area and when hay should be increased to compinsate for what he is not getting from the field.

I'm glad he is going to a training barn first, always follow the advice of professionals over anything you find on the net.

Answer 8

Add some extra crushed corn to your feed.

Deworm him too.

Answer 9

Get him on a wormer schedule. It is the cheapest feed you can buy!

Answer 10

Beefaroni.