horse feeding ideas?

Question

i just got a 10 year old thoroughbred gelding (he isn't really hyper like some thoroughbreds. he's just calm and nice) who needs to put on a little weight. he has some arthritis in his knees (we give him a suppliment from that) and has lost alot of muscle because of the arthritis. i feed him 1 coffee can in the morning 1/2 can at lunch and 1 can at dinner. oat corn mix. he eats 3 flakes of hay at night and go's out and eats grass all day. he also lacks shine in his coat. is there anything (inexspensive) that i could gave him for that? he is up to date on shots and wormer.

he eats good grass alfalfa mix hay.

you can see his ribs just a little when he walks. they aren't like sticking out though. his hip bones aren't really sticking out that much either. he just looks thin. we live in iowa. and he does gat a blanket when its cold.

Answer 1

Bute is usually used for pain, but has the little problem that aspirin has with people --- causes upset stomach. When you ride him, be sure to give him some with some feed an hour or so before..... Your feeding program sounds fine --he is pretty much free feeding on hays and grasses. This isn't a good time of the year to judge his coat -- they are shedding now, and by December, they all look like buffalos. Come spring when he sheds out, and before his coat bleaches from the sun would be a better time to judge his coat. I might switch him to a sweet feed during winter, but I don't know where you live, how cold it gets, or if you blanket him. You don't want him too heavy because of his knees. You will never be able to work him hard, take him over fences etc., because of the arthritis, but don't just let him stand all day either. He should have an hour or so of gentle walking and trotting, and some loping too if he's sound enough to take it. Remember too, that horses that hurt when worked tend to fall, so be careful. Sometimes you can get your shoer to round the toe a bit so that he breaks over faster taking some of the strain off of his knees....

Answer 2

I dont like the oats and corn mix at all. I like to feed 12% pellet. If his arthritis is bad its best to keep his weight down some so there isnt undue weight. Lite workouts w/the proper warm up and cool downs. Dont work him into a sweat til he gains alittle but some of what makes him look thin could be the lack of muscle since he was suffering from the arthritis and probably didnt move to much. The muscles need to tone up and will fill him out alittle more. Are you seeing ribs or the back and hip bone? Does he have fit lines w/a tucked belly? Where do you live? Some areas are deficient in Selenium. Make sure there is enough selenium levels in your area.

Answer 3

I'd add some rice bran and beet pulp to his diet. Rice bran is great for the coat and both put on weight (esp on a TB) very nicely. You can also add some ground flax seed to his grain. Corn is not very good for horses, I'd switch the corn portion to sweet feed. Oats are good though. Also, make sure he's got free choice hay.

Answer 4

Corn isn't good for horses. It's pure sugar. Oat+corn is also not a balanced diet. This is why commercial feeds cost more than just plain corn: they include all the things the horse needs.

The lack of shine is also a sign his diet is lacking.

I feed mine strategy, but there are other good feeds out there. I just advise against the cheapo sweet feeds or anything with a majority of corn.

If you're still unsure, talk to your vet.

Answer 5

Yes, as the last post said....Beet pulp does put weight on horses. The Budweiser Clyde's...that's how they keep their weight on. Beet pulp, make sure you check with your vet regarding amounts. Also, I feed 1/2 cup corn oil for a nice shine, once a day....but start out with a couple of tablespoons and work up to 1/2 cup once a day.

Answer 6

We have 8 horses and many of them are rescue horses that were underweight. Here is what we feed them:

Equine Senior grain (they love it!) About a coffee can in the AM and in the PM (cut back once he is at weight).

Beet Pulp (great for putting on weight). They are hard pellets, all you have to do is soak them in about twice as much water as pellets. Make sure they are moist and soggy, too much water is better then not enough. About 2 cups dry beet pulp in AM and PM. Takes about an hour to fully soak so prepare them early.

Sunflower Seeds, we add 2 cups to AM and PM grain, this makes there coats nice and shiny!

Grass Hay-in the summer, we only feed grass hay in PM because we have enough field grass, if you don't have a great amount of field grass (like in winter) give one 1 flack of grass in AM and 1 in PM (2 in PM in winter to help keep warmth). We only feed Alfalfa to our older horses (30 and 40 years old), it is too rich for younger horses, but they can have some in moderation.

Supplements, you should also try Arthease (I think that's what it is called). We use it on our 40 year old Morgan to keep her inflammation down. It comes in a grainy powder form. It is ground up aspirin. One scoop in the evening.

Worming, make sure that your horse has been dewormed recently. We deworm ours 4 times a year (once every season).

Our most recet horse, a Belgian Draft, was about 400 pounds underweight, we put her on Grain, Beet Pulp, Sunflower Seeds, Grass Hay and field grass and she gained all of her weight in under 3 months.

Good Luck!!

Answer 7

if you keep working him out daily it will help with the arthritis and he will put on more muscle and as far as the coat, i think its flax seed or something like that and if you just mix that in with the oat corn mix then he will have a nice healthy coat

Answer 8

Try some sweet feed mixed in with the oats and corn.

Answer 9

Try feeding him Platform, rolled oats, and hay with a lot of fresh water. Thats what I do for my horse.