how to put weight on an older horse?

Answer 1

I have a mare who has always been a hard keeper and is now a senior horse. As the other answers stated, do make sure she is up to date on her dental work. She also needs to be on a senior formula. As they get older, their digestive system does not work as efficiently and the pal-ability of these feeds allows them to utilize more. Purina Mills Equine Senior is a great food. Buckeye Maturity is also a good product. They even offer a formula with Glucosamine and Chondroitin for joint support.
One of the best and most inexpensive ways to add or maintain a good weight on a senior horse is ROASTED SOYBEAN MEAL. My mare will not eat it if it is not roasted. It just improves the flavor. Start with 1 cup twice daily and you can increase from there. This will definitely work. If you want to, you could instead use a weight building supplement, but this will definitely increase the cost. Only use one or the other, not both simultaneously.
Use caution just throwing a bunch of ingredients together, as some of the other answerers suggested. Its vital to maintain the CALCIUM TO PHOSPHORUS RATIO in a horse's diet.

Answer 2

Teeth floated, as others suggest. If he's leaving little balls of chewed up hay around, his teeth aren't working as they should. Also, regular worming program so you're feeding the horse, not the parasites.

Next, I'd get him on a good senior feed, partially extruded to improve digestion. Stay away from sweet feed and molasses as another suggested. Purina, Triple Crown, Blue Seal, all make good Sr forumlas, with fat content of 6% or higher. You probably want protein levels at 12% or higher for an older horse's needs.

You can soak them in warm water an hour before serving to ease digestion. You can add 'Weight Gain' supplement, or corn oil as another suggested (so long as your horse can tolerate carbohydrates). If not, use Cocosoya oil from Uckele.com.

Daily, you can serve soaked hay cubes and serve (approx 2 quarts), 3x a day for added weight. Also, consider adding about a quart of RICE bran (not wheat bran). Be sure the rice bran is stabilized & has a calcium/ phosphorous ratio that's balanced, or you could cause more problems than just weight.

Further, you can add beet pulp, again, soaked, to add fiber and fat to his diet.

The best thing you can do is give plenty of lush pasture, and in the absence of that, hand graze for as long as you can every day.

Remember, all changes must be made gradually over the course of a week or more, for EACH change you make, or you risk colic. Talk to your vet for more technical advice.

Answer 3

If all is well with your horse eg. teeth, worming,general health etc then go to your local stock feed store and have a chat with them. Preferably one that specialises in horse feeds. These should be able to give you good advice. In australia i use a product called Weight Lifter i have researched this for you and unfortunately at this current time it is not available in the US. May be available soon, currently available in europe, NZ China. I believe there would be comparable products in the US. Ask about Senior horse feeds and i am sure they will point u in the right direction.
My mare is 32 years old and a friends pony i looked after was approx 40-45 years old so i have had plenty of experience in this area. PS my horse is still happy and healthy and still give rides to the kids on occasions and cruises round the paddock like a 5 year old at times.
If u get a good product give it time to work but if your horse shows no sign of improvement or deteriorates in any waycall the Vet IMMEDIATELY
cheers from Aus

Answer 4

I agree with the other responses checking teeth is the #1 thing to look at and I'd also ask the vet to pull a senior blood workup just to get an idea if anything else is going on.

This is what has worked for me. Serving size varies on each individual so that would be hard for me to recommend. Whatever food choices and changes you decide to make, do it slowly and add one at a time - you don't want your horse to colic and you do want to know what is working

Purina Equine Senior is a complete food for the elderly horse. If your horse is not able to chew his food well then by all means wet it with water.

Purina Alfalfa Pellets is a great way to get hay into a horse who has bad teeth or no teeth. If you wet it down and let it soak it becomes very soft for them to eat.

Purina Amplify Supplement is a palatable high fat / low starch supplement that will help put weight on an older horse

Corn Oil is an excellent source of energy and fat - start with 1/4 cup for a couple days and increase as you are led.

Source Focus Sr - has a unique spectrum of anti-oxidants, vitamins, beneficial microbes, chelated minerals, essential fatty acids and enzymes for added nutritional support for the aging horse plus a daily serving of SOURCE micronutrients to make it all work

Another note, if your horses teeth are worn down because of age be sure not to feed him regular hay. If the teeth are bad the horse can't chew the hay properly so it balls up in the back of their mouth and if they try to swallow it they can choke.

My horse Karaborr was getting the following daily broken into 4 feedings:

4 big scoops Purina Equine Senior
3 big scoops Purina Alfalfa Pellets - wet down
1 serving Purina Amplify
1 serving Source Focus Sr
1/2 - 1 cup Corn Oil depending on his weight

You can find more information on the Purina products at:
http://www.purinamills.com

If your horse is on a series of antibiotics for any reason be sure to use Probiotics during the antibiotic series and then at least 2 weeks afterwards.

Probiotics/Prebiotics/Enzymes are really important for a senior horse so I would look into a good product for that. It assists in digestion and absorption of food & supplements. I used Optizyme.

I also supplement with Nutreena 12-12 minerals to be sure there is nothing lacking.

Hope this helps

Answer 5

Go to your local Tractor supply store and pick up some weight gain pellets. Follow the directions and in a few weeks the horse will be round! It ushallly costs $35 - $50.

Answer 6

Make sure his teeth are not causing him any pain. Does he lose any grain out of his mouth when he eats? Make sure his teeth are filed good by your veterinarian.
There is some feed that is called equine senior, it is a pellet which is alot softer and alot easier for them to digest. This feed has a higher fat and protien content. Sometimes you might have to moisten the feed according to your horses teeth. There is also a feed that I use and it works great on under weight horses plus it is high in nutrition. The name is calf manna or there is another one that is the same called milk plus. Both of these feeds are pellets that you mix with there regular feed. It really works and it won't take long to get your horses weight back up there. Also if your horse can handle it, a flake of alfalfa hay mixed with his regular hay is really great for fat and protien. Make sure your horse has all the hay he can eat and it is advised when your horse is under weight they require 2% of there body weight a day of roughage (hay) and grain. to maintain there weight it is 1% of there body weight. So for instance if your horse is suppose to weigh 1000 lbs. then to fatten him up he should get 20 lbs of feed a day. That is including hay. Don't feed it all in grain. Also if you ration out your grain, break it up in like 3 to 4 feedings a day. It helps them to digest it more properly, you will see them gain weight better that way too. We rescue alot of horses young and old and alot of them have come to me mal-nurished. But through this feeding and care we have nice healthy horses. Good luck

Answer 7

not sure if he/she is out on pasture, if so a big heavy blanket would be good for winter or bring into stall and a blanket. the other responses for upping feed and what kinds to use, good ideas and they work. keep in mind different horses will require different amounts to be cautious as you add food not to colic them. how ofter do you worm your horse? if you are doing it every 6-8 weeks make it every 4 wks and rotate wormers. if the horse is out on pasture make sure to include zimectrin gold(tape worms) in the rotation. this will help also. teeth floating a great and necessary idea. if you are going to have your vet out for this have them pull some blood and do a senior panel on your horse just to make sure all is well. corn oil, rice bran and beet pulp along with a senior feed will work well for added weight. esp the alfalfa pellets or hay. if your horse doesn't have a lot of teeth left then of course wetting the grain down with warm water will help to get this all down better for your horse. keep in mind to feed from the floor in a pan as it aids in digestion for horses. good luck and hope this helps your old friend

Answer 8

You can double what you are feeding your horse.... I had the same problem, my vet said to free feed hay. In other words... give your horse as much hay as he/she wants. There are weight builders/supplements in feed stores. I feed my horse Purina mills alfalfa and Smart Choice supplement with two cups in morning and two cups at night.... if your horse is really really skinny it is acceptable to use a coffie can full in morning and at night, but I would gradually increase it.... but like I said all you basically need to do it double what you feed your horse and free feed hay, give a few treats a day. Also you can give 1 apple a day, I do that with my horse too. This will really help your horse gain weight and be healthy and up to it's normal weight in no time! =) Be sure not to ride him/her too much, and too hard till the weight is back up.

Good Luck and God Bless

Answer 9

first of all how old . when was the last time he had his teeth floated by a vet , do that and then let him eat all the grass hay he wants , make sure he has portection from the cold and wind as horses need to eat all the time , the eating keeps your horse warm and his intestine functiong right , make sure he has all the water they need as much water as hay , and make sure he does not have to fight for his food as they get older the pecking order will change and he could be pushed around by the herd .

Answer 10

I even have quite some journey with older horses and rescues in undesirable shape.First:  Get tooth checked.next:  trojan horse or have stools checked for wormsThen:  pass the bread products.   Dumor Senior or Nutrena Senior or Purina Senior  all have the feeding quantities on their bags and information superhighway websites.   moist the feed with heat water if he's a messy eater or has dental problems.  do no longer pass by a gallon or regardless of.   Weigh the feed contained in the information and pass by poundage.Purina has a application precise now that enables you to get 2 loose bags in case you purchase 8 in case you chart progression.  It even has a calculator for what proportion energy you will possibly desire to be giving.  pass to Purina turbines internet site and the feeding trials.offering your horse can chew, the stability of his energy needs to return from stable high quality hay.   The feed bags will inform you approaches plenty weight to feed to make up the adaptation.   Weigh your flakes, don't be counted on guessing.   placed them in a plastic bag so which you do no longer make a multitude or take the size outdoors.  upload your greater energy in greater hay. If he won't be able to chew hay and makes quids, you need to purchase hay cubes or hay pellets in bags. The cubes might desire to be soaked in a bucket with heat water till they get thoroughly gentle like delicate shredded wheat. Even a horse without grinding tooth could have those. the main inexpensive calorie for a horse is corn oil.   i purchase it by the gallon at WalMart.   initiate with a tblsp. in line with feeding and artwork your way as much as as much as a a million/2 cup in line with feeding in 2 wks.   look ahead to unfastened stools.putting on weight is slow.   you will see some contained in the tummy first month.  Then the ribs fill in slightly.   final would be the backbone.   It make take 6 months for him to totally fill in. in case you feed a sort call senior feed, that's no longer suggested to function different supplementations. you're greater effective off feeding a 0.33 time in the time of the day to unfold out his nutrition. The smaller quantities are extremely greater digestable with the aid of fact the tummy only passes too plenty grain precise via besides.