my horse needs gain weight and get a bit chubby! What are my FEED OPTIONS?

Question

I ride hunters and we like our horses a little "plump" if ya know what I mean. My horse is slender, but not skinny or anything. I feed ultimate finish with my horses feed but it doesn't make him a fat as as I want him to be. We have lots of shade at my house and not grass whatsoever so we feed our horses hay 3 times a day with hay. Do you recomend alfalfa? I heard that works if you feed some of that to them every day. What else though? Beet pulp? Please serious answers only.

Ok what I meant was ROUND. OK? I did NOT mean overweight! I would not ever do anything to hurt him. He just looks kinda thin and he just needs a little bit of weight so he looks more a Warmblood.

Answer 1

I understand what you are saying. I like my horses to look healthy like this too.

I always half the dose to be sure there are not complications and increase every couple days.

Purina Amplify is a high fat, low carb weight gain that works really well

Corn Oil starting with 1/4 to 1/2 cup is a good for weight gain

If you can afford Flax Seed Oil it has really good Antioxidant properties in it too - start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Use this instead of the Corn Oil

Calf Manna start with 1/2 cup

I'd also suggest a good probiotic and digestive enzyme. As humans and horses age our stomachs do not continue to produce these as well. If you supplement with them your horse should digest it's food better than before. You may not need all the extra fat supplements but only have to take care of the stomach.

Check teeth and check for worms.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

We were recently given a horse that someone was about to be turned into the humane society because the poor thing was starving. You can see her ribs and her backbone and hip bones stick out so bad. Anyway, I talked to many different people and this is what we've come up with for her diet.

A woman who raises race horses recommended the Senior Equine, it's supposed to be really good for putting weight on.

Another guy who raises rodeo horses suggested beet pulp and maxi glow feed (it's kind of a powder like stuff).

We've only had her for 3 weeks, but she is definitely gaining weight. We feed her twice a day. Once with Senior Equine and beet pulp and once with Senior Equine and maxi glow. She also has a hay bale. On weekends I take her walking and she eats green grass, however we are running out of green grass.

She seems to be very happy and the food is definitely starting to put some weight on her. She has a long way to go, but the guy who has 20 rodeo horses says that he always adds beet pulp and maxi glow supplements to their food to give them a little extra energy and weight gain.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 3

Depending on the horse, alfalfa isn't always good. If you choose to use alfalfa, start slow! My horse loses weight when on grain and alfalfa, so much so he became ribby. I started giving him a sweet feed once a day along with the two hay feedings. Not only does he love it, but he is a healthy, full horse. He is a quarter horse, so I too prefer a little meat on my horse.

Answer 4

Give him a B-12 shot. You would have to bet it from your vet, but it increases the appitite. I had to give it to my aging mare a while back and it worked. I would also try alfalfa, but SLOWLY introduce it, or your horse could colic or get the 'runs'. Also try beet Pulp! Hope it works.
Dont gain TOO much weight. I own, ride, and show hunters, and weight that is un-nessary will actually hinder your horses movements. The more fat, the less he can move around. Id keep him healthy Not plump!

Answer 5

As long as he is not going to be overweight because that could lead to health problems. You could find some hay that already has alfalfa in it. You could also try a supplement - any weight gainer. What you should do though is start uping his workouts and add more feed possibly an Ultium which is made by purina. It will help with keeping his energy up so you can stack on my muscle.

Answer 6

Feed the horse corn and oats. If you want weight gain quickly feed it sweet feed . It has molasses in it and most horses love sweets. Alfalfa is like candy to horses.They love it, but alfalfa is better suited for cattle. To much alfalfa can make your horse sick. Then again to much of any food can make a horse sick. I say stick with corn and oats, the horse will gain weight. good luck

Answer 7

Alfalfa works to help put some weight on them. also try rice bran, it's 40% fat and also puts a nice coat on them. you can try corn oil a cup once a day on grain. I like LMF grain, hard to find but it's a complete feed. if not try something equine jr or senior since it's higher in calories. since you're already feeding 3x a day just up the hay given at one feeding. hope this helps. just be careful on the amounts fed as to not founder your horse. good luck

Answer 8

Beet pulp is what I give my horses, it works splendidly. I definitely recommend alfalfa. It is rich and protein filled. In the summer you can reseed your pasture with alfalfa. A really good food mixture is as follows:
2 cups of strider
2 cups SOAKED beet pulp
0.5 cups of vegetable oil
5-10 squares of alfalfa CUBES
that is my advice! i hope it works for you!

Answer 9

when I want to add weight to a horse i use soy meal or there is a product by dac that works wonders just cant remember what it is called but sure you can look it up ps 4oz twice a day on the soy meal for the first week then only 4oz a daytil desired weight

Answer 10

weather the horse is young or old you can feed it equine senior by Purina. it helps target area problems like the withers, sides, back, and neck. we uses on our polo horses and barrel horses and it keeps their weight on(not fat but healthy) and they look great