We just bought a 3 year old horse and he is really thin.?

Question

He needs to gain weight safley but we don't know what to feed him or how much to feed? We are unsure how to do this without spending a whole lot of money. PLEASE HELP US! Thanks!!!

Answer 1

First worm him with a good, safe wormer. Have his teeth checked by an equine dentist. A 3 year old is cutting teeth, and could have loose dental caps interfering with his ability to eat well. Here in Texas there is a feed called "Wendland's One and Only", which is about the safest, best feed you can put a horse of any age on. It was designed to be fed free-choice, but I restrict my own horses to a certain amount once they at at a good weight. Even old toothless horses gain good weight on O&O. Good quality pasture is ideal to help a horse gain weight, but of course, it's winter right now and not available. Do NOT go overboard feeding gain! That's a common mistake folks make with skinny horses--they try to fatten them up with lots of grain. Bad idea! Take it slow with a good, balanced diet and your young horse should blossom.

Answer 2

Hi. It is nice that you want to know how to help your horse. There are a number of ways to do this. Just make sure it is just a thin horse and not a medical problem. A vet check is always a good idea with a new horse. Once you have ruled that out, you can do this a few ways. One option: There are a number commercial feed blends that are made for hard to keep horses. One really well balanced feed is called Strategy. It is made by Purina. It comes in 50# bags. It contains all the neccessary vitamins needed for health and proper weight maintenance. I use it for my gelding, who is a show horse. You can mix it or feed it straight. It is a pellet form. I use a 60/40 mix. Strategy and plain oats. Option two: You can buy a supplement such as Hard Keeper Solution. There are over 40 different kinds on the market now. Go to www.smartpakequine.com to look at their selection. Some offered here are: fat-cat, focus wt, m.a.s.s., platform weight, weight builder and others. Most are super inexpensive and come in monthly custom packs....many for under $20 a month. You woud get individual packs...one for each day, preportioned. I get my show horse's supplements from here, as well. Won't break your wallet. Most have a guarantee on effectiveness. Another option: you can give him his regular feed and add vegetable oil to it. This becomes risky, though, because it can cause diarrhea and other troubles. If you are out of money, though, and the horse is rail thin, I would give it a shot. It will not kill him. I would give a 1/2 cup at first, once daily, and increase it. My personal suggestion, select a high quailty feed, like Strategy (avail at most feed stores for under $19 a bag) and select a weight supplement. SmartPak is an incredible company and won't bust your wallet. They give a free catalog, plus you can buy off of their website, cancel at any time...etc. God bless and good luck. I have a lot of horse experience and board with a trainer full time. If you need any more tips or anything, feel free to drop me an email. I am always glad to help. [e-mail] is my email.

Answer 3

You never want to buy a weight supplement. Too many of them have been proven to cause organ problems, particularly liver and kidney.

What do you feed him now?
What we feed for gaining weight: twice the grain ration you would normally give a horse his size with corn oil and extra beet pulp. We feed a sweet feed from our feed mill which is pretty high in fat already.
You can also feed free choice hay and give him higher quality hay (a high percentage alfalfa mix). If he is thin, he should be getting as much grassy type hay as he wants to eat in a day, along with 3-4 flakes alfalfa. You can also buy alfalfa cubes- depending on where you live, they may be cheaper than a bale of the hay- just add water and let them soak a bit.

Note that with these changes, they should be gradually added- any abrupt change to his diet can cause colic. Slowly start adding more grain or alfalfa over a couple weeks. Grass hay you really do not have to be that concerned about, unless he has a sensitive stomach.

Also: has he been wormed lately? Parasites can cause him to be thin. If you are not sure, give him a dose of Equimax, or at the very least, ivermectin.

He could also be thin because he is in a growth spurt- he is only 3 yrs. Most horses start with a huge belly, and then all of that energy goes into a growth spurt- and he will get really tall and skinny in the month afterwards.

Answer 4

Any horse that is really thin take time to build them back up again- so don't expect drastic results in a month -if he's really thin...don't expect a lot of improvement for quite a while. My ranch takes in rescues that are sometimes 350-400lbs underweight- with horses that bad it usually takes 6 months to even a year to get them looking like a horse.

Start off by deworming the equine with a worm-er that treats multiple types of worms and also bots. You may also want to give him an ulcer guard paste- horses that go through great stress develop these and have a hard time putting on weight if they in fact have ulcers. Have an equine dentist take a look at his teeth and make sure his teeth are healthy and he is able to eat with little to no pain. You'll also want a farrier to come and trim his feet if it's not been done so he can move about freely to burn of energy.

Most important thing I can tell you is be feeding a horse quality hay that is high in calories. Any horse can sit and eat hay all day and never gain or keep the weight he needs if its not good quality. When the horse starts adding weight on you may or may not choose to feed alfalfa.
Some one above suggested One and Only- that is a good feed but if that is unavailable to you I would suggest Safechoice or Strategy. These have high fat and good quality protein levels.
With a horse weight tape you'll need to assess your horses weight- your horse needs 1/2 lb of feed for every 100lbs of body weight. You'll always want to start with smaller amounts than required and then work up to the amount suggested to according to body weight. NEVER over feed- people may think this will make the horse gain weight faster...it won't- first they'll bloat and then they'll founder. You may also want to add soggy beat pulp, veggie or corn oil into your horses feed ration- your vet will help you decide what would be best.
Before you try to add a weight building supplement you'll want your vet to assess the horses all over body condition and get his shots UTD. He may even need to do blood work to see if your equine has any mineral or vitamin deficiencies. He'll also suggest a weight supplement that will be economical and efficient for your horse. I usually recommend Focus WT(a product by Source), Weight builder, or Amplify to all my clients and I use them on my horses too.
You'll also need to keep salt and mineral blocks and also loose form in a bin next to a fresh supply of water.
Also while they are gaining I will still exercise them out by doing ground work or light lunging- this is so they also develop muscle and burn extra energy at the same time.
The best thing you can do is contact your vet and try not to judge your horses progress too soon. The sad thing is with underweight horses is that it may only take a month to get them in that condition- but it takes a whole hell of a lot longer to build them back up.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Answer 5

This Is Easy But It Takes Time

You need to put him a small confined area for 1 week giving him a reasonable amount of food but not a lot ( be with him a lot )

week two give him a little more food
but not too much you do NOT want to colic him

Week Three
he should be gaining a little weight slowly but surely
increase the food again

Week Four
He should be ready to be released into a bigger area and be on a normal food route okay

if you do see any signs of colic

lead him around again and again till he poops
lead him in a trot until you have progress

do NOT let him lay down at all when he has colic

Answer 6

One And Only Horse Feed

Answer 7

well, you can get a weight supplement from the vet, as we had to do once for my arabian mare that passed away last month. however, its like 150$ for a 30 day supply. WAY above our price range. talk to your vet, and ask for his advice. POUR hay to your horse, and get an endurance/sweet feed of high percent, like a 13 or 14 %. mix in a scoop of rice bran each time you feed your horse. the rice bran helps to pack weight on. also, don't exercise your horse too much. go easy until he is nice and round again. the sweet feed (%) will possibly cause your horse to be hyper, so talk to your vet about the best thing. don't go exactly by what I say, but talk to your vet about those options. last, if you live in a cold area, blanket the horse. we don't, but helping the horse to warm itself will take less energy away from him. good luck with it, hope everything goes well.

almost forgot! get your horse to an equine dentist, as teeth could be an issue. if his teeth hurt, he could be packing hay into his cheeks, and sore teeth will make him drop his food. most importantly, get to your vet and make sure he is healthy otherwise. if so, go from where i started.

Answer 8

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
We just bought a 3 year old horse and he is really thin.?
He needs to gain weight safley but we don't know what to feed him or how much to feed? We are unsure how to do this without spending a whole lot of money. PLEASE HELP US! Thanks!!!

Answer 9

First of all, he needs to have a vet check him over. Especially if you are unsure of his history. He should be on a deworming schedule and have his teeth checked. Make sure you are feeding the best quality hay you can and ask you vet for a recomendation on grain. I know this isn't the magic answer, but it is where I would advise you start.

Answer 10

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