Horse needs to gain weight?

Question

I have a 15 y/o thourobred that is underweight. What should I start feeding him? He is in a outdoor box stall and gets burmuda hay in the morning and alfalfa in the evening. Help!

Answer 1

First, if he's lost weight loss dramatically all of a sudden, you're going to want to rule out certain health problems. You'll want to make sure that he's on a rotational worming schedule (alternating the active ingredient in the wormer you use after every other use). You may also want to have a dentist come to float his teeth, and a vet check will rule out any illness or other parasites that could be causing this weight loss.

If his bill of health comes back clean, you have a few options. Make sure that he has access to forage at all times, either in the form of hay or grass. Also, you might want to rethink what you're giving him as far as feed goes. Any changes in grain have to be done gradually, and you should always consult a vet or trainer before switching the horse. That being said, there are many owners who know very little about the nutrition requirements of their horses or exactly what their horse is getting from their grain. Grain shouldn't be the main component of the horse's diet, that spot belongs to forage. But a good, balanced feed can help with weight issues. A mixture of sweet feed and rolled oats can be a good basic ration. You can add more of the sweet feed to encourage weight gain, but if your horse is already hyper, this will also give him more energy and might not be the right path. Instead, you might want to look at supplemental feeds. You can add a cup of corn oil to his grain as a source of fat, and it will also help improve the condition of his coat. Then there's beet pulp, which I personally love for putting weight on a horse. The thing to remember with beet pulp is that it needs to be soaked for a long time or it can expand in the horse's intestine and cause internal damage. We start soaking it in the morning and feed it out at night, twelve hours later. This eliminates any chance of expansion. Beet pulp is great for putting on weight and also makes up for the nutrition lacking in rolled oats. Once more, though, check with your regular vet to see what he recommends, as he would know the horse personally and may have something else entirely in mind.

Answer 2

I would give him free choice burmuda and up the alfalfa. The best way to gain weight is with roughage. Next step: is he on a rotational wormer? If he hasn't been wormed in 3 months or more, give him Equimax or something similar. Next check: have the vet look at his teeth. If they need to be filed or floated, he may not be getting all of the nutrients out of the hay and grain that he needs, simply because he can not grind it down. Another sign is food (grain esp) constantly falling out of his mouth.

You did not say if you gave him any grain. I will assume he is on nothing now. You can start him (slowly and add more as you go) on an oats, molasses, and beet pulp mixture. Basically a sweet feed from a grainery would work. It may give him an extra kick in the beginning, but once he gets used to grain, it shouldn't affect him.

Do not feed weight supplements. I have researched the clinical studies done, and a lot of them show a build up of fat in the liver and eventual liver and kidney problems.

Answer 3

We have a 23 year old standardbred who has never really kept the weight on during the winter. This year we were more serious about it though. She got her first blanket so that she would not be wasting energy to keep herself warm. Her teeth were floated this summer too, so that probably helps. We feed her local hay, which probably isn't the best in the way of nutrition but it's all we have. We also feed her beet pulp, senior grain and molasses at dinner. Don't really know if this will help at all, but good luck!

Answer 4

well first of all thourobred's are very hard to keep weight on ( i have a few). make sure your feeding enough grain with a high fat content in it. but don't just feed him morning and night it works alot better if you feed him little amounts all through the day. also you can go to your local feed store and they have weight supplements. a little trick of my own, take a half a cup of vegetable oil in every feeding that should get him fat and slicked off.

Answer 5

I have found the best thing to put on weight is good quality hay, beet pulp, rice bran and daily wormer. The rice bran will also help them have a nice shiny coat.

Answer 6

energize plain tasting proteins such as eggs or chicken with metabolism boosting chili pepper sauce

Answer 7

You may have to have his teeth check and get them floated.When you feed him grain does he loose a lot of grain when he is chewing? Do you see whole grain in his manure?
If you had his teeth checked then go to your local feed store and tell them what looking for and maybe a supplement.There's a lot of good one out there.

Answer 8

carry a cooler stocked with three bottles of water a six pack four pb js two oranges a bag of tortilla chips and 12 servings of cool cucumber salsa go to womenshealthmag allrecipes com for the recipe for 22 minutes

Answer 9

use the freezer to add some extra oomph to summer foods freeze grapes for some bite sized delights or get a popsicle mold and freeze some greek yogurt with berries

Answer 10

Consume low calorie food