How to get weight on thin Big Horse?

[jdomep]

We noticed Easy was looking thin yesterday. He is 19 years old and in the pasture with our other big guy who is only 7. They get the same rations - 2-3 Fleks a day and 2 cups of grain. Right now they are out 24/7 and wondered if I shouldn't be bringing Easy in? Up his hay? or grain? Suppliments? He does get a daily Majestic wafer (for minor arthritis). He is a QH but built like a Thoroughbred and tends to look leaner than my Paint who is built like a tank. Thanks for any help.

Enjoy your week!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

2-3 flakes is not much for a horse that size - of course it depends on the weight of the hay. 2 cups of grain is nothing for a horse like that, just a snack.

I would be stalling for the night and feeding ad lib hay plus a good hot feed with soaked Beet Pulp and a good whack of senior feed as well.

 

[MBennettp]

When my old pinto mare started getting thin, the first step was a trip to the vet, got her teeth floated (what few she had left), he suggested senior feed, beet pulp, and free choice grass hay. She not only gained weight but started acting like she was a youngster again. She actually bucked me off when she was 26. I rode her maybe twice after that and she lived to be 35.

She was on 20 plus acres of grass but would still eat hay all night. I used bermuda hay as it was softer and easier for her to chew and digest. The beet pulp and senior feed gave her the nutrients that she needed and the hay was just a filler.

Mary

 

[jdomep]

2-3 flakes is not much for a horse that size - of course it depends on the weight of the hay. 2 cups of grain is nothing for a horse like that, just a snack.

I would be stalling for the night and feeding ad lib hay plus a good hot feed with soaked Beet Pulp and a good whack of senior feed as well.

My horses haven't been ridden in months since my hip surgery and I was told to basically "feed the need" in ref. to grain. Do you think (not as a vet but as knowledgeable horse person) that should be increased? I will pick him up Sr. Feed today. It is always hard to think of him as getting old and not to feed the same with just the 2 of them - because the rations I give Apache he stays fat. I agree that I will start bringing them in nightly. Thanks.

PS- He was floated in Fall so I know he is good that way.

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

I had some weight issues with Daisy with all the moving she did. Poor girl lost close to 200 lbs. Thank God she needed to lose it because she was in the obese category when I got her. I want to keep her where she is at, she's perfect, but with our workout schedule she needs extra calories and with no coat to speak of she burns them like wildfire. So after talking with my vet we put her on 6 flakes a day, 4 lbs of Allegra Cadence, that may increase toward spring when she get harder workouts, and 6 Cups of rice bran. We chose the Cadence in this case because you don't have to feed bucket fulls of the stuff as you do with a senior food to get the same results and it's just as digestible. It was split at two feeds but now we're going to do three. Even though she's only 9 years old, I would have gone with a senior feed if she was idle. Every horse is different and even those who are non working have widely varied metabolisms. This can give you a ball park idea of what I need to do just to keep her weight on, without trying to put any on her, however, she is a very large horse, in medium work conditions and needs this amount to keep her fit.

Daisy cannot tolerate alfalfa so grass is our only option but any more than 6 flakes and she just makes it a bed and frankly our grass hay here is a bit too expensive for bedding

: The more often they are fed in smaller amounts the better IMO. It's more what their systems are built for.

I suggest whatever you decide to feed run it by your vet and get some blood drawn and a general checkup too, especially if this is a recent happening. Always feed by weight not volume and if you don't have one get a weight tape to track his progress so you can note earlier if what you are doing is working vs using the "eye" method only. Most feed stores carry them and mine only cost a few bucks.

Hope your boy is getting plump soon. They love to make us worry don't they

:

ETA I noticed you said he was floated but if it was done with hand floats it may be like nothing was done at all. Apparently the hand floats cannot adequately do parts of the mouth due to it's configuration according to the dentist. I found that even though Daisy has been floated regularly, she was still full of hooks especially toward the back and it was well worth the money to have a pro equine dentist do her with power tools.

 

[Pepipony]

Dont feed by cups, feed by weight. you will be suprised how little a cup weighs. 2 cups happens to be the feed dosage for my mini. I have a QH/TB mare who is one heckova hard keeper, probably bout the same situation, same age etc. She gets 11 lbs off feed a day, which is probably about 20 cups. Plus 4-6 flakes a day and a couple pounds of alfalfa cubes. This is her maintenance feed overwinter. in summer no hay or alfalfa.

Make sure he is completely wormed, do a fecal count on him to be sure. Make sure his teeth are floated and that the other horse isnt hogging the feed/hay. If you do feed him more, do it gradually. I fed my mare a weight booster in late summer, which helped, but it seemed to kick in after she was off it LOL Oh, and make sure you do a good sand clearing on him.

With some horses it doesnt matter how much you feed, they are just slender. Take care, Heather

 

[minimule]

Nutrena makes this feed called EMpower. It is designed to put weight on a horse. It does have some vitamins and minerals but has a lot of the "good" fat needed by some older horses. It doesn't take much of it either. You have to feed a certain amount until the horse gains the weight back then you drop it down to almost a 1/4 of what you were feeding as a maintenance.

I would definetly weigh your forage. You'd be surprized how much difference is in each bale, grass or alfalfa. Sometimes I weigh a flake and it is about 2#, the same size flake from another bale will be 8# or more. It really pays to weigh!

 

[Marty]

What you are feeding wouldn't be enough to keep Sonny's left ear fat.

He is on:

Equine Senior and I weigh it out. Lots of pounds.

Free access to pasture and I put hay out there for him too.

You aren't feeding enough hay and be sure it's good quality in the first place. Feeding low quality hay doesn't help.

Stalled at night.

Stalled if it's raining or snow or freezing or horribly windy. I feel that if horses get wet/cold and also are stuck in the wind, that is what causes them to get sick. So he is sheltered from the elements like that. Your horse could be working too hard trying to stay warm and that could explain weight loss.

Supplements for artheritis

One way to get weight on him would be to add calf manna to his grain. But you gotta up that grain girlfriend and change it to something made for seniors. They can digest it a whole lot better ok?

Pamper the old guy!!!!

 

[sedeh]

Equine senior and fat stabalized rice bran worked for my guy, plus hay and fairly sparse pasture! Of course regular dentistry and worming also! Good luck!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Equine Senior, plenty of it and good grass hay, lots of it, turn out on grass even if it is winter. Stalled at night with plenty of hay.

 

[New_Image]

I would definatly let him have more hay. My 14.3hh QH was eating 2-3 flakes of hay for the longest time, but now that shes 18 she requires 5 flakes of hay, which still isnt bad for a horse. Shes also getting 1 coffee can of Equine Senior AM and PM and 10 cups of soaked beet pulp a day.

To get weight on a big horse Ive always used Weight builder, that really helps. But in your guys case I think simply upping his feed would do the trick. I would put him on to Equine senior and at least triple the ammount of grain hes getting now.

 

[jdomep]

You guys are booming with knowledge

I just went and got equine SR and beet pulp (check my new post ). I will slowly up his grain and be sure he has lots of hay. The fleks I have now are more like = to 2 fleks (they are huge) so I will add more for him. He (they) will be coming in nightly so he can get all of his feed and relax.

Thanks

 

[mis fit farms]

I have a 12 yr old tb retired race horse that chipped a bone in his ankle that still thinks he is a yearling!!!!In the winter he is such an easy keeper !!!!!!!!OMG then comes summer he looses about 200 lbs sweats dosent move you could feed him a bale of hay and a fifty pound bag of feed and he would still look starved. I ask his long time trainer/owner "oh didnt i tell you he not much for summer" so it may just be yor horses personal prefrence!!!!!!

:

 

[jdomep]

I have a 12 yr old tb retired race horse that chipped a bone in his ankle that still thinks he is a yearling!!!!In the winter he is such an easy keeper !!!!!!!!OMG then comes summer he looses about 200 lbs sweats dosent move you could feed him a bale of hay and a fifty pound bag of feed and he would still look starved. I ask his long time trainer/owner "oh didnt i tell you he not much for summer" so it may just be yor horses personal prefrence!!!!!!

:

LOL

Easy looked like this when I got him last Feb. But we had such a lush pasture (not grazed in 4 years) so he plumped up nicely - on our pasture and 2 -3 large fleks a day. I do think keeping him out of the weather will help too.

Thanks everybody!