Equine Weight Question?

Question

Does anyone know of any supplement that will help a horse gain weight QUICKLY?

Answer 1

I'm in California and if I have a horse who's starting to look a bit "ribby" or I've purchased some rack of bones,  I go out and buy a 50LB sack of A&M (Ground alfafa and molasses) (In the mid west they use beet pulp BUT I've been informed that you HAVE to add water to it or it will swell in a horse's belly causing colic), dump it into a tub or feeder in the horse's stall, then top it with some rolled barley corn that is mixed with corn oil and apple cider vinegar. (I feed a 3LB coffee can of the barley corn mixture once a day.) The horse will normally devour the first couple of bags of A&M, but then they will slack off as they get used to it (Never had an issue with colic or founder)...

I haven't fed oats or any mixed feed in decades, basically because I've had running horses and TBs I'm trying to keep quiet, so I feed the rolled barley corn mixture to them for weight, NOT heat.

I also give my horses a hot bran mash twice a week with the vinegar and corn oil (I can mix the barleycorn into it.).  I feed 1/2 a 3 LB coffee can of red wheat flakey bran and add enough water to it so that it looks like oatmeal in consistancy.

I make sure that they get 2 flakes of alfafa hay per feeding.

Answer 2

check out DAC vitaimins and supplements

Answer 3

I like Buckeyes Ultimate Finish - its 25% fat! Its sold in 50 lb bags, so you're not going to find it on the shelf anywhere -try a Buckeye dealer.

Answer 4

I've used different supplements and found rice bran to be the best one of them...I use it for my hard keeper Arabian.

Answer 5

I just went through all of this, I tried everything, but I found that once I started giving 2 capfuls of vegetable oil morning and evening, the weight came on fast and very shiny coat. Corn oil will make them "hot", so I use vegetable oil, it really worked for me!

Answer 6

They is numerous things that you can buy at the feed store. My suggestion would be to go and look around at the feed store or you can search the internet for supplements. There are different supplements for different type of situtions.

Answer 7

Baileys No. 1

its quite expensive, but totally worth it,

loads of people at my yard swear by it

Answer 8

We recently had a senior horse start losing weight and no matter what we tried she wouldn't gain. We had the teeth floated and dewormed her...we fed more feed more hay and treats but the weight kept coming off. The vet run a complete cbc super chem and nothing....I was frustrated so I asked a local lady that shows and she recommended Beet Pulp we started this last Monday and the horse has already gained at the least 50 lbs. She is more energetic and her coat is amazing ...it also helps that she loves the stuff.  I feed my horse 4 handfuls. I soak it in water and drain it after a couple of hours "it swells so make sure you use a bigger bucket" I feed it in the evening with her regular feed because it is a slow release and horses are more calmer and less likely to be running around at night.  There is a link that can explain it more fully to you.

Beet pulp is most commonly fed wet. I would think that this is the best way to feed it because, if fed dry, the beet pulp would expand in the horse's stomach. This could potentially cause colic. The term "colic" means only "pain in the abdomen" or "pain in the belly". There are many causes for such pain, ranging from the mild and inconsequential to the life-threatening or fatal. One of the problems with equine colic is that it can be very difficult in the early stages to distinguish the mild from the potentially fatal. This is why all cases of abdominal pain should be taken seriously right from the onset. You can colic a horse by over fedding it on all feed and not just beet pulp.

Answer 9

Rice bran is GREAT for putting weight on a horse. It has a higher fat content than any other feed, and you can feed it to them in bulk without having to worry about colic. It is about the only thing I've found that can put and keep weight on my 18 year old TB mare. For weight gain, I have to feed 6lbs of it a day mixed with 6lbs of Senior.

A lot of people like to feed beet pulp. It helps too but it's main function is as a source of digestible fiber. So it's almost like giving them more forage, like grass hay, it's just more digestible. But it's not necessarily that high in fat. Beet pulp can actually be used as a source of fiber/roughage when no hay or grass is available.

Rice bran, on the other hand, contains a lot of calories from fat to put the weight on a horse. It has 1/3 more calories than beet pulp, by weight. (i.e. you'd have to feed 1.3 pounds of beet pulp to get the same calories as you'd get from 1 pound of rice bran). This is a big reason why I prefer it...it's more cost effective. However, rice bran can have a mineral imbalance, so if you feed more than about 2 pounds of it, you should make sure a horse's diet is supplemented with a mineral block and/or a complete feed (hence why I feed Senior as well--if your horse is younger I'd try Strategy instead).

Good luck!

Answer 10

maybe your feeding him to much, what do u feed him and how much ,i have 2 horses arab and quarter horse