Horse that hasn't been put on grain.?

Question

I'm purchasing a horse that hasn't been fed any grain for quite some time. He's underweight and malnourished. How do I "lul" him into eating grain again? I can't just give him half a coffee can like I give the horse I have at the moment.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

he should eat grain fine. do not give him pounds of grain at first introduce it over time by 1/2 pound meals broken up into 3-4 times a day. As he eats add beet pulp (requires soaking), 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, and a touch of flax seed. Be sure to supplement the pasture, if it is not very rich, with a good hay. I recommend Legends or Triple Crown feed as you can feed a lot less, it is cheaper, and one of the best feeds available. I use it on all my rescues and they do great. 1 tb is on 3 lbs of grain and is over weight. This stuff is awesome cost about $10 a 50lbs bag.

If he is a little pick try slapping a bit of molasses on the grain, but not too much. do NOT give apples, biggest mistake horse owners do.

You can also roll the grain into 1 inch balls and feed as treats by rolling in molasses. let them set and harden do not store he must eat them.

Also try mixing textured with pellet to add a sweetness.

do not give processed sugars as they stick and rot teeth. use only natural saps and sugars for treats and again no apples.

good luck

Answer 2

I would just very slowly increase the quantity- start with just a handful or two.  A senior horse feed is usually very easy for horses to digest and will minimize any stomach discomfort from the introduction of a grain feed.  With an undernourished horse, you don't want to overload him with high-density calories right off.  Weight gain should be slow and controlled.  Keep a good grass hay available for at-will feeding, and give only small quantities of supplemental feed.  Good luck!

Answer 3

I'm not real sure that grain would be my first choice for this horse.  Wonderful green clean hay would be and Lots of clean fresh water would be high on my list. Hay is a very important factor in a horse's feeding and for a horse that is lacking, should have it in front of him 24/7. Also unless you have a great small pasture I would not turn him out in a big grassy field all day. He will walk calories off looking for grass but if you put food in front of him he will do as nature intended, continually chew and digest food. He also needs to have room to walk a stall is not a good idea, he needs to walk to keep his digestive system moving.

After he is eating and you can see that all systems are working, peeing and pooping etc, you need to get a worming program started. I have always put new horses on a daily wormer for a year because it will worm continuously in low doses and doesn't upset the system with an overload of chemicals or a kill off of worms. Any change to fast is hard on them.

EM

Answer 4

Try getting corn.  Local feed stores sell corn in bags.  It's high in nutrients and it helps malnourished horses gain weight and get energy.  Throwing some pellets or a little bit of sweet feed wouldnt be a bad idea either but i would put more than 1/4 of a cup of sweet feed until he startes gaining weight and being active.