How do I get my horse to gain weight?

Question

I have a 19 year old registered QH gelding. I still show him but he is on the skinny side. We feed him a special diet and he is still not gaining any wait!! please please help me

Answer 1

Try feeding a high fat diet, Rice Bran, HiFat 20%. That should help for sure!

Good luck!

Answer 2

ask the vet, ask a trainer. those two types of people will be able to come up with a plan for you're horses feed needs.

Answer 3

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 4

Sounds like what you are feeding is good, you I would just recommend feeding more of it. 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. She cribs too and gets ridden about as much as yours.  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).

Good luck!

Answer 5

If hes on the skinny side, mix some either senior feed or mare&foal into his normal food. Dont put too much, otherwise he'll colic. Always remember not to suddenly change a horse's feed completely, they will colic from that and could possibly die.

Answer 6

I have an 8 yr old roan that was about 100 lbs underweight due to poor hay.  I have him on a good forage hay now (since February) and I started to supplement his crimped oats with Beet Pulp that has been soaked. (I started with 1/2 scoop to get him used to it and now I feed about 3/4 scoop soaked pulp). I feed him a supplement that a friend told me about - se couldn't stop raving about it. It is made by Blueridge Botanicals in Tennessee. It is 100% certified organic and I know it doesn't have any fillers or by-products. I used to feed Equine Senior - I have since stopped since I read the label - duh... My horse has put back the 100 lbs he lost and looks incredible.  His coat is silky, shiny, his muscle tone is solid and he is a happy horse.  His eyes are bright and he is not hot. Caron at Blueridge told me about the beet pulp and said I would able to cut back on the crimped oats and I have been able to without any weight loss ( just more $ in my pocket!) I hope this helps. I have used other supplements and this one far exceeds those.

Answer 7

I cant remeber what its called. But its for older horses. It gives them the diet, and the protien they need.

Its at the feed store. Its for older horses. You can go there and look. I know lots of people that use and it works.

Best of luck!

Answer 8

well keep feeding him that special food diet you have.. i recomend one flake of hay in the morning and two at night.. put your horse out in a pasture for a few hours.. 12 hours MAX! make sure you work with your horse to keep him fit though.. your horse will also gain weight if he gains muscle. another good reason to make sure your horse is physically fit..don't try to bloat your horse.. nothing to extreme is going to happen over night... wait a few weeks before even thinking about looking for results. if you have other horses make sure they arent taking food from him...hes getting to be an older horse too.. that may have some toll of his weight.. happened to alot of mine.. keep hope

Answer 9

Older horses, like people, have to have special attention given to their health.  His teeth should be floated at least once a year, to help him chew his food better, and then since his is on pasture, you have to worm him 2 times a year.  All of your special diets won't do any good if his teeth are sharp (bad) and he has worms that are eating your special diet first leaving him little of their nourishment.

Answer 10

One way to help him gain weight is to use a supplement. ie weight gainer or even feed him more hay