My horse needs to gain weight?! Help!?

Question

My 12yo TB needs to gain weight, however, he is prone to laminitis. What sort of things can I feed him to put the weight on, but not fizz him up or risk him relapsing into laminitis? Also, please answer my other question regarding this horse: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aj1bztSxylsAsKryv8MZPQzsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080630142717AA5EYym

Answer 1

vegetable or soy bean oil in his food, he will like it and its cheap

Answer 2

Have you had him wormed? He may need to be tube wormed to get a good start on cleaning him out. Then you can use paste wormier to keep him worm free. Have your hay checked to see what protein, carbs and other nutrition it has. You may need to change feed. Also look at the grain you are feeding. Some grain will supplement the lack of nutrition in the hay. Talk to your local feed store. See what they have for underweight horse to help put on weight.

Answer 3

I also have a twelve year old thoroughbred and when we first bought him he desperately needed to gain weight. But, what i found with increasing his hay and grain was also an increase in energy that was not needed. So we added corn oil to his grain on a daily basis and his weight immediately shot up and his energy didn't.

Hope i helped

Answer 4

1.Concentrate on feeding hay that is of highest quality. Add some alfalfa hay to the horse’s diet (5 or 6 extra pounds). This adds 300 calories per pound to the horse’s feed! Using high fat feed is another way of adding calories. Conditioning chaff as well as rice bran can be added to your food regimen to help the animal take in some more calories.  

   2. Choose a senior feed for horses over age 15 or for younger horses in poor dental health. This will permit these horses to extract the nutrients they need from this specially adapted feed that is a bit easier to chew and digest.

      

   3. Probiotics have been found to help the nervous and otherwise stressed horse to regain an intestinal balance of digestive enzymes. Keep in mind that this process may take a few days to show any signs of success!

      

   4. Allow low-weight horses to eat by themselves to avoid rivalries within the herd. Generally speaking, the more dominant and aggressive horses may be eating it’s the thinner horse’s share. Even adding more feed will not alleviate this problem.

      

   5. Be sure to change your horse’s feed to one that has more fat. When you use a high fat formula, you can afford to feed the horse less, which will cut back on colic. You can find formulas with varying levels of fat at your local feed supply store.

      

   6. Keep a close eye on the horse’s weight by scale once a month. This will help you to realize if something you are doing is working, and to maintain the weight gain.

Of course, all dietary changes should be undertaken cautiously, and with an open eye toward adverse effects. Add new feed slowly, otherwise you may be causing your horse some additional intestinal upset, which may counteract everything you have worked so hard for. Any time you are making a major change in your horse’s diet it is best to follow up with your vet for further advice.

good luck

Answer 5

IF beet pulp is NOT an option, try ground alfafa and molasses.  I've had GREAT success with horses that have lost weight and had been foundered before and allowing them to free feed off of it.

I've owned a LOT of Running Quarter Horses and TBs and to put weight on them but keep their brains civil, the A&M does wonders!

Answer 6

a very cheap way to help a horse gain weight is to give the corn oil. it is found at most grocery stores. give 1/2 cup in feeding morning and night. (or whenever you feed) not only does it help gain weight, but it puts a healthy shine on their coat, and will not contribute to laminitis what-so-ever. good luck!

Answer 7

beet pulp

there is also this web site!

http://www.ehow.com/how_2254993_help-hor...

Good LUCK!!

Answer 8

beet pulp senior lots of heavy mollassasey grains and things like that,

give him in all(am/pm) like 4 full cups(the big horse feed measurers)

like 3 flakes of hay at night. put him out to pasture, if you have acess to a big field with clovers, various grasses put him in there