What is the fastest way to put weight on a horse?

Question

What is the fastest way to put weight on a horse?

Answer 1

You shudnt try and do it fast, unless naturally. Lush grass can cause a horse to gain weight, but u HAVE (i repeat, HAVE) to discuss it with a vet. To prevent ur horse from illnesses, even fatal ones, chat to ur vet about how to help ur horse gain weight, and how much lush grass he can have , given the amount of work he is doing. Remember, dont just increase food or do sumthing like tht urself, bcuz ur aim is not to make him gain fat-weight, but rather weight in a healthy way.

Hope this helps, and if so, i wudnt mind a best answer and ten points! hehe, no pressure :)

Answer 2

Fast isn't really healthy...  everything should be done in moderation.  I've found that alfalfa puts weight on pretty quickly and so do soybeans.  Corn will put weight on but it substantially affects the horse's energy... like a lot more than the other feeds...  don't feed corn unless you're prepared to have a very hyper horse on your hands...  a little won't make a huge effect... you can feed corn, just be cautious.

Like I said though...  horses don't like huge diet changes...  be careful when increasing or decreasing the amount you feed.  You don't want the horse to colic or founder.

Answer 3

Get a lot of people with a lot of heavy stuff and stack it on the horses back really fast.

Answer 4

just increase there feed but slowly if u do it too fast they will colic.

Answer 5

try beet pulp we have started ours on this and have already gained back some weight for winter (its been about 3 weeks)

Answer 6

I agree with the not too fast theory.  I used to look after horses that had been poorly treated and the best way I found was just lots of attention, lots of excersize and a good feed of lucerne and grass hay every day :o)

Answer 7

Horses are grazers, so the primary source of nutrition, should come from forage. (grasses, and/or high quality, clean hay) Everyone has preferences for the type of hay, such as alfalfa, bermuda, orchard, etc., just make sure it's clean, dust and mold free, and make sure your horse will eat it! Some horses don't like certain hays, and won't touch them. Rather than going to high fat items, such as oils, or certain feeds, with added fats, try using good nutrition, instead. Fat equates to fake nutrition, since it adds weight, without any real nutritional value. (A horse's daily requirement of fat, is less than 5%.)

There is a simple formula, for calculating how much to feed a horse, and it will work if you want one to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain it's weight, and it's based on feeding to a "goal body weight", or the weight you want the horse to weigh.

Based on a horse's workload, and it's general ability to maintain weight, a horse should be fed between 1 1/2% and 2 1/2% of it's goal body weight, in feedstuffs. (grass, hay, and grain/concentrates) It's best to start with 2% of it's goal weight, and you can re-evaluate the effectiveness, after 21 days, and make adjustments, if needed.

If you don't have access to a livestock scale, use a weight tape, they are accurate, within 10 to 15 pounds, and keep a record of the horse's weight, for reference.

Example: thin horse, who currently weighs 850 pounds, who should weigh 1000 pounds. This horse will be fed a total of 2%, or 20 pounds of feedstuffs, every 24 hours, for the first 21 days. If you feel a need to use grain, feed a minimal amount, of 2 pounds, 2 times per day, of the best quality feed. I prefer pelleted feed, it digests better than whole grains. Feed 8 pounds, of clean, high quality hay, 2 times per day.

At the 21 day mark, evaluate how the horse is doing, and make any adjustments, up or down, as needed. Slow gain, is healthy gain, and avoids health problems, such as founder and colic.