To put some pounds on the horse quicker, give them lots of grass hay mixed with alfalfa and beet pulp. Feeding them high-fat commercial grain mixes will also help speed up their growth. Please make sure they always have plenty of water available for drinking too!
What can I give my horse to gain weight?
One of the simplest and cheapest ways to add fat to your horse’s diet is vegetable oil from the grocery store, which can be poured over his regular concentrate ration. Corn oil is palatable to most horses, but you can also use canola, peanut or any other vegetable oil your horse likes.
How long does it take for a horse to put on weight?
Weekly weight gain is very variable so in very underweight or emaciated horses it can take up to 3-10 months for them to return to their ideal weight.
What oil helps horses gain weight?
Adding vegetable oil, such as canola oil, is a useful way to boost the caloric density of your horse’s diet without significantly increasing his feed intake. Another fat source to consider is stabilized rice bran, a high-fat supplement that is often pelleted.
How do I put weight on my horse’s topline?
The feeding rate is typically 1 lb per 1,000-lb body weight per day. Replacing 1 lb daily of your regular horse feed with 1 lb of a balancer pellet will provide the required amount of essential amino acids to your horse’s diet, and you should see an improvement in topline in a few months.
How can I put weight on my skinny horse?
Make gradual changes in feed Make all feed changes gradually over a two-week period to allow enough time for the gut to adjust to the change. Feed for a weight gain of 0.5 to 0.75 pounds daily. Three to four pounds of an additional grain product can meet this gain if the horse’s body weight is stable.
What do you feed an underweight horse?
Best Feed for Underweight Horses The best feed for an underweight horse is good quality hay or pasture grass. 1 Give him free choice hay unless there is some medical reason (such as metabolic syndrome, founder (also known as laminitis) or Cushing’s disease) not to.
Why does my horse not gain weight?
There are a large number of diseases that can potentially cause weight loss in horses, but some of the most common ones are kidney and liver diseases, Cancer, Cushings, EPM, EGUS, and HYPP. Only a trained veterinarian will be able to tell you without a doubt what type of disease, if any, your horse might have.
How can I add fat to my horse’s feed?
The fat content in the diet can be increased by selecting feedstuffs in the concentrate part of the diet with a high fat content or by adding fats or oils. Feedstuffs high in fat include vegetable oils (100%), rice bran (15-18%), flax seeds (30-40%), and heat-treated soybeans (15-22%).
Can you feed a horse olive oil?
Animal fats (e.g., beef fat and lard) and coconut oil are sometimes added to commercial feeds. Olive oil is also beneficial (yes, some horses do like it!). If you have an insulin resistant horse, avoid rice bran (rice bran oil is okay in moderation) since it is too high in non-structural carbohydrates.
How do I build muscle on my horses back?
Working a horse up and down natural hills is a great way to activate the muscles in his hind end and back in a natural way without trying to maintain a balanced frame. Regular hill work of balanced gaits going both up and down will help build stamina and muscle retention.
Does beet pulp help horses gain weight?
Beet pulp can be used to help underweight horses gain weight, as it provides approximately 1,000 kcals per pound (one quart of dry beet pulp shreds weighs approximately 0.5-0.6 pounds). Soaking is recommended because beet pulp holds moisture, making it useful for adding water to the digestive system*.
How can I put weight on my horse without getting hot?
When trying to put weight on horses, adding extra hay like you’re doing is always the first and best option. In addition to the calories, or energy, gained from the fermentation of fiber in the hindgut, the stomach is healthier and the horse is happier (because he has more to chew).
4 Ways to Help Your Horse Gain Weight
One of the challenges that horse owners have during the scorching summer months is maintaining the weight of their animals. When it’s hot, some horses don’t eat as much as they normally would, and their bodies are forced to work much harder, resulting in their burning more calories than they would otherwise. If you are having difficulty maintaining your horse at a healthy weight throughout the summer (or at any other time of the year), try incorporating items like these into their daily regimen.
A calorie-dense food supplement It is possible that your horse’s basic grain and hay regimen will not be sufficient to keep him at the optimum weight.
If you want to effortlessly add more calories to your horse’s feed, try theCool Calories 100 Equine Dry Fat Supplement from Cool Calories.
Because it just takes a single scoop of powder and a shake of the feed scoop to include this type of supplement into your regimen, you’ll be up and running in no time!
- Combine the oils in a separate bowl.
- Wheat germ oil, corn oil, and soybean oil are examples of oils to seek for.
- You are not need to use all of these oils at the same time; you may purchase them separately depending on which one you like to use.
- You should seek for a product like this if you want an easier (and less messy) method to utilize all of these together.
- 3.
- Remember that it may take some trial and error to discover the correct feed for your horse, so don’t be discouraged if the first one you try doesn’t seem to be making a difference.
- Try The Safe Performance Elite High Fat Diet is a high fat and protein feed that has no fillers.
Because it is comprised of beet pulp, the Safe Performance Elite High Fat Feed is rich in content and vitamins, and it does not include any artificial fillers or stabilizers.
4.
There is one thing that all horse owners have in common: we all like spoiling our horses with tasty goodies.
Look for a reward that will not only make your horse nicker when he sees the bag, but will also be healthful for him to consume.
These natural Nutrigood FruitSnax Horse Treats are made with genuine fruit chunks and whole grain oats, and they include no artificial ingredients.
The fact that you can see the nutritious components in the additional treats helps you feel even better about giving them to your horse. If your horse’s appetite is waning due to the heat of the summer, try mixing in a couple of these delicious nibbles with their feed to get their bellies grumbling.
ENTER THIS MONTH’S GIVEAWAY WITH MANNA PRO
All of the horses in the barn receive the same quantity of feed on a daily basis, which makes feeding time much more convenient. The warmbloods are just stunning. Their coats are glossy, and their weight is satisfactory. However, the one Thoroughbred in the stable, who was a bit underweight when he came six months ago, has not gained any weight since then. In reality, his physical state has deteriorated. What could possibly be wrong with him when he is eating grain among the other horses? A veterinarian has properly checked the horse, and it appears that there is nothing wrong with him.
- May you tell me what adjustments can be made to his eating regimen in order to boost weight gain?
- It is possible that your diet will need to be higher in calories in the future due to a medical, psychological, or environmental issue.
- The metabolic rate determines whether a horse is an easy or a difficult keeper, and there can be significant variation between horses in this parameter.
- Slow metabolism can function with only a small amount of fuel energy input.
- As a rule, members of certain breeds have faster metabolisms and therefore require more food to maintain their body condition than members of other breeds do.
- Within a breed, there is also a great deal of variation.
- Temperament and metabolic rate are frequently associated with one another.
In contrast to the calm horse, the nervous horse may spend more time stall wandering or weaving, while the calm horse conserves energy reserves.
Despite the fact that energy is a general term, many horsemen associate the word energy with psychological energy.
The accumulation of protein or fat in the horse’s body might explain the weight growth.
Emaciation with weak muscle definition and projecting bones as a result of this occurs.
The most straightforward remedy to being underweight is to increase the calorie quantity of one’s diet while maintaining a sufficient protein intake.
Because each nutrient is utilized for energy in the body in a somewhat different manner, it might be helpful or disadvantageous depending on the horse in question.
It is also the most overlooked and the most safe.
Some horses can maintain their weight only on the basis of fiber sources.
This section of the plant’s fiber is made up mostly of three components: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
They enter the horse’s circulation, where they can be delivered to energy-demanding locations or tucked away as energy reserves in the form of adipose tissue or muscle glycogen, depending on their composition.
As a result, the digestibility of a feed falls as the lignin concentration of the diet increases.
Because lignin is the carbohydrate that provides the greatest amount of structural support to a plant, rigid-stalked vegetation will contain a higher concentration of lignin than limp-stalked vegetation.
The digestible fiber percentage of the hay will be higher if there is more leaf and less stem, or if the stems have not grown to the point where they are rigid and inflexible, among other factors.
The digestible fiber content of fresh green spring grass is significantly higher than that of dry summer grass.
Pasture may also be a good source of dietary fiber.
When comparing the energy content of alfalfa (lucerne) and grass hays, it is shown that alfalfa hay may give a horse with significantly more energy than grass hay of comparable quality.
Grass hay with a minimal amount of stem and an abundance of visible green grass blades might supply more energy than other types of hay.
When high-quality fiber in the form of pasture or hay is not easily accessible, or if the horse does not readily consume hay, there are alternate fiber sources that may be used to supplement the horse’s diet with fiber and energy.
Beet pulp is composed of around 80% digestible fibers (as compared to 50 percent for the average hay).
Soy hulls are the skin of the bean (not the husk or pod) that is removed prior to the extraction of oil from the bean during the oil extraction process.
If soy hulls are specified as one of the principal components in a professionally manufactured horse feed, it is likely that the feed is a rich source of highly digestible fiber.
Wheat bran is a good source of energy since it has a high concentration of digestible fiber and carbohydrates.
On the other hand, the calcium found in alfalfa hay makes wheat bran a good addition to a diet heavy in alfalfa hay, and vice versa.
Alfalfa is used in the production of both products, and it is collected at the pinnacle of digestible fiber content.
Alfalfa hay is frequently blended with timothy hay or entire maize plants to produce cubes that are lower in protein and calcium content than pure alfalfa cubes are available.
If the horse’s cecum or colon is out of balance due to an issue with the equilibrium of the bacteria, there are supplements available that can assist with fiber digestion.
Some commercial feeds already include yeast, and yeast products are available for purchase that may be added to the diet as a top-dressing.
In part because the microbial community in the hindgut can go out of balance, researchers believe that supplementing it with extra bacteria in the form of a probiotic can help to restore bacterial stability, resulting in improved forage digestion.
When a horse’s weight cannot be maintained only on hay or grass, the addition of starch in the form of grains has traditionally been the most effective technique of improving the calorie density of the diet for that horse.
It will be necessary to give fewer pounds of grain than hay to provide the same amount of energy to the horse as the previous method.
Unlike other carbohydrates, the starch molecules found in grains are complex polysaccharides that can be broken down into extremely simple sugars in the small intestine by the enzyme amylase, which is easily absorbed into the circulation.
The synthesis of amylase in the horse’s digestive tract is the limiting element in the animal’s starch digesting ability.
As a result of a lack of enough amylase in the digestive tract, a high proportion of the starch consumed by the body is passed through to the large intestine, where it ferments.
First, it is impractical.
Second, excessive fermentation of starch lowers the pH of the hindgut, reducing the effectiveness of the bacteria that digest fiber and create energy in the hindgut.
It has been demonstrated in studies that the oat starch molecule is small and easily digested by the enzyme amylase.
After being heated, the starch molecules in maize or barley are altered, making them more digestible by amylase.
Because of the heat generated during the pelleting process, the enzymatic digestion of maize is increased; extruding further enhances this improvement.
The horse benefits from grain since it is a concentrated source of energy, but there are certain risks associated with feeding an excessive quantity.
Unfortunately, there is a point at which a horse’s digestive tract becomes overwhelmed with grain, causing the delicate balance of the bacteria population to be disrupted and the horse to become lame.
No matter how much grain you feed the horse, the horse will almost certainly lose weight.
So in order to keep the microbiome in a decent state of equilibrium, an average 1000-pound (450-kilogram) horse need at least 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of hay every day (or more).
The hazard of overfeeding starch arises from the fact that certain horses are sensitive to starch overload, which may be exacerbated by poor amylase production or big meals of unprocessed grains.
Bacteria ferment the starch in the grain, resulting in the fermentation of the grain.
The bacteria are killed by the acidic environment.
The laminitis trigger factors, which are released into the bloodstream, can potentially cause laminitis to develop.
For horses on high-grain diets or those requiring weight growth, Kentucky Equine Research has developed EquiShure, a hindgut buffer that prevents acid buildup in the large intestine and helps to preserve normal digestive function.
Despite the fact that no definite study has been conducted on the benefits of include enzymes in one’s diet, the idea behind it is well-founded.
Although there are a few feeds and supplements on the market that contain enzymes, the effectiveness of these products is still up in the air.
As a result of being exposed to such conditions, the enzymes become inactive.
To determine the effectiveness of supplemental enzymes in the diet, additional research is required.
The function of chromium is not so much about assisting digestion as it is about the way the body deals with the spike in blood glucose that occurs as a result of starch digestion and the following rise in insulin.
Fat It is almost impossible to feed a performance horse without including some type of fat in their diet, whether it is a slug of corn oil, a scoop of rice bran, a handful of linseed, or a commercial high fat feed.
Recent study, on the other hand, has shown an even more compelling reason to give fat: it is a fantastic source of energy for animals.
Besides being a highly concentrated energy source, fat has various other advantages.
Energy from fat does not cause a horse to become flighty in the same way that energy from grain does, and horses on high-fat diets have more endurance.
When it comes to fats (oils), there are significant distinctions between vegetable fats and animal fats.
Oils are much more appealing to horses, despite the fact that many commercial animal fats have flavorings added to improve the taste.
The second barrier to overcome is digestion.
When only a little amount of animal fat is consumed, the difference in digestibility is negligible; however, when greater amounts are consumed, the fraction of indigestible fat can begin to disrupt the delicate balance of microorganisms in the hindgut.
The feeding of horses on animal fat for an extended period of time is a third challenge.
Rice bran, linseed, sunflower seeds, full-fat soybeans, and coconut meal are some of the other common sources of fat (copra meal).
In contrast, unless it is stabilized by extrusion, rice bran will quickly grow rancid, and unstabilized goods should not be given to livestock.
Linseed, sunflower seeds, and other seeds can also be used to provide fat in the diet; however, when large quantities of seeds are fed, a significant problem arises.
Roasted soybeans are equally delicious in modest amounts, but if served in big quantities, they would significantly boost the protein content of the diet.
The majority of the time, horses have no problems digesting fat if it is introduced slowly into their diet over time.
Providing dietary fat in combination with grain and/or highly digestible fiber sources such as beet pulp yields the greatest results (not neglecting good quality hay or pasture).
Conclusion Some horses are metabolically predisposed to being difficult keepers, whereas others have medical, psychological, or environmental factors contributing to their inability to maintain their weight.
On the hard keeper, manipulation of the amount and type of energy sources will frequently result in the achievement of the perfect body condition. Do you have a question about how to properly feed your horse? For a free ration analysis, please contact our advising team.
Caring for the underweight horse
The sight of a healthy horse that is excessively thin is uncommon, as tiny horses are more susceptible to health issues than overweight horses. Working with an equine veterinarian and a nutritionist, discover the cause of the horse’s thinness before developing a feeding and management plan for the animal.
Determining if your horse is underweight
Body condition score and optimum body weight formulae are the two most often used methods of determining your horse’s overall health and weight, respectively. There are six categories to consider when determining your physical condition score.
Body condition score
Body condition score (BCS) is a method of evaluating the amount of fat under the horse’s skin in six different places.
- It is worn around the neck and withers, and around the back. The rib cage
- The tail head
• Neck and withers; behind the shoulder blades; along the backbone; Area between the ribs and the tail head
Learn how to figure out your horse’s body condition score
In collaboration with the University of Minnesota, optimum body weight calculations were established to assist you in determining your horse’s optimal body weight depending on his or her total frame size. You’ll need the following measures to figure out what your horse’s optimal body weight should be:
- Height measured from the withers to the ground
- The length of the body measured from the point of the shoulder to a line drawn perpendicular to the point of the buttocks is the body length. It is not necessary to wrap the tape measure around the buttocks.
Calculating ideal weight for different horse breeds
Because of the horse’s digestive tract, forages are an excellent source of energy. As a result, if at all feasible, you should reduce or avoid feeding significant amounts of grain. If your horse is underweight without any underlying health concerns and simply requires more calories, you can correct the situation by doing the following:
- Providing access to pasture or hay (or as much fodder as feasible) on a 24-hour basis
- In the event that larger amounts of hay aren’t adequate, consider feeding better-quality hay, such as alfalfa or an immature grass hay.
- Alfalfa has a tendency to be higher in calories and protein while being lower in sugar than other grains. Alfalfa can be given as hay or as cubes/pellets, depending on the variety.
- If you aren’t already giving grain, consider adding a grain product designed for working or performance horses to your diet.
- These grains will have greater concentrations of protein and fat, which will contribute in the accumulation of body fat.
- In the event that you are currently giving grain, consider switching to a performance feed product that has 10 to 12 percent fat instead of providing extra grain.
- Certain horses experience temperament changes when they consume significant amounts of starch or carbs
- However, adding fat to a ration can help alleviate these symptoms in some horses.
- If you are unable to modify the grain product, consider adding a high-fat supplement to your horse’s usual feed, such as the following:
- Rice bran, flax seed, vegetable oil, and dried granular fats are all good sources of fiber.
You may get more information about feeding horses to gain weight by visiting the Purina nutrition website.
Make gradual changes in feed
Make any feed adjustments gradually over a two-week period to provide the intestines adequate time to acclimate to the new diet regimen. Feed in order to achieve a daily weight growth of 0.5 to 0.75 pounds. If the horse’s body weight remains consistent, three to four pounds of extra grain product can be used to achieve this increase. As a general guideline, the table below should be used. Horses require around three weeks to become acclimated to a high fat diet. When you introduce a high-fat diet too rapidly, you may get oily stools or diarrhea.
Other reasons your horse might be underweight
Unhealthy eating habits are frequently caused by medical conditions. Consult with a veterinarian or an equine nutritionist to determine the specific reason, which may involve one or more of the following:| Many elderly horses have damaged or missing teeth, which makes it difficult for them to chew grass. In addition, as horses get older, their digestive systems alter in structure and function. These modifications make it more difficult for them to digest and absorb nutrients from their diet, particularly hay.
Feeds in their entirety:
- 100% of a horse’s daily fiber requirements are met by this product. Are fed in greater quantities than conventional grain products
- Are great for horses that have lost their ability to chew hay properly.
Older horses may also require more time to eat and drink, as well as times of rest in between meals, than younger horses.
It may be necessary to segregate elderly horses from the rest of the herd in order to ensure that they are getting enough food and water. A veterinarian should also examine your older horse twice a year to look for and cure any dental abnormalities that might be interfering with chewing.
Pecking order
Horses at the bottom of the pecking order may not have appropriate access to hay, other feed items, and clean water sources. If you are unable to separate the horse from the rest of the herd for meals, consider utilizing a feed bag that connects to the horse’s halter. If they are given a feed bag, they will have more time to consume their food without being driven away from it.
Poor water intake
If a horse’s water consumption is lower than usual, it is likely that their feed intake will be reduced as well. Provide horses with fresh, clean water that is between 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit to encourage them to drink. Water sources should be placed close to the horse since horses have a limit on how far they are prepared to walk for water. In a moderate environment, the average adult idle horse will use around 10 gallons of water per day when standing idle.
Unwanted behaviors
Stall walking, weaving, cribbing, and fence pacing are all examples of activities that burn calories. Attempting to address these undesirable behaviors or providing hay in a hay net may cause the horse to get distracted and stop practicing the undesirable behavior.
Insects and pests
Horses may not obtain enough grazing or feeding time during the summer months owing to the presence of irritating insects. Insecticides and protective sheets will be used to assist reduce the impact of these pests on the environment.
Hot weather
It is common for feed intake to drop when the temperature and humidity of the air rise. The digestion of fiber in hay and pastures generates heat in the body. Because forages have more fiber than grains, they generate more heat than grains do. In response, it is normal for horses to consume less grass during periods of high temperatures. Providing hay during the colder periods of the day might be beneficial. If an underweight horse refuses to eat hay during hot weather, you may need to supplement his diet with grain products to satisfy his caloric demands.
Cold weather
In order to remain warm, horses require extra feed in the winter. Horses may also require additional food during very harsh winters. Below a certain temperature, a horse need greater energy to remain warm, which is known as the lower critical temperature (LCT). All horses have an LCT threshold, which is around 18 degrees Fahrenheit. This threshold might vary from horse to horse depending on the climate that the horse is accustomed to. For every 1 degree Fahrenheit decrease below the LCT, a horse requires a 1% increase in energy, which equates to around two pounds of hay.
Whenever feasible, additional calories should be supplied initially by providing more hay to the animals.
As a result, forages will assist in the regulation of body temperature and weight.
Maintain the moisture level of your horse’s blanket and hair coat. Because of the presence of wind, wet horses will have difficulty maintaining their body temperature and may even lose weight. There are a number of things that can help to mitigate these effects, including:
- Windbreaks
- sShelters
- sBlankets
- If there is little or no shelter available in northern regions during the late fall, a physical condition score of 6 to 7 is recommended.
Occasionally, horses may be underweight as a result of more significant health issues. This group of horses should be seen by a veterinarian, farrier, or equine dentist, depending on the nature of their health problem. These are some of the health issues that might arise in a horse that is underweight:
- Diabetes (PPID or Equine Cushing’s disease)
- Infectious illnesses
- Metabolic disorders
- Stomach ulcers
- Parasites
- Laminitis or foundering
- Problems with the teeth
- Problems with the digestive tract
- Pain that lasts a long time
Body condition, health difficulties, and injuries should be checked on a weekly basis on your horse. In 2020, the situation will be reviewed.
Hard Keepers Made Easy: Horse Weight Gain for Beginners
Some horses have a more difficult time maintaining their weight than others. If your horse falls into this category, there are a number of things you may do to help him out of his predicament, including: To begin, set a benchmark for your horse’s performance. Analyze the present feeding and exercise schedule and determine what is within your power to influence. Identify the underlying causes and attempt to achieve a healthy balance between the horse’s food and their exercise. Horses lose weight when the amount of calories they burn exceeds the amount of calories they intake.
It is possible that the horse will require more fodder, such as hay, a change in grain, or a supplement meant to aid in weight gain in order to gain weight.
Why Do Horses Lose Weight
Certain horses have a quicker metabolism than others, just like some people do, depending on their breed. In the equine business, we have two names to describe either end of the spectrum: “easy keeper” and “hard keeper.” These terms are used to describe horses who are easy to maintain and horses that are difficult to retain. The easy keeper appears to acquire weight just by staring at a bag of feed. It might be difficult to ensure that this horse has appropriate feed while also avoiding him from becoming overweight.
A difficult goalie is the polar opposite of an easy keeper.
After getting his diet in order by the end of summer, you may be disappointed to discover that he has lost weight throughout the winter.
Even with just two feedings each day, it might be difficult to securely provide adequate nutrition to the horse.
Too Little or the Wrong Food
The practice of feeding by volume rather than weight is a typical blunder. For example, if you switch brands of feed but do not weigh the new feed, it is possible that you are under or overfeeding your animals. Because the density of the feed might alter, feeding with a single scoop isn’t always the optimal strategy. Similarly, the quality of hay might vary from one cutting to the next.
The same horse that was previously able to get by with only two flakes of hay twice per day may now require three flakes twice per day in order to fulfill their nutritional requirements if their hay source changes to something less nutritious. Image courtesy of Canva
Too Much Exercise
Extreme changes in physical activity without corresponding adjustments in food might result in weight loss. A horse that has been taken out of pasture and placed into training will require more calories to keep up with his workload. In order for a horse to go from a moderate activity regimen to a severe workload, he or she will require more nutrition. Making incremental, steady changes is always more manageable when done in a proactive manner.
Illness or Injury
In most cases, sickness or injury will result in weight gain rather than weight reduction. When a horse’s workload varies, it is always a good idea to take into consideration the influence on the amount of calories required.
Underweight Horse Problems
Weight loss is a sign of a medical problem, not a cause of it. When dealing with an issue, it is critical to try to identify and treat the underlying cause. Dental problems, parasites, and digestive tract abnormalities are all common causes of constipation.
How to Tell if Your Horse is Underweight
Equine body condition score systems are used to assess the health of the horses. This will be represented by a number between 1 and 9: a horse scoring a “1” is exceedingly thin, whilst a horse scoring a “9” is enormously obese. A 4 or a 6 should be the ideal rating for your horse, which will vary based on the breed, kind and discipline.
Getting a Baseline and Setting Goals
It is critical to understand where you are starting from and to create realistic objectives for yourself in order to make progress. For starters, determine what the baseline physical condition score of your horse is. After you’ve documented the baseline, you’ll need to measure your horse using a weight tape. This will serve as an objective method of documenting your horse’s development. It might also be beneficial to capture shots from the same place and perspective over time in order to see your horse’s improvement objectively over time.
How do you weigh a horse?
The quickest and most accurate method to weigh a horse is with a livestock-sized scale, but most of us do not have frequent access to one. Instead, we may approximate weight by utilizing a weight tape to get a rough estimate. You will use the tape measure to measure your horse in a number of locations, and then you will use the results to compute their weight. It turns out to be pretty accurate! Amazon has a weight tape that you can get by clicking here.
How long does it take for a horse to gain weight
Always make small adjustments to the horse’s nutrition at a time. Having said that, if everything is done correctly, you may be able to notice results in as little as 1-2 weeks.
The Basics: How to get my horse to gain weight
The most effective method of causing your horse to gain weight is to increase or modify the horse’s feed consumption. While exercise is beneficial for horses, it should not be overdone in some instances. The majority of the time, the most effective strategy to handle weight gain is with a food plan.
Change What or How You Feed
If you have a hard keeper, it might be difficult to securely feed them enough food at the two feedings each day that they require. If boarding your horse is the only option available to you, try coming out to the barn at a “off” time and bringing a third meal for your horse. This may entail providing your horse with a “lunch,” or if they are served supper at a reasonable hour, bringing them out later in the evening for a “bedtime snack.” During the winter months, I used to feed my Appendix quarter horse a hot alfalfa mash after my nightly rides to help him gain weight and gain calories.
What to feed an underweight horse
Adding alfalfa hay to the horse’s diet can be a safe and effective strategy to increase the amount of calories and protein in the horse’s diet. You may also increase the amount of grain provided; however, make sure to follow the feeding directions for the specific feed you are using. In the event that you have reached the maximum daily grain suggestion specified on the feed tag, try adding a topdress supplement for weight increase or switching to a grain with a larger calorie and fat content.
Adding a high-protein topdress meal will help to address the issue of bony withers and a lack of proper muscling on the topline of your body.
Using a high-fat supplement will be the greatest solution for your horse if he is thin all over or has ribs showing.
Nutrena’s Empower Boost would be the finest feed supplement for this particular horse.
Use of horse weight gain supplements
A wide variety of weight-gaining supplements are available on the market nowadays. The majority of them are intended to be applied on top of the grain ration. Before choosing a supplement, be certain that your horse is receiving the recommended quantity of hay and grain. Expensive dietary supplements are the rule rather than the exception. If you do decide to take a supplement, SmartGain by SmartPak is a good choice because it is particularly made for weight gain.
Change Your Exercise Routine
While it is possible that a horse is losing weight too rapidly, or is very underweight, it may be better to refrain from engaging in any strenuous activity until the situation can be stabilized.
Address Underlying Health Issues
If you have abrupt or unexpected weight loss, always visit your veterinarian. Internal parasites or a more serious health problem can be ruled out with the aid of your veterinarian.
The Extremes: Putting weight on a starved horse
It is very different to feed a starving horse, and this should be done by an equestrian specialist under the guidance of a veterinarian in this situation. You may learn about ways to aid horses in need from the perspective of a veterinarian. Smaller, more frequent feeds throughout the day will be required for the very underweight horse in order to enhance weight gain without overburdening the digestive system. The good news is that Even horses who are critically emaciated may be brought back to health with the correct care and consideration.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is possible for horses to gain weight fast when fed a high fat, high protein grain mixed with a high-quality hay, assuming that there is no underlying medical issue.
Can you ride an underweight horse?
Yes, it is possible to ride a horse that is underweight; however, consult your veterinarian before doing so, keep sessions short, and ensure that your nutrition is balanced to match your activities.
Consult with a trainer or equestrian specialist for advice on tack; it is critical to ensure that the saddle is properly fitted. It is possible that some more cushioning will be necessary until the horse fills out.
Is it normal for old horses to be skinny?
There are a variety of factors that might contribute to an elderly horse’s loss of weight. Basically, as horses age, their teeth begin to wear down and finally fall out. This is one of the primary causes of lameness in horses. As a result of this, it is possible that the typical hay-based diet is no longer acceptable. There are many equinesenior feeds available that have a high enough fiber content to be offered as the only ration.
How do you safely put weight on an older horse?
First and foremost, visit your veterinarian. The prevalence of equine oral disorders increases as the horse ages. It is critical to identify and understand any underlying concerns before developing a diet that is right for you. A specifically prepared equine senior feed, or even a high-performance feed that is extremely rich in fat, may be the greatest option for weight gain in your senior horse. An equine nutritionist may be a useful supplementary source of information for determining the best appropriate diet for an individual horse or horse group of horses.
What is the best oil to feed horses for weight gain?
Adding oil to your horse’s meal can be a cost-effective approach to increase the number of calories in his diet. Keep in mind, however, that not all essential oils are made equal. Canola or soybean oil are preferable to maize oil in terms of health benefits. Make careful to introduce dietary changes gradually, giving the digestive system enough time to acclimatize. Canola oil in bulk may be purchased on Amazon. As a general guideline, feed no more than 100 mL of oil per 100 kg of body weight (yes, some metric arithmetic is required for those of us who live in the United States of America).
Parting Thoughts
The optimal feeding plan for a hard-keeper might be difficult to determine, but understanding the fundamentals is a smart place to begin your research. Consult with your veterinarian to be sure there are no underlying medical concerns. Remember to introduce any modifications to your horse’s feeding regimen gradually to allow him to become acclimated to the new routine. Many excellent solutions are available that are specifically designed to feed the hard keeper; in most cases, you should be able to handle the issue and see benefits in as little as a few weeks after starting.
Did you find this article interesting?
- The Biggest Loser: A Beginner’s Guide to Horse Weight Loss
- Tips and Tricks: How to Assist Senior Horses in Putting on Weight
- How to Weigh a Horse (An Easy Step-by-Step Guide)
- How to Weigh a Horse What is the average weight of a horse? (Fun facts, calculator, and frequently asked questions)
- 7 of the World’s Largest and Burliest Horse Breeds
- Reasons why (good) horseshoes do not cause injury to horses
- What Horses Eat (And Why They Eat It)
- What Horses Eat (And Why They Eat It)
- Improve the Quality of Your Ride: There are six tall horse breeds.
Sources/References:
The condition of a horse’s physique, his weight, and the growth of his muscles are all important markers of his health. It’s possible that if you can see your horse’s ribs and his topline (the muscles that support the spine, neck, and hindquarters) isn’t as attractive as you’d want it, he needs to gain weight or muscle. The difference between increasing weight and building muscle, however, is unclear. How can you determine which nutrients your horse need, or whether he is low in both? And, last, how may nutritional modifications assist your horse in gaining weight?
Dietary Energy 101
It’s critical to understand dietary energy and how it connects to a horse’s food sources in order to properly care for your horse. Calories, which are measured in kilocalories, are the basic unit of energy measurement. When it comes to horses, whose daily energy requirements are in the thousands of kilocalories, energy requirements are represented in mega calories (Mcal). Although there are many other forms of energy, the ones we’ll discuss here are digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), and net energy (NE).
- This is the amount of energy mentioned on feed labels, and it is the amount of energy that nutritionists refer to the most.
- For this reason, DE levels of feedstuffs are regarded estimations since calculations within the horse nutrition business are inconsistent.
- GE fats are the most calorically rich feed available, providing 9.4 kcal/gram of GE fats (the heat produced when a feed is completely oxidized, or burned).
- In forages, carbohydrate (fiber, starches, and sugars) are the primary constituents (components).
- Protein, according to Russell Mueller, MS, PAS, a member of the Equine Research and Innovation Team at Cargill Animal Nutrition in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the least efficient source of energy.
- Consider how a veterinarian or nutritionist would advise you to increase the weight, muscle, or both of a horse’s body weight and muscle mass.
Clair Thunes, PhD, an independent equine nutritionist and proprietor of Summit Equine Nutrition in Gilbert, Arizona, believes that you cannot gain muscle mass until you consume enough calories to do so.
Evaluating the Horse
Lauter, the first step is to analyze the horse and determine where he falls on the Henneke body condition score (BCS) chart, which may be found here. In an ideal situation, the horse’s score should be between 4 and 6, indicating that you can feel but not see his ribs. His withers, neck, and shoulders should be rounded, and a layer of fat should be present between his withers and the top of his shoulders. There is a wrinkle running down the back of the horse, although it is not prominent. The backbone, tailhead, and hip bones all have a layer of fat covering on them as well.
Angularity of the horse’s topline (including the withers, back, loins, top of the hips, and croup area), as well as sunkenness around the neck, indicate that he needs to gain muscle.
Changing the amount of protein and amino acids in one’s diet can be beneficial.
Adding Calories for More Fat Cover
Each horse requires a minimum of DE every day in order to maintain its health (to stay the same weight). Different degrees of exercise increase the amount of DE required daily. Despite the fact that many horse owners simply visit their veterinarians or nutritionists about their horses’ nutritional needs, these numbers may be found in the National Research Council’s (NRC) 2007Nutrient Requirements of Horses report, published in 2007. These professionals may assess the nutrients that each horse is consuming as part of his basic diet in order to determine if the diet is acceptable or whether it needs to be adjusted.
This, however, changes depending on the grain composition and the energy sources used to produce it.
If your horse has to gain 20 kilos in order to go up the scale, he will need to consume around 400 Mcals in excess of his maintenance requirements.
- An additional 5 pounds of grass hay might be fed to the horse each day, which would offer around 4-4.5 Mcals each day. In order for the horse to climb up one BCS level, it would take around 100 days. You may offer the horse a minimum portion of a higher calorie diet, such as a senior or performance feed, during this time (about 6 pounds is a common minimum daily serving, says Thunes). Then, because the horse consumes around 9 Mcals per day more (the amount consumed may vary depending on the specific feed composition), it may only take 45 days to progress up one BCS level.
The National Research Council (NRC) has developed a table (see below) that illustrates how long it takes a horse to progress from a Henneke score of 4 to a Henneke score of 5, dependent on how much additional DE he consumes over and beyond maintenance.
Estimated increase in digestible energy (DE) intake necessaryto change the condition score of a 500-kg (1,100-lb) horse from 4 to 5
| Time Period to Accomplish Gain | DE Above Maintenance (Mcal/d) | Percent Increase in DE Above Maintenance |
| 60 days | 5.3-6.7 | 32-41% |
| 90 days | 3.6-4.4 | 22-27% |
| 120 days | 2.7-3.3 | 16-21% |
| 150 days | 2.1-2.7 | 13-16% |
| 180 days | 1.8-2.2 | 11-14% |
Hypotheses: 1 unit change in condition score requires 16-20 kg of gain, and 1 kilogram gain requires 20 Mcal DE above maintenance to achieve 1 unit change in condition score.
Forage Comes First
Whenever possible, Thunes begins with forage as the first ingredient in the diet, as this is the most effective method of gaining weight. Alfalfa delivers more calories per pound of weight than grass hay, according to her, therefore owners can switch up to 25% of their hay to alfalfa. “If this does not work, diets including fiber sources such as beet pulp and soybean hulls are an excellent alternative since they include the same amount of fiber but contain more calories,” she explains. Mueller has discovered that owners are more inclined to modify their feed or supplements than they are to change their forage, simply because of availability and/or growth circumstances, according to Mueller.
Owners in areas where bermuda hay is common may want to consider switching to a cool-season grass hay (such as orchardgrass or bromegrass), which provides more calories per pound of hay, according to Mueller.
Add Fat and Carbohydrates Next
If you are unable to accomplish weight increase with pasture or hay and other fiber sources alone, Thunes advises including something more calorically rich into the diet or swapping part of the forage with a new feed to supplement the calories. As she explains, “concentrate feeds that include a greater concentration of fermentable fiber, fat, and/or starch are likely to be more calorically rich than the majority of hay.” Muller constantly inquires as to the temperament of their horses, since calories from a starch source might excite a horse, which may not be appropriate for an already-excited animal.
- Instead of grain, Mueller feeds his horses a fat source such as oil, which makes them more agitated.
- Flaxseed and soy oil are both good sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
- It is possible that a horse will reach his maximal intake threshold with liquid fat when supplementing with fat if he does not like to consume a large amount of fluid in his diet.
- Aside from that, he could recommend a combination of fat and carbohydrate calories, because pure fat-based calories are rather expensive.
Developing Muscle
Mueller explains that while muscular growth occurs throughout the horse’s body, it is easier to identify and evaluate it using the horse’s topline. Topline assessment system is used to assess the muscular growth of a horse, with muscle quality being graded along the topline and assigned a letter grade ranging from A to D. He claims that this technique may be used in conjunction with the Henneke bodily condition score system. You must first determine your horse’s current dietary protein levels and sources before increasing or modifying his or her protein intake or protein sources.
In fact, he considers alfalfa to be one of his protein levers.
Horses have varying needs for crude protein.
Performance horses are frequently given a food containing 14 percent crude protein, although halter horses may receive as much as 16 percent crude protein.
When selecting a protein source, the amino acid profile is critical, according to Mueller, since amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
There are thousands of amino acids found in nature, but only around 20 of them are beneficial to horses’ diets.
“Your protein quality is determined by the ratio of these amino acids to the amount of those amino acids,” Mueller explains.
Does your horse’s muscular growth benefit from enough, and in the proper levels, of certain amino acids that are shown to promote the best muscle development?
Horses cannot produce enough protein if they do not ingest enough of the essential amino acid, limiting amino acid.
If the horse runs out of limiting amino acids, he will be unable to make use of the other amino acids that he has taken in throughout the course of the race.
The National Research Council recommends 27 grams of lysine per day for a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) adult horse at maintenance, however the dosage varies depending on the horse’s age and usage.
According to Mueller, soybean meal and other seed meals are excellent sources of lysine and may be found in a variety of feed component lists.
Mueller may prescribe a dietration balancer containing a high protein content or refined amino acid supplements for some horses.
He claims that the problem with supplements is that there isn’t enough study to support them, and that most of the material he has obtained has come from field observations.
Take-Home Message
When a horse need additional bulk, whether in fat or muscle, or both, it is critical that you make the required dietary modifications to ensure that the horse receives the nutrients he requires. When in doubt, consult with an equine nutritionist or your veterinarian for assistance in navigating these transitions. This can assist to reduce costly and unsatisfying blind guesses and trial and error methods of learning. Cookies are used on this website to enhance your browsing experience. If you continue to use the site, we will assume that you are in agreement with this policy.