Cross Breeds

what is a good supplement for my under weigh horse?

I just got this 16 year old retired race horse, and he is about 300 lbs under weight..I am worried about him colicing on me. what is a good diet for him? Right now im feeding him all the hay(alfalfa/grass) he can have and also Sienior feed, beet pulp, rice bran, and cool calories!

Public Comments

1. Well give him grain 3 times aday. LOTS OF WATER. Dont forget to soak the beet pulp the nite before you give it to him. IF u have any other qs e-mail me at puppygirl300@yahoo.com
2. Sound like SamT has your answers and is willing to help you.
3. I would add some type of fat supplement such as corn oil. This adds calories without increasing grain so you have less chance of complications. The other products you are feeding are definately on the right track.
4. I would put him onto a conditioning feed as these are designed for weight gain and provide lots of extra calories without to much 'heating'. Personally I would replace all the hard feed with a conditioning feed. As much forage as he will eat and you can also add oil, linseed, vegetable etc, into his diet. You can feed a lot, up to a litre a day, but if you feed that much build it up slowly. It would also be worth putting him on a pre and pro-biotic suppliment to help him adjust to the new diet and reduce the risk of colic. Make sure you make any changes in the diet slowly. The other thing you need to do is have an equine dental technician have a look at his teeth as if they need rasped then that can cause weight lose because they can't eat properly. Also make sure he is adequetly rugged so he isn't wasting energy on try to stay warm. One of the fastest ways to get a horse to loose weight is to leave them slightly cold. Don't expect him to put weight on overnight but you should see a steady weight gain. Good luck.