Cross Breeds - how do i get my mare to gain weight-tried just about everything?

how do i get my mare to gain weight-tried just about everything?

I have a 24 year old appendix retired race horse-one of 12 at my farm, and she is just skinny. I have tried yeast pellets, molasses, weight builder (big waste of money), oil, vitamins and minerals, beet pulp, and floating her teeth. Vet says shes healthy so does the farrier. She is not at the bottom of the pecking order either. I grain daily and even tried making a mash, which I find she don't like eating as much as the regular grain. Teeth checked few months ago and they were good, vet said in the spring she will need to be rechecked. They are on grass daily and now it is getting colder, they have been hayed daily 6-8 bales per day of mixed timothy/clover. wormed regularly and wormed gain today (and I change the wormers too). They have enough mineral blocks with selenium to lick on. We don't exercise her regularly and she isn't being chased by the other horses. So what am I doing wrong? And please don't tell me to put her down. She isn't ready for that, she still has a gleam in her eyes and does not appear sick.

Public Comments

hay ! lol. that was cheezy. litterally hay keeps the weight on horses very easily. idk if u already tried it. hope i helped
have you tried omolene yet? http://horse.purinamills.com/products/Omolene_100.asp
check for sand. put some manure (no dirt on it) in a clear ziplock bag and hang it on a hook. after a few hours, look to see if there is some sand at the bottom. or you could try sand clear 2 cups daily for 7 days (its about 2x the recommended dose, but don't worry it won't hurt her). Note- horses with sand aren't always passing it. Have your vet check a manure sample for parasite eggs. some of the common horse intestinal parasites are becoming resistant to the dewormers we use. If sand/worms/teeth/herd aren't the problem - change her diet. Purina Equine Senior is more easily digestible for older horses compared to hay and grains. Try feeding her at least 1/2 of her caloric needs with the Eq Sr. I'm not a huge fan of blankets, but they can help senior thin horses like her. Her age and breed makes her the hardest type of horse to keep weight on... Good luck!
theres a supplement called envision you can get at feed stores. it comes in a big purple feed bag. the stuff is awesome. it put weight on my mare pretty quick and the best thing about it is it doesn't make them hot, which was good for me since it was for a 6 year old thoroughbred mare at the time. call the feed stores about it first because some don't carry it so then you don't waste a trip to the store.
Try rice bran. It has the highest fat content of any of those basic feeds. It has 1/3 more calories per weight than beet pulp. It can also be fed in bulk without worry of colic. Senior is also good as it is highly digestible and designed for older horses. Personally, I would mix the two. I have an older horse that is a hard keeper and I put her on 3 pounds of rice bran and 3 pounds of senior a day (all at once). If she is on a weight gaining regimen, I will give her another pound or 2 of each at a separate feeding. Rice bran often comes in a loose, flaky form that you have to soak, but some companies make it in pelleted form. You don't have to soak the pellets (unless you want to), your horse can eat them just like any other grain. Nutrena makes one called Empower, which is pretty easy to find in most places. Some of these answers scare me. People need to do a little more research on nutrition.
grain and alfalfa hay really keeps weight on. Mash is really good for weight but sometime it can take a while.
have you tried boiled barley??
Is she getting her grain ration separate from the other horses? You say she's not at the bottom of the pecking order, but if she's in a group feeding situation, she may not be able to eat as fast as the other horses, and while she's not being chased away, they're consuming more of the feed faster. Aged TBs and TBXs can be a bit harder than some other horses (as in porker TWHs....) to keep weight on, but it can be done. Like another poster said, I'm a fan of rice bran too, and I've had good luck adding that to the feed ration to put weight on. Another thing would be to check the grain you're using....it's not AllStock, or Sams Club or some such other, is it? I'd make sure that the grain you're using is a high quality feed with a fat content of at least 6-7%. At her age, is she getting a senior feed? I know that Purina Equine Senior is formulated to be more easily digestible for the sometimes compromised digestive systems of aged horses. If it were me, judging by what you have done, I'd make a point to separate her out to make sure she's getting her fair share.
its common for a horse of your age to be long in the tooth no pun intended, and she maybe having trouble chewing her food, so you need to get an equine dentist to come and file her teeth, it is not exspensive, and doesn't hurt the horse
have u tried alfalfa or it could just be your feeding ...every horse has different needs
Possibly sand colic or possibly nothing will ever fatten her,if as a young horse she was fed a diet high in concentrates her stomach never developed properly,I have seen this amongst some thoroughbreds here.
Giver here a mix of this: Purina Seinor Feed, Beat Pulp, Trimax (wet trimax), corn, flax seed, and sweetfeed (grain) This is what I use for my horse and it works amazingly. He has gained alot of weight and is coming up to normal weight again! Hope this helps and good luck!
alfalfa pellets. give those to your horse and surely she will gain weight. just add it to her grain. also maybe when it is cold you could blanket her. they sometimes lose weight when they are cold. you can blanket in the pasture, i do it all the time. hope i helped!!!!