what to feed horse that's underweight

Full Answer

Is there a guide to feeding an underweight horse?

If you have done this, or you understand the weight loss, this guide to feeding an underweight horse will provide some useful ideas and practical solutions. This guide looks at how horses evolved to eat, and the problems with many horse diets today.

What should I Feed my horse to gain weight?

If you aren’t feeding any grain, try adding a grain product meant for working or performance horses. These grains will contain higher levels of protein and fat that will aid in body weight gain.

How to put weight on a horse?

In many cases, the reason a horse is underweight is that it is just not eating adequate calories. So, to put weight on a horse, first you need to determine how much the horse currently weighs and how much weight it needs to gain. An easy way to determine the horse’s body weight is to use a weight tape.

What is the best horse feed for senior horses?

In these situations, the optimal choice is Purina ® Equine Senior ® horse feed. Equine Senior ® was designed to contain enough roughage to be fed with minimal or no hay, so that the geriatric horse will receive sufficient nutrients to meet its requirements even without an additional forage source.

What feed helps a horse gain weight?

Adding highly digestible fibre sources such as sugar beet is beneficial for promoting weight gain in horses. Dengie Alfa-Beet is an ideal feed for underweight horses as it combines alfalfa with unmolassed sugar beet. Studies have shown this also helps to improve the digestibility of other fibre sources in the diet.

What will fatten up a horse?

Start by adding just a 1/4 cup of oil to your horse's feed per day, adding another 1/4 cup within a few days. Build up to about 2 cups of oil a day. You can use corn, peanut, canola, or vegetable oil. Adding oils to your horse's feed will help increase his weight and can aid in digestion.

What is the best horse feed to put weight on a horse?

Feed lucerne hay. Lucerne (known as alfalfa in North America) is a high energy forage and makes a valuable contribution to raising a horse's calorie intake above their daily requirement to encourage weight gain. Lucerne will also provide your horse with good quality protein which will facilitate muscle development.

How do you bulk up a skinny horse?

0:502:00How should I feed my thin horse? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipUsually we're going to use some concentrates. If you want him to gain some weight fairly quickly oneMoreUsually we're going to use some concentrates. If you want him to gain some weight fairly quickly one of the more modern feeds this much lower instruction sugar that incorporates. Real good fats and

How do you fatten up a malnourished horse?

According to the UC Davis Refeeding Program, starved horses do best when initially fed frequent small meals of a high-quality alfalfa. During each feeding, you can slowly increase the amount of alfalfa fed, while also gradually decreasing the number of feedings that you provide over the initial 10-day period.

Does vegetable oil help 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.

Does corn oil help horses gain weight?

Using corn oil as an example, eight fluid ounces of oil contains the same amount of fat as a pound of corn or 1.5 pounds of sweet feed. Therefore, adding oil as a top dressing to a horse's feed is an easy way to increase their fat intake, especially in horses who are unwilling or unable to consume more feed.

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).

Will sweet feed put weight on horses?

Usually you will feed your horse a daily ration of sweet feed that's equal to a percentage of his body weight, typically between 0.5 and 3.0 percent. Weight it carefully so you know how much you're feeding, since guessing can lead to over- or underfeeding your horse.

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

What is the fastest way to put weight on a horse? High fat, high protein grain combined with a rich alfalfa hay can quickly put weight on a horse, if there is not an underlying medical condition.

Will corn make a horse gain weight?

This energy density is how corn got a reputation for causing obesity or high-strung behavior; when compared to an equal volume of oats, the corn-fed horse will have consumed much more energy. If equal amounts of energy are fed, corn does not cause horses to be any more susceptible to weight gain or excitability.

Is sugar beet good for weight gain in horses?

Though high in calories and commonly fed to horses who need to gain weight, sugar beet contains approximately 80% water once soaked and the increase in volume means it is easy to over-estimate how much you are actually feeding.

How can I add fat to my horse's feed?

Cereal grains, such as corn and oats, are high in carbohydrates but low in fat. Oils, on the other hand, are 99 percent fat. Therefore, adding oil to your horse's diet is one of the easiest methods for increasing fat intake. Flax seed is another source of fat and may be fed as an oil or ground meal.

How long does it take to fatten up a horse?

In general, healthy horses gain the weight they lost in four months, and you should see noticeable signs of weight gain within 90 days. However, some may take considerably longer to restore their lost weight, depending on the length of their sickness and age.

What horse feed has the most fat?

Horsemen have been feeding vegetable oils for decades, and for much of that time corn oil was the hands-down favorite. From a nutritional perspective, vegetable oil is 100% fat.

Is corn oil good for horses?

Corn oil attracts loose particles and keeps down the dust in a feed, making it an excellent choice for horses with respiratory problems or for those that consume powdered supplements. Horses fed corn oil have improved coat quality and shine, and an improvement in the flexibility of the hooves has been noted.

Why are horses underweight?

Some horses may be underweight due to more serious health problems. These horses should be treated by a veterinarian, farrier or equine dentist, depending on the health issue.

How to determine a horse's ideal body weight?

To calculate your horse’s ideal body weight you need the following measurements: Height, from the top of the withers.

What does it mean when a horse scores 3?

Horses scoring 3 or lower are underweight or thin. In situations of extreme neglect or poor health with a horse that scores 1 or 2, we recommend working with a veterinarian or equine nutritionist to create a re-feeding plan. For more information on body condition scores visit Purina's Animal Nutrition website.

Why do horses eat less forage?

Digestion creates body heat from fiber in hay and pastures. Because forages contain more fiber than grains, forages produce more heat. As a result, it’s natural for horses to eat less forage during hot periods. Offering hay during cooler parts of the day can help.

Why is it so hard for horses to chew?

Many older horses have worn or missing teeth, which can make chewing forage hard. In addition, as horses age, their digestive tracts change. These changes make it harder to digest and absorb nutrients from their food, especially hay. As a result, older horses may need a type of feed known as a “complete feed”.

What is the best BCS for a horse?

The ideal BCS for most breeds and disciplines is 5, but ranges from 4 to 6. A horse with a score of 4 is considered healthy, but it’s important to look at the overall picture.

What is complete feed?

Complete feeds: Contain 100 percent of a horse’s daily fiber needs. Are fed at higher amounts than typical grain products. Are ideal for horses that can no longer chew hay effectively. Older horses often also need more time to eat and drink, and may need periods of rest between meals.

What is the best diet for horses with digestive issues?

For horses prone to digestive issues, a forage-first diet with minimal concentrate feeds will support gastric health and decrease the risk of hindgut acidosis.

What is considered underweight for horses?

Horses are considered underweight if they have a body condition of 4 out of 9 or less according to the Henneke Body Condition Scoring Scale. [1]

What causes weight loss in horses?

Other diseases such as liver disease and kidney problems can also cause weight loss in horses.

Why is my horse not eating?

The process of eating and digesting food also creates a lot of heat through the thermic effect of food. If your horse is already too hot, they may avoid eating.

Why is it important for horses to have a good digestive system?

Proper function of the digestive system is critical for your horse’s overall health and for converting feed into usable forms of energy. When things go wrong in their digestive system, horses can lose weight quickly.

How much hay should a horse eat?

Your horse should be eating at least 1-2% of their body weight in hay or pasture each day. For a 500 kg horse, that means they should consume 5 to 10 kg of forage (on a dry matter basis) per day.

What does it mean when a horse loses weight?

Weight loss occurs when a horse is in a negative energy balance, meaning that they are consuming less caloric energy than they are using in a day.

Is Your Horse Underweight?

How do you tell if your horse is underweight? Both body weight and body condition scores are important metrics to determine if your horse needs to gain weight.

Causes of Weight Loss in Horses

There are many potential causes of weight loss in horses; it is usually a symptom of a much larger problem and not a disease in itself.

Example Diet to Support Weight Gain

It is always recommended to work with an equine nutritionist to formulate a feeding plan based on your horse’s individual health history and current body condition.

Conclusion

There are many potential causes of weight loss in underweight horses. Some horses are “ hard keepers ” and appear to require more calories to maintain a healthy body condition.

What is the best feed for a horse?

Choose a bucket feed that is high in fibre and oil as the main source of energy in the ration. These are slow release energy sources that are less likely to encourage the horse to waste energy on over-excitable or fizzy behaviour. Fibre and oil provide plenty of energy; Alfa-A Oil for example, contains as much energy as a conditioning mix (12.5 MJ/kg) but with around 10 times less starch.

What is the best diet for a horse's hoof?

A balanced diet is also key for skin, coat and hoof condition but there are key ingredients that can help with that show condition. Linseed will help to promote super coat shine due to its high oil level, and additives such as biotin when fed at quantities of at least 15mg for a 500kg horse are also great for skin, coat and hoof condition.

How useful is fiber to horses?

How useful a fibre source is to the horse in terms of weight gain or energy provision depends on its digestibility. There are many factors that affect digestibility including the type of plant, environmental conditions during growth and particularly the age of the plant when harvested. The more mature a plant is when it is harvested the more fibre it will contain and the less digestible it will be. Straw and late cut hay that feels coarse in the hand are examples of fibre sources with low digestibility. Whilst these types of fibre can be great for helping to manage the weight of good do-ers they won’t be as useful to the horse that needs to gain weight. Examples of fibre types with higher digestibility include early cut, soft leafy hay, haylage, grass, alfalfa and sugar beet. For horses that need to gain weight we should therefore focus on using these types of fibre. Dengie Alfa-A Oil which combines alfalfa with a rapeseed oil coating has as much energy as a conditioning mix/cube for example, but is based on entirely slow-release energy sources.

What is a good substitute for long stem forage?

Providing an alternative to long stem forage will therefore help the horse to gain weight and also provide fibre that is vital for digestive health. Chopped fibre feeds including Dengie Hi-Fi Senior combined with soaked fibre products such as Dengie Alfa-Beet or Grass Pellets provide a high quality forage replacement.

How much hay should I feed my horse?

On average hay provides approximately 8MJ/kg of digestible energy. For a 500kg horse stabled overnight they would typically consume 5-6kg of hay providing 40-48MJ. If they struggle to eat this amount they miss out on a large amount of energy which tends to result in weight loss. Providing an alternative to long stem forage will therefore help the horse to gain weight and also provide fibre that is vital for digestive health. Chopped fibre feeds including Dengie Hi-Fi Senior combined with soaked fibre products such as Dengie Alfa-Beet or Grass Pellets provide a high quality forage replacement. For more information on Dengie forage replacers and how to use them click here.

What does it mean to feed a horse ad lib?

For horses that need to gain weight ad lib forage should be available. Ad lib feeding means that your horse always has forage available – so if you turned up at 3am would there still be some hay or haylage in their stable for them to eat? Horses that are turned out also need an alternative source of forage if the grazing is poor or in inclement weather conditions such as frost and snow.

What does "feeding for condition" mean?

What’s your interpretation of feeding for condition? For some, it means feeding to encourage weight gain. For others, it means feeding for muscle, or skin, coat and hoof condition. Whatever your horse’s needs when it comes to the best conditioning feed for horses Dengie has the answers.

What to feed an underweight horse?

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. Introduce horses to grass gradually to decrease the possibility of founder, colic, or diarrhea. Many horses do very well on grass or hay alone. More hay in its feeder or longer grazing time may be all it takes to see weight gain.

What to feed a horse with bad teeth?

Rice bran and flax are also popular additions to the diets of underweight horses. Oils such as bran, rice, corn, flax, and other grain oils are often used to boost the energy and calories of a horse’s feed. Some people feel they also help keep the ...

Why do horses eat beet pulp?

Beet pulp is often fed as a supplement because it is high in fiber, which the horse can turn into energy. 2  Some people prefer to give their horses pelleted feed because they feel this is more easily digestible. Older horses might be able to digest "cooked" grains easier than regular grains, so a specially prepared senior feed might be helpful. For horses with bad teeth, smaller pellets or grains are easier to chew than larger pellets or cubes. Rice bran and flax are also popular additions to the diets of underweight horses.

Why is my horse underweight?

Food alone may not be the entire issue—bad teeth can make it painful for the horse to chew, cause the horse to swallow poorly masticated food, or make it chew very slowly. Internal parasites may also be stealing nutrition from your horse as well as damaging the digestive tract.

Can parasites steal nutrition from horses?

Internal parasites may also be stealing nutrition from your horse as well as damaging the digestive tract. If your horse is underweight make sure it has had a recent fecal examination for parasites and had its teeth checked by a veterinarian before simply adding more feed to its diet.

Can horse oil cause diarrhea?

Go carefully when adding these oils to your horse’s diet; too much oil in the diet can cause diarrhea. 3 . Whenever you are changing the number of concentrates, do it gradually to decrease the possibility of problems like founder or colic.

Can horses eat grass hay?

However, some horses, such as growing horses, horses under heavy training, pregnant or nursing mares, or old/sick horses will need more calories than grass hay or pasture can provide. Alfalfa and other legume hays are higher in protein and some minerals such as calcium. Giving these types of hays to an underweight horse may be needed. Go slowly when introducing any new feed to your horse even if it is "only hay."

What to feed a horse at 450kg?

Some dietary options for this example when the horse is at 450kg and requires 18.99Mcal/day are provided. In these diets, I’ve used a slightly higher quality hay than normal, a ‘mixed, mostly grass’ hay, one that would, therefore, have some legume such as alfalfa in it at about 25 per cent. In Example Diet 1, I used a high-quality commercial grain mix example, some oil (to increase calories, but not overload other nutrients) and salt. Vitamin D is a little low in this example, but would only need supplementation if the horse had little exposure to sunlight or if the hay was stored for more than six months. In Example Diet 2, I used oats, a commercial supplement and salt.

How much energy does a horse need to gain body weight?

Thus, to gain those two body condition scores, the horse would need to be fed 4Mcal per day above their normal energy (calorie) requirements for 200 days.

How much weight should a horse gain with a low body condition score?

Feeding a horse to gain weight, especially one with a low body condition score (2-3), to a moderate body condition score (5) is a lengthy process. While there is significant variation among horses (particularly across different sized horses), it has been estimated that one body condition score represents a weight change of approximately 20kgs (45lbs). Therefore, if your horse needs to gain two body condition scores, he’ll need to gain about 40kgs (about 90lbs).

What is a starved horse?

Starved horses are defined as those with a body condition score (BCS) of less than 3 (on the 1-9 Henneke scale), that haven’t eaten anything for five or more days, or that have lost more than 15 per cent of their body weight within two months (unrelated to disease). While it might be tempting to offer them as much food as they can eat, this can actually cause a life-threatening condition called refeeding syndrome.

What is the best feed for an older horse?

First, if the older horse is still well able to chew and digest pasture/hay, switching to a higher calorie feed may be a good choice. Equine ® Senior Active is a high-calorie feed that is ideal for older horses that are still able to utilize long-stemmed forage.

How to help a thin horse gain weight?

Is the horse suffering from parasites, disease, chronic pain, ulcers or dental issues? These are all issues to be addressed by your veterinarian, and making an appointment with your vet is the first step to help your horse gain weight . If weight loss is caused by a health condition, then addressing the condition may be all that is necessary to help your horse regain the lost body condition.

How much does a horse need to gain to gain weight?

For every condition score below 5, an 1100-pound horse needs to gain about 45-50 pounds, and a 1-pound gain requires about 8000-9000 kcals over the calories required for maintenance. So, for example, if the horse needs to go from a 4 to a 5, it needs to gain 45 pounds, which is a total of approximately 380,000 kcals.

Why does my horse's hay wear down?

Hay is very fibrous, and as a horse ages, its teeth wear down to the point that the horse is unable to fully chew the hay , and, also with age, the horse’s digestion and absorption in the gut becomes less efficient.

Why is my horse underweight?

In many cases, the reason a horse is underweight is that it is just not eating adequate calories. So, to put weight on a horse, first you need to determine how much the horse currently weighs and how much weight it needs to gain. An easy way to determine the horse’s body weight is to use a weight tape. The Purina equine research team has spent many ...

How much weight can a horse gain in 90 days?

It is safest to put weight on a horse slowly, so let’s take 90 days for this example. 45 pounds of gain in 90 days is 1/2 pound per day, a safe goal to aim for. About 4500 additional kcal per day over the normal amount fed should achieve half a pound of gain per day.

Can you add water to a horse's mash?

If the time comes when the horse’s dental condition is so poor that the horse is no longer even able to chew the soft pellets, then water can be added to the Equine Senior ® to make a mash. (Note: the age at which a horse becomes a senior is determined by the horse.