# Rescue horse just wont gain weight..



## Chess46 (Jul 5, 2009)

Hi everyone,

I got a rescue back in february of this year and have been trying my butt off every since then to get her to gain weight. She has put on some but it is only under her belly. Her back and ribs still show horribly. Her teeth are fine and she gets wormed every month (vet says to) with a different wormer each time. She gets fed Manna Pro Sweet 10 - high fat formula, about 2-2/12 scoops of soaked beat pulp as well as some corn oil at feeding time. I was told that corn oil would help with weight gain. She also has a round bale of grass hay available to her all day long. What can I do to get her to gain some weight? I have another horse with her, he gets fed the same as her and he is fat. Could I try a weight gain supplement? 

Also, is it possible that she is pregnant? The place I got her from had many, many horses. I'm not sure if any were stallions but, she hasn't gone into heat in the 6 months that I've had her and she has only put on weight in the belly area. I have had horses for many years but never any pregnant mares so I don't know what to look for. I have also never had any skinny horses so I have no idea what to do with her. 

Any advice will help.

Thanks


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I would look to the inside to fix the problem - your horse could very well have digestive issues, and or ulcers causing the lack of weight gain.

My TB Gelding, is a hard keeper. I could shove as much food in his mouth as humanly possible, and he wouldn't gain weight. I couldn't get those ribs to dissapear. I would spend a fortune on Fat Suppliments, Hay, Complete Feeds, Rice Bran, Beat Pulp - you name it, I bought it.

Until one day, I had an indepth discussion with my Veterinarian, where I learnt that many horses, especially TB's deal with digestive issues, that causes the lack of weight gain because their bodies are not processing the food correctly, adequately or efficiantly.

So I turned to a couple of Digestive Products, which, surprisingly - has helped dramatically! I got him started on SmartDigest Ultra from SmartPak and SmartGut Pellets and he went from this:



















To this:




















He is, and was - on 5lbs of feeding twice a day. 3lbs of Purina Senior, and 2lbs of Purina Ultium. Plus round bale of hay. Then by adding the 2 digestive aid suppliments - he filled out beautifully.

I can't help you with the pregnant thing, never delt with it ever, never plan on it either.


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## boxer (Feb 20, 2009)

MIEventer, I was going to say something similar! That is could be a digestive issue and maybe to try a probiotic or something. Also definately get the vet toc heck for pregnancy, you never know with rescues! Do you have pics from when you got her to now?


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## RogueMare (Feb 17, 2010)

Apple Cider Vinegar is good for horses. It won't put any weight on it. It will however help him better digest the feed you are feeding, from what I understand. If it is a digestive issue its a possibility?


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## MissPhoebe (Jul 13, 2010)

I also have a rescue that is difficult to put weight on. The two supplements that I have found that work the best are Cool Calories (basically dehydrated oil so it is less messy and doesn't have energy side effects) and SmartDigest, which someone else mentioned. After just two weeks on the Smart Digest she was gaining weight. I never thought she might have stomach issues or nervousness but it is helping. She also has the similar problem to you in that she is gaining everyhere but along that topline like you mentioned. Someone on here suggested riding her up and down hills to help build muscle. If she is lacking muscle up there it is going to make her look skinnier than she is. Hope this helps


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Try adding both oats and a weight gain supplement to their diet. Beet pulp works great, I'm glad you're using it. For weight gain I like both Focus WT and Weight Builder.


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## Chess46 (Jul 5, 2009)

Thanks so much to everyone who replied. I will start looking into digestive supplements right now for her. That could be the problem. She is a TB. I don't have any hills to ride her on. I live in fl and I swear it's the flattest state in the world. I have alot of horse books to look through tonight. Thanks everyone!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Sweet feed can make it harder for some horses to put weight on. Instead, I'd have her on this kind of diet.

If you can feed twice a day:

2 scoops alfalfa pellets twice daily (4 total, using a 3qt feed scoop)
1 cup of Flax meal once daily (horsetech.com has a good one, prices include shipping)
SmartVite Senior Grass from SmartPak once daily
If you feed just once a day:

3 scoops alfalfa pellets
2 cups of Flax meal
SmartVite Senior Grass
This kind of diet has worked wonders for me for thin horses or hard keepers. I've had much better luck using a no-grain approach, with less feed. The SmartGrass Senior has pro/pre-biotics for digestion and other weight gaining goodies all in one supplement. 

Once she's up to weight, you can cut back to 1-2 scoops of alfalfa pellets a day, cut out the flax or cut it back to 1/2 cup a day, and switch to SmartVite Maintanence Grass supplement. 

I would have your vet check her for pregnancy, just in case.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Hi,

First & foremost, luvs2ride's comments about sweetfeed are a very important consideration. Of course, don't just take our words for it & do your own research, but horses don't tend to cope well with sugary/starchy feed(it's effectively junk food - yes, I appreciate it's traditional & still quite common) and failure to gain weight is but one of many potential issues with it. As a rule I would avoid grains, as in addition to the very high starch content, they are virtually indigestible in the horse's stomach. 

If you must feed grain, it's important to ensure it's well processed and oats are about the safest, easiest to digest grain, corn being the worst for horses. Another thing to keep in mind is if you are going to feed starchy feed, it's very important to ensure it's fed little & often - at least 3-4 very small meals daily. Horses have evolved as 'trickle feeders' and feeding in this way will minimise the potential & severity of the problems it causes and maximises what the horse gets from it.

I am actually a bit shocked by the Manna Pro write up on the sweet 10 prod to tell the truth. Not only is the largest ingredient corn, but there's precious else in it besides grain & molasses(there's even more molasses than oil & soy meal! The mineral ingreds look OK tho...). On top of that, after the list of ingredients it says "High quality hay and (or) pasture should make up at least half of the complete diet." That's like a Coco Pops ad advising that for a healthy diet, Coco Pops should not make up more than half of a kid's diet!!! Junk food to the max!

Agree with those who suggested ulcers could be part of the problem, especially when she's being fed sweet feed. Other possibilities & contributors could be lack of protein &/or muscle for other reasons - it may be she's not skinny, just lacks top line. Could be that nutrition is imbalanced & she's lacking some nutrient or other rather than calories. Could also be that she has Cushings(tho I hope not), as one symptom of that can be horses with big bellies but no muscles. 

Given all the above, I urge you to find yourself a good equine nutritionist or nutritional service(pref independent of feed co's) to consult with and educate yourself on healthy feeding ingredients & practices. I personally subscribe to a great service called FeedXL.com which is invaluable & cheap to boot.

With regard to possible pregnancy, how on earth could we know this? If you suspect she could be, it is even more important that you get her healthy & onto a healthy diet asap, because among other probs, dams can pass on IR probs due to junk feeding to their foals in-utero. Laminitis & IR probs are common enough & serious enough probs without causing horses to be born with the prob. Get a vet to come pregnancy test her asap is my advice.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Our Emaciated horse protocol-

1. Check teeth
2. Do bloodwork to determine condition of organs
3. Do fecal to determine parasite load

I do a power pack deworming. I am thinking that the monthly deworming is just knocking down the load a wee bit, but it may not be strong enough to kill a heavy load.

Sand. Sand in the belly is VERY common in emaciated horses. Mainly because they get soooo hungry they eat anything- dirt, twigs, sand, manure. A belly full of sand can cause colic, and it will not allow the horse to digest properly.

No molasses. I use shredded soaked beet pulp and senior complete feed. They also get free choice alfalfa hay. 

Free choice loose minerals made up for my area.

Do a weight tape on horse weekly. If after a month an otherwise healthy horse hasn't gained a significant amount, then checking for ulcers and other "blocks" to allowing digestion is in order.

With this, I have put over 100 lbs a month on emaciated horses. Once they reach their target weight and start laying fat covering on the ribs and around the tailhead, I start doing light exercise- walking and trotting on a lunge or being ponied down the road for a short while every day. Once muscle starts coming, then you can start riding.


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## Chess46 (Jul 5, 2009)

The second day I had her she coliced from sand. I gave her a supplement to push the sand out and she hasn't had a problem with sand since. I am getting her a supplement for digestion tonight. Does anyone suggest me to stop feeding grain and put her on a mixture of other stuff? If so, what?


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

I already gave you my suggestion. It works very well for hard to put weight on horses. TBs and similar "hot" horses just don't do well on high starch diets in most cases.


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## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

Good vitamin/mineral supplement or ration balancer
Alfalfa pellets 
rice bran and 
a bit of beet pulp

I would use all three in her case to keep it interesting ... 

Free choice GRASS hay is always a must IMO


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## Chess46 (Jul 5, 2009)

Thanks! What about soaking alfalfa cubes in with the beat pulp as well?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Alfalfa cube work well if you prefer them over pellets. They don't need to soak very long usually.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I suggest, before you start buying all this other feed and grains, get her inside's checked first, or start repairing the inner, before you can do the rest.

When I contacted SmartPak and spoke with the consultant, I was going to go with a "Fat Suppliment" like SmartGain and others, but the consultant said don't do it - get the digestive tract going in the right direction first, then move forward from there.

Just like hooves - you can put all the topicals you want on the hooves, but that isn't going to repair the growth or change the angles, nor make them stronger.............you can shove all the food you want into her mouth, but her body isn't going to process it correctly, nor utalize it efficiantly to help her gain weight and get back to her healthy status...........you have to fix the inside first, before you can get anything else.

Start with the right puzzle piece, to connect the others around it.

*Contact SmartPak and talk to them about their digestive aids. Like SmartDigest Ultra, and SmartGut Pellets.* 

I really like Purina Products. I personally like the complete feeds, where you can get it all in 1 package, without buying this and buying that and mixing this with that and dealing with all that time consuming nonsence. 

I like my Purina Senior. I really like it. I also like Purina Ultium, and I also like their new product Purina Strategy Healthy Edge. 

Ultium and the Purina Strategy Healthy Edge are Beat Pulp Based, so you're already getting the beatpulp there, plus many other positives. Both my Veterinarians highly recommend the Purina line, and of course they recommended these to me already knowing about my TB gelding and his health issues and his needs.


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## Chess46 (Jul 5, 2009)

I went to the feed store to buy some bran. I got it home, ripped open the bag, poured it into the trash can, then noticed it was wheat bran. I didn't even know there were more types of bran. Is wheat bran okay? How much do I feed her if so? She's about 870 lbs.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

MIEventer hit the nail on the head.

How thin was she when you got her? 

Do you have pictures before/after?

Have you weight taped her?

Some times emaciated horses never recover fully because their guts are so messed up from eating whatever they can to fill their belly. We had one rescue that I had to have put down because she colicked- before I took her she had eaten every bit of stuff she could find- on necropsy she had in her belly over 15 pounds of bailing twine, and big chunks of wood she ate off the barn. She colicked when she ate hay and it bound up.

Thats in the extreme, but its very possible she is messed up inside.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Wheat bran is not okay. It won't do much for weight gain etc.


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## Chess46 (Jul 5, 2009)

Is it going to hurt her? Could I mix it with the other stuff just as a mash?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Sure, you can make it a mash.

Be very careful with going out and buying all this new feed to help your mare gain weight. The more you **** around with her eating routine and what it is that she is eating, you are going to disrupt her digestive system and could make things worse.

I suggest you sit down and have a good long converstation with your veterinarian about what your mare should be eating and not be eating. They know your horse better than any of us on this forum do.

Go with 1 thing, and stick with it. Don't add this, and take away that and then take away what you just added and then add another - find a feed that will give your mare all the best it can give, and then leave it at that.

That's why I like Complete Feeds. 

I love Purina Senior:

Purina Horse Feeds - EQUINE FAMILY

And I also love what Purina Strategy, Healthy Edge has to offer as well:

Purina Horse Feeds - STRATEGY


There are quite a few TB's at the barn I board at and many of them started out ribby and gaunt. Their owners switched from the garbage they were feeding to Senior, and their horses are at beautiful weights - of course they added Pro-Biodics and Pre-Biodics into their daily feed regime, plus upping their hay intake and pasture intake.

I can't stress enough, to just go with 1 feed regime, and stick with it. Don't mess around with it too much, TB' systems are finicky with metabolisim systems that burn off far more than other breeds, due to they are created - mentally and physically.

Start off with fixing the digestive system, then start introducing a new feed slowly, while upping the hay intake.

Talk to your vet  I know it is hard to get weight on a TB. Been there, done that, deal with it daily. I know you want to go out and buy all this new stuff to get the weight on - I wanted to rush out to the feed store as well to buy anything suggested to me...but it is a waste of money and effort if your horses system wont process it or digest it properly. I can't stress that enough.


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## mgktch (Jul 6, 2010)

*Rescue Horse*



Chess46 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I got a rescue back in february of this year and have been trying my butt off every since then to get her to gain weight. She has put on some but it is only under her belly. Her back and ribs still show horribly. Her teeth are fine and she gets wormed every month (vet says to) with a different wormer each time. She gets fed Manna Pro Sweet 10 - high fat formula, about 2-2/12 scoops of soaked beat pulp as well as some corn oil at feeding time. I was told that corn oil would help with weight gain. She also has a round bale of grass hay available to her all day long. What can I do to get her to gain some weight? I have another horse with her, he gets fed the same as her and he is fat. Could I try a weight gain supplement?
> 
> ...


Hello :

I am new in this forum thing...so I still do not know how to use it.
I also got a rescue horse last April an he is still very thin,,His problem was pyropasmosis. Maybe you could tell your vet to take a blood sample and check for this disease. Mine got treatment for this parasite in the blood and is gaining weight very slowly because he is about 18 years old...but he is already happy and I can ride him. Good luck ! Karen


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Chess46 said:


> Does anyone suggest me to stop feeding grain and put her on a mixture of other stuff? If so, what?


Yes. I suggest this. Did I not say that already? As for what, I agree that luvs2ride has made some good suggestions. Copra meal & soy meal are a few other possibilities among many.

But I suggest you get onto an equine nutritionist(pref independent of feed co's) and also learn about good feeding practices & healthy diet, learn about what exactly the problems with grain & other starchy/sugary feeds are(did I say that already? - slap me if I didn't), rather than just take our words for anything - as you have no doubt seen, there are a range of different opinions & practices that are circulated here, so it's a good idea to find out whether the advice is based on good, bad or otherwise knowledge first.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Chess46 said:


> I went to the feed store to buy some bran. I got it home, ripped open the bag, poured it into the trash can, then noticed it was wheat bran. I didn't even know there were more types of bran. Is wheat bran okay? How much do I feed her if so? She's about 870 lbs.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


NO! Definitely NOT OK!


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## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

My suggestion for everyone: check out this website. It's pretty neat and very informative (at least for me).

Horse Nutrition Explained


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Eolith said:


> My suggestion for everyone: check out this website. It's pretty neat and very informative (at least for me).
> 
> Horse Nutrition Explained


:clap: Only had a quick look at it so far, but looks like a definite keeper! Thanks!


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## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

HEHE the bay in the upper left is my mare Sassy 


Babbers is my mare as well


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