# weight critique on 3 year old



## PunksTank (Jul 8, 2012)

He's definitely doing better- but still not my ideal, what is his current diet and exercise regimen?


----------



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

honestly his diet is nothing Special. mainly Grass, w/e there is and free choice Hay. the hay is nice, first cutting. and he gets about 3 qts of 12% a day. his exercise is trail riding 1 day a week for about 4 hours or so. so nothing to extensive until he gets up to where we would like him. i honestly havent a clue what to add to his diet to make him pick up any faster. most of the skinny horses we have taken in, pick up from the grass and hay alone. i thought about trying Alfalfa cubes, but he's already a bit studly acting so i didnt want to add more to that aspect.


----------



## WSArabians (Apr 14, 2008)

Honestly, He looks WAY better. 
Horses take a long time.to lose weight, and a long time to gain it. Plus being a three year old, he is still growing and doing growth spurts, which will affect the way the weight gets distributed. 
Going into winter I would put him on either high quailty hay with perhaps some grain supplements, but honestly, what you're doing is working. Extra protein / fat will just quicken the process for the colder months coming.


----------



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

i think the hay he is on is a Fescue, mixed with Orchard. and its first cutting, so it seems pretty decent. we are buying round bales that are 4x5 for about 25$ a bale, and they go through it in about 4-5 days.

what would you suggest for the extra fat/ proteins, we only have a local feed store that doesnt care much variety. but we do have the local TSC so we can always pick up something decent there.


----------



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Orchard grass needs to be cut before it heads out, or its nutritional value is very low (high Neutral detergent fiber(NDF), low in energy and protien and low total digestable nutrients (TDN)). Fescue also needs to be soft and have decent TDN. So... it is not a matter of "first cutting" it is a matter of WHEN that first cutting was taken. You probably should have the hay tested to see what you have. 

He is thin. Needs more weight. I would suggest adding the Alfalfa cubes and adding 1/3 c corn oil to his grain. The alfalfa cubes will help make up for what the hay lacks and the corn oil is a good way to add a lot of calories w/o upping his grain ration. 

You also mentioned "grass pasture." Again.. pasture is spotty. If there is enough rain and it is mowed, limed and cared for it can be very good. OTOH if it is dry, never mowed, never limed and is very short and weedy, it isn't worth much other than to keep the horses occupied.


----------



## caljane (Feb 7, 2009)

I had my hands on a few skinny horses (attached pictures are of "Hollywood" before and then only 4 month later). First I deworm them every 2 to 4 weeks - usually a malnurished horse had owners that wouldn't think about a dewormer either. Then it's all they can eat hay or lush (!) pasture, no more than 3 pounds of grain but, as somebody else suggested, with 1/2 cup of corn oil. Alfalfa cubes work very nicely too but can be tough to feed especially with other horses in the same herd. Butterscotch is too skinny, he does need a few more punds before you can call him a naturally slim horse like my Palomino here. He looks like a very friendly gelding, hope you have fun with him!


----------



## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

He definitely needs more weight, but he's improving. Not only is his weight better, but his coat looks a lot healthier and his topline (especially along his neck) is filling out.

I would put him on a few quarts of soaked beet pulp and add corn oil to his diet. I also suggest splitting the 3qts of 12% grain into two feedings and supplementing it with the beet pulp and corn oil. It's better to spread feed out into several feedings, rather than feed it all at once.


----------



## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

Elana said:


> Orchard grass needs to be cut before it heads out, or its nutritional value is very low (high Neutral detergent fiber(NDF), low in energy and protien and low total digestable nutrients (TDN)). Fescue also needs to be soft and have decent TDN. So... it is not a matter of "first cutting" it is a matter of WHEN that first cutting was taken. You probably should have the hay tested to see what you have.
> 
> He is thin. Needs more weight. I would suggest adding the Alfalfa cubes and adding 1/3 c corn oil to his grain. The alfalfa cubes will help make up for what the hay lacks and the corn oil is a good way to add a lot of calories w/o upping his grain ration.
> 
> You also mentioned "grass pasture." Again.. pasture is spotty. If there is enough rain and it is mowed, limed and cared for it can be very good. OTOH if it is dry, never mowed, never limed and is very short and weedy, it isn't worth much other than to keep the horses occupied.


 ^ This is worth repeating. Very good advice

He needs calories and fat. Corn oil is a simple and inexpensive way to bump of a horse's weight. Not only will it help his weight but also his coat and other things. 

I would also add a salt block in the pasture, for extra minerals that might be missing.


----------



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

we keep a Mineral Block and a Sulphur block in the pasture at all times, so they have that as well. we did beet pulp awhile back, adding it to his feed but we didnt see much improvement in 2 months so we discontinued it. i'll definitely try to get my hands on alfalfa cubes, and definitely start on the Corn oil right away, i know we have that around here close by.


----------



## Reno Bay (Jul 8, 2012)

He definitely looks healthier than when you got him. I can only repeat the advice given.

This may be random, maybe it's just the photo angles. He looks really "filled out" in front and thin behind...almost like someone glued the butt of a Thoroughbred onto a stock horse. It may also just be my eyes playing tricks. He's more shaggy up front and smooth on the rump.


----------



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

i agree i think he looks really TB x QH to me. but i dont know much about what the breed looks like mixed. which is why i thought maybe he was a slim build, and could explain as to why he may be seemingly a harder keeper than the rest of the herd.


----------



## Reno Bay (Jul 8, 2012)

My TB was a little under when I adopted him, granted not so much as your boy. It took him...eight months and experimenting with feed to get his weight up. He's only four and we're feeding him Purina Equine Senior (I can never remember how much one scoop is...it's pretty large...maybe 2 quarts, which is silly cause quarts is a liquid measurement). He eats four scoops a day, plus free choice hay and lush grazing for about 6+ hours a day (depending on DST). Scotch may just be a skinny boy.


----------



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

There are dry measure quarts and liquid measure quarts.. just sayin'

The best way to feed a horse is by the POUND. Not the flake of hay, not the coffee can of grain.. not the quart.. but by the pound.

The hay needs to be tested so you know what is in there.. and the grain should have the info on the bag.


----------



## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

The thing that stuck out for me was the 4 hour ride one day a week - that's pretty strenuous, especially for his age and nutritional status.


----------



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

its really not as Strenuous as it sounds, its mainly flat ground, mainly at a walk, some trotting and very small amount of cantering on one strip. we take 2 25 minute breaks 2 10 minute breaks and a good 45 minute break in the middle. so honestly its about 2 hours or pure work. other then that we break.

how do you get hay tested? i have never heard of having it tested until i came onto the forums, so who would we take it to for testing and how does it work?


----------



## 2horses (Oct 11, 2009)

You mentioned that you're close to Tractor Supply, and they have a few products that help keep weight on my naturally thin boy. I like their alfalfa pellets (because they soften faster than the cubes), Dumour Ultra Shine (it has flax and rice bran), and Max-E-Glo rice bran. I know a lot of people mentioned corn oil, but the flax and rice bran have healthier fats and some protein too; so I think they're a better option.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

He is looking better but I've had very thin horses look really well after 3 or 4 months on good grass or ad lib hay so to me his progress is quite slow
I would get a fecal and blood test done to check for worms/encysted worms and tapeworms and either a complete feed with a good balance of minerals and vitamins or a good supplement
I also think that 4 hours riding is too much for a horse in poor condition, even without much trotting or cantering its still burning up weight he hasn't got to spare, from an althletic point of view working a horse for that many hours on a few days a week only basis is harder for them than working one hour a day every day as they then get fit at a gradual pace and the length of hours worked can be increased.


----------



## filly05 (Nov 11, 2012)

He still young and in the scrawny stage so its hard to tell. But first, id get rid of the sweetfeed. Sweetfeed has almost no nutritional value which is extremely important for a growing horse. Switch to a complete feed like strategy or safe choice. Safe choice is not as expensive but basically the same thing as strategy.


----------



## Reno Bay (Jul 8, 2012)

Elana said:


> There are dry measure quarts and liquid measure quarts.. just sayin'
> 
> The best way to feed a horse is by the POUND. Not the flake of hay, not the coffee can of grain.. not the quart.. but by the pound.
> 
> The hay needs to be tested so you know what is in there.. and the grain should have the info on the bag.


Strange, I only ever heard of quarts being "officially" used for liquid measurement...but obviously they can be used for dry items. I didn't decided what my horse eats. My BO did that since he's my first horse and she has 30 odd years of experience on me. Her horses are all very happy and healthy so I didn't go wrong there. I can try to take a peek at an empty bag while I'm there tomorrow anyway *shrug*


----------



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

i would say quarts is an effective way of measure feed, because why would they make dry horse feed scoops with quart measurements on it., 

we would work him daily, but its just not possible with our business schedules, so we work him when we can during the weekend, we dont ride every weekend, but we do most weekends, i'll definitely cut back on ride time if thats what could be causing the slowed progress, however we only recently started riding him last month, 

i to agree he it being very slow in his weight gain. i've had other skinny horses that picked it up in as little as 3 months. definitely will get the fecal done, he has been on a 2 month rotation, but i can see where i could still be missing the wormer he needs.


----------



## racheld90 (Dec 14, 2011)

*Feed*

My Percheron gelding came home thin, after we had him boarded. He gets almost 2 lbs of grain, with 1 scoop of weight builder but what really helped him was 1 pound of rice bran with his grain once a day. He is also a VERY hard keeper. I also have a Percheron mare who is in her late 20's and she gets the same as he does, and she looks pretty good.


----------



## caljane (Feb 7, 2009)

lilkitty90 said:


> we would work him daily, but its just not possible with our business schedules, so we work him when we can during the weekend, we dont ride every weekend, but we do most weekends, i'll definitely cut back on ride time if thats what could be causing the slowed progress, however we only recently started riding him last month,


I understand that your horse is on pasture and walks around 24 hours a day grazing? Then a weekend ride sure won't hurt him, I would only be concerned if he is mostly stabled and then taken out once a week for several hours. 
About the dewormer - he doesn't look wormy to me but if the common wormers do not help then Safeguard or Panacur (Fenbendazole) in a double dosis over five days may help. This is the only way to kill small strongyles efficiently. I had a horse boarded at my place that was on the same worming schedule than my other horses but looked like crab in Spring, no matter how much I fed him. He recovered with the powerpac of Fenbendazole.


----------



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

yes, he he's on pasture 24/7 he doesnt break a sweat when we ride on the weekends, though not sure if that would make a difference or not. 

i'll look into the rice bran, because we had tried the beetpulp before. i didnt think he looked wormy either and neither did my vet, and said he wouldn't suggest a fecal on a horse that didnt look wormy, but i'll probably have it done anyway. sometimes horses can hide things really well


----------



## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

lilkitty90 said:


> *i would say quarts is an effective way of measure feed, because why would they make dry horse feed scoops with quart measurements on it., *


Yes, and you notice all the feed bags have recommended feeding rates listed in quarts, right -- oh, that's right, they don't....they have pounds of feed. One "quart" of feed A will weight more or less than one quart of feed B - this is why using pounds is a more effective way of managing a feed program. Using volume based measurements makes it impossible to know what you are actually giving the horse and that makes it very difficult to know where to make changes when you notice your program is not being as effective as you would like. Yes, the scoops have quart markings on them - that doesn't mean that is the best way to measure your feed. If you want to use the quart markings the best thing to do is to measure out and weigh one quart of each feed you are using - then you know the weight and can multiply/divide the number of quarts you feed to reach the appropriate weight. Any time you add a new feed to your program just measure out and weigh a quart and you are on your way.


----------



## CattieD (Nov 6, 2012)

id also try adding some natural yoghurt to his feed as it helps to balance out their bellies. We had a ribbie gelding who we tried that with his food and it helped. Also try supplements as he's only a baby and they need plenty of feed specially those that have been malnourished. Plenty of hay. And there is a supplement that cleans out there guts of any bugs and stuff that stops them from doing well. That looks like what he needs. I could be wrong but thats what we've found works. Also any sort of acidophilus helps like the tablets.


----------

