# How To Feed An Underweight Horse



## Spotted (Sep 19, 2012)

Great Post! Love it and Love it some more! seems this question is asked alot. This page should be printed in case the issue ever does come along


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## KeepCalmAndTrotOn (Oct 31, 2012)

Thank you! I figured it was worth sharing, even more because winter is coming up!


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Remember - slow and steady wins the race. The horse did not lose the weight overnight, do not seek to put it back on at that pace. So many times people see a starved animal and their first instinct is to stuff it full of food, not realizing that that is actually about the worst thing you can do....


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## InsaneDino (Aug 3, 2012)

I definitely agree with this!
My horse was from a rescue. She dropped at least 1/4 of her body weight within the time I first saw her to the day we got her (about four months time). The main reason she lost weight was because it was winter and she wasn't being fed (not even grass to graze on) and she had worms. BAAAD WORMS. Things got so much better once she came to our stable, but it was difficult to not let her have at the food right away. We started with a handful of grain, two flakes of hay, and turnout for a few hours in a small turnout lot in the first couple of days.

Another thing I think is important is quality over quantity. My mare gained her weight fast. She had amazing hay (vet tested quality too!) and the expensive grain (SafeChoice). It paid off! Now, she gets free choice hay and two cups of grain A DAY. The quality keeps the weight on them.

A horse in a similar state came to the barn a couple of months later and she is STILL just as thin looking. She gets almost a bale of hay a day and two coffee cans full of grain. This horse's food quality isn't very good... the hay is dusty and doesn't even look nutritious, and the grain is mostly added sugars and not much protein.

Don't skimp on the quality when it comes to feeding! You'll pay for it in the end. Now, my horse only goes through a bag of grain about every month and a half. The other horse goes through a bag every two weeks or so.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

there are studies that show yo can feed extra so the horse can free feed w.o adverse affects. search on line for them


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

stevenson said:


> there are studies that show yo can feed extra so the horse can free feed w.o adverse affects. search on line for them


"extra" what - hay, grain, supplements -- there are lot of feed categories currently being discussed so specifying what you are referring to would be helpful. I don't disagree about extra hay (I am a fan of free choice hay for horses who are needing weight to be put on), but that is once the horse has been brought back from the initial starvation/system shock point at which even extra hay can be a disaster.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Hay/forage loose hay/forage if you feed pellets or cubes get the teeth done first and then gradually add to free choice on cubes. never heard of anyone free feeding supplements . and never free feed grains. Did not think that needed specified..


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

It also takes time. it is difficult to look at a skinny horse on a daily basis but we must be careful to not stuff the horse with rich feeds. Keep in mind a lot of it winds up on the ground because the horse's compromised system can't deal with it. Because I was feeding my horses grain and seniors 3 small meals daily, I was blinded to the positive changes in my arab as they were so gradual. At 6 weeks he was grazing the lawn and just the way he was standing I suddenly saw the change. His belly was gone, his coat shone, his ribs were covered and his eyes sparkled.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

One thing I would add to the original post:
10) feed to the optimum weight of the horse. If you feed to the weight of the underweight horse, you won't feed enough. If the horse is 800 lbs, but should be 1100, you would feed at the 1100 weight amount. If you feed only at the 800 amount, the horse won't get enough to add weight.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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