More grain??

Ok, so our border had the vet out to look at her horse last week. She was having issues chewing - turns out she's got a mouf full of nasty teef. (We've recommended her having a dental done for a year now.)

Anyway, the vet takes care of what needed to be done, then tells the border that the horse could use more "caloric intake". She recommended doubling her grain and top dressing it with corn oil.

Ok, here are my reservations:
*Doubling grain? That seems a bit extreme. Before this horse came here she was getting a coffee can of sweet feed a day. Like 4 lbs. She was as boogery as you could imagine. We dropped her to one lb. Gro-n-win and one lb. Sweet feed. Much better attitude.

*Now, if this horse had teef issues, which are now fixed, wouldn't that help the horse with her "weight"?

*I'm feeding 200 lbs of first crop grassy hay per day to five horses, split between two feedings. My math tells me that's more than enough, even in winter. According to the trusty weight tape, I've got 5100 lbs of horse out there. My opinion is that they are all in good weight with the exception of TBD, who gets fat reading the menu. Ribs are there, but you gotta dig deep.

*It's my understanding that the best method for weight gain is to push the hay at em.

*I'm indifferent on the corn oil. We used it on our TB mare years back - seemed to work in giving her loose poops. Currently the vet said to feed her 1/4 cup, gradually increasing that over 10 days to 1/2 cup. Seems insignificant to me.

Thoughts?

Free choice hay
Drop the sweet grain
Add beet pulp or alfalfa pellets/cubes

I agree with Peggysue.

Peggysue is on the mark. The oil will help -- after you soak the beet pulp, mix in the veg. Oil. Whether 1/2 cup is enough or not depends on the horse. I gave my 16.3 stdbrd 1/2 cup of oil twice a day with beet pulp, molasses/sugar-free grain and free choice hay. Within 2 weeks there was a marked improvement.

The boarder's horse that was seen by the vet for her teeth issues is in good weight. Is there even a need to switch her to beet pulp?

Well, the vet seems to think she needs something anyway. The beet pulp won't hurt her. If she hasn't been eating properly, she probably is underweight. Sometimes when we see something up close everyday we don't see the changes that can come slowly. Maybe she is just a little on the thin side and the beet pulp/oil/increased feed will give her a foot-up to get back on track where she was.

Why not post a pic?

Ditto!

Having her teeth done will greatly improve her digestion, which should help her weight as well. If you want fat, I'd rather add some whole flax or stabilized rice bran.

No, if she's at a good weight, then why would she need "more caloric intake"?? Did the vet think she was thin?

The horse is not thin. You look at her & you can't see her ribs. You feel along her ribcage and can't feel them unless you push. The owner even says the horse looks like she is in good weight.

Well then, if ain't broke, don't fix it, lol. If anything, you might have to decrease her grain in the near future, since her choppers will work better now.