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OTTB weight gain advice!

5K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  happygoose123 
#1 ·
I'm asking this for my friend Krista who can't get on the internet on a regular basis right now. She wants to know what you OTTB owners feed to put weight on? Jordan is about 300 pounds underwight. Right now he's getting an Alfalfa/orchard grass hay mix and she's going to get him some equine senior for the extra calories even though he's only 6. She's also wondering about weight gain suppliments...........do they work? Are there any in praticular that work best? Thanks for any help!
 
#2 · (Edited)
I have a stallion that is a hard keeper, he is not a OTTB but it is a miniature horse who has history of ulcers. I have tried farnam weight builder with little success and had much better luck, actually amazing results with a product made by start to finish called Cool Omega 40+. It is 40% fat. The weight builder from farnam axtually made him hot and hard to deal with.
Beet pulp is low in nutritional value but works wonders for adding weight to horses, especially in covering ribs and backbone. Rice bran is high in fat also and contains quite a few more nutrients than beet pulp.
I would not necesarily look for a senior feed for extra calories but would find a feed low in starch and high in fat and fiber. Find something that is nutritionally balanced to be fed with alfalfa mixes. Can you give free choice hay to him? Free choice hay works wonders for adding weight rather than feeding hay in small bursts.
Sorry I am not much more help, it is late here and I am tired.
Hopefully peggysue will see this as she is a lot more knowledgable about adding weight and feed programs for horses than I am.
 
#3 ·
I agree with the rice bran that is what i am giving Joe right now with a lot of corn oil. In the past when I first got Joe and he is an ottb, he was skin and bones, i used Strategy grain by Purina (not the one with grass in it) and a weight supplement which changed every so often. Stategy is really good for their digestive system, (joe pooed a lot on it lol, but he gained a lot and didnt get high from it) I just recently switched back to rice bran because i couldnt get the Strategy when I needed it and i cut back on giving weight supplement because he is at a good weight and they are a little over my budget.
 
#6 ·
My OTTB is still on his racing diet, he gets sweet feed (racehorse 10), senior feed, whole oats, alfalfa/bermuda pellets and alfalfa. Alfalfa because he won't eat bermuda, he's not spoiled at all...
Besides all that he gets wheat germ oil, electrolytes (AZ) and glucosamine/chondroitin mix. Still want to add vitamin B complex and clovite eventually. Total he gets about 20 pounds of feed a day (half of it alfalfa, half "good stuff") and he has gained about a 150 pounds since I got him. Since he is on "hot' food he certainly has a lot of energy, but since he's not a mean horse by any means I'm ok with that and he's in a stall with room and entertainment enough for him to not get claustrophobic. Also if feeding a horse that much, you better make sure he gets the exercise he needs, so we ride about 5 times a week.
I've heard a lot of good things about rice bran, but believe there is something to be said for continuation, so I give him what he's been having for years (he raced until he was 11, he's almost 13 now) and he seems happy.
He'll never be fat, but that's just the way he's built.
 
#9 ·
Well, our pregnat OTTB mare is on a diet of 2 scoops 12% sweet feed and 2 scoops of Equi Jewl Rice Bran. She is still skinny, but it helps her gain a little wight.
 
#10 ·
I looked after an aged ottb mare last year and she was litterally skin and bone when I started looking after her, I only had her for a little while so didnt get her as fat as i would have liked but she certainatly put on allot of weight.
She was on as much hay as she could eat, sometimes up to 2 conventional bales a day. and three feeds a day of 500grams meadow hay chaff,500grams sugarbeet, 500grams equijewel, and one kg of Dunstan gumnuts with one cup of corn oil, probiotics, diamond v yeast, equilibrium, palamountains bone and joint, lindseed and tox-defy.
The other thing about ottbs is that they must be kept warm, my ottb had 5 covers on over winter last year just to keep him warm outdoors.
 
#11 ·
Didn't read any posts (I'm lazy).

Beat pulp! Just put about 50 pounds on my gelding in a week, with THREE feedings a day.

Check for ulcers if he's off the track.

Free choice hay! I've heard corn oil can do nasty things to their intestines, so be careful with that!
 
#13 ·
Here is the best way I have found to put weight on a TB withOUT making them high as a kite.

First, more hay or add a meal of bermuda hay.

Next, beet pulp, shredded with NO molasses. Start with one 2 qt feed scoop. Put it in a 5 gal bucket, put enough water in to just cover the beet pulp. Let it soak for 15-30 minutes, then drain off the excess water. Over 2 weeks, work your way up to 3- 2qt scoops a day (about 3-4 lbs dry weight).

To the beet pulp, add stabilized rice bran. Start with 1/4 cup, working your way up to 1 cup (about 1 lb). You can increase to 2 lbs a day. Mix in with the beet pulp after you drained off the water.

Last, add in a probiotic or a multi-vitamin that has probiotics. Something like Source Focus WT or one of the following:
Mega-Mag? from SmartPak Equine
SmartVite Maintenance Grass from SmartPak Equine
Select I from SmartPak Equine

And finally, give it time. A horse should gain weight slowly, to gain muscle not just fat or water weight.

Sweet feed, feed pellets, and even senior feeds can amp up a TB like crazy. I've gone through it with a few TBs and crosses myself ;). I would NOT feed any commercial feed to him at all. Just hay, beet pulp, and vitamins.
 
#14 ·
I wanted to add that sweet feeds and pelleted feeds can actually cause a horse to lose weight. The extra energy amps up the metabolism, which makes the horse burn those calories faster. So, you end up feeding a LOT more food just to stay ahead of the curve. If you cut those things out of the diet, the horse will actually gain weight quicker and be a lot calmer.

My "hard keeper" TBxArab cross now gets almost too FAT on just bermuda (about 25 lbs a day), 1.5 lbs of Alfalfa pellets, 1.5 lbs of whole oats, a little flax, and a vitamin supplement!

We tried for a year to put weight on him with all kinds of feeds and fancy weight gaining supplements. He finally piled it on once our last boarding stable owner convinced us to try just hay and some flax. He lost a little at first, but it all quickly turned around!

I will never buy another commercially prepared feed again.
 
#15 ·
i bought my mare from the doggers and she was as skinny as you could get. when i was putting weight on her i was feeding her a mixture called weight-lifter. i dont know if it is available where you are but if it is i hightly recommend it you can buy it from any produce. it has all the suppliments you need already in it and it is so good for horses. mix that with some chaff and feed the horse hay as well and he will be the right weight in no time!
 
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