tell me what you think about my gelding

Hi,

I have been working on putting weight back on my gelding after he had colic. I know he needs more weight but I need tips on building muscle and maybe more weight. He is on 12% pellets alfalfa and crimped oats. Also a cup of beat pulp. I don't want to feed much more then that he is also on a supplement that helps him digest things better.

Here is another pic

I think he looks like a fairly healthy weight, maybe a tad bit more because his ribs seem a little visible further up. I think we like to see plumper horses, but really, they are healthier on the lean side. It may just take time to get that little bit of additional weight on. You know though, everyone looks at them differently. Some may think he needs a lot more weight and some think he is perfect at this point.

I agree. If we talking healthy weight, as opposed to those who are accustomed to & want to see roley poleys, he looks reasonable. Perhaps a tad on the light side, but only a tad - & as with us & other animals, a bit too light is healthier than too heavy.

Why do you feed him the oats? How much do you feed of everything? How often? Does he get free choice grazing or hay too? The more frequently you can feed small meals, the better & the more they get out of what you feed(& also the less complications when feeding grain etc). So perhaps the difference you need to make is just in feeding the amount you currently are in smaller more frequent portions.

Regarding muscle building, extra protein may be beneficial, so replacing some of his grass hay with lucerne\alfalfa hay may be good. Making sure he has 24\7 turnout with mates to keep him moving, as well as you exercising him regularly too should do it. Hill work is particularly beneficial.

Your horse does not seem too bad but remember that horses use up their fat reserves around their organs before we even notice they are looking a bit thin on the outside.

Full fat Soya feed is good to add to your feed if your horse is a bit on the light side or has lost condition.
The racing world use it to build their equines up. Soya fat is also a good source of protein which will also help build up muscle. My horse dropped a bit of weight at the beginning of the winter, so I have been adding a small amount soya to mine and my friends horses feed. It worked really well and is cheap. Only this weekend a guy commented on how fantastic the horses were looking for the end of winter. It gives them a nice shiny coat too. I did a bit of research on the net and could not find any ill side effects or health issues for the soya. Only thing is it smells like Chinese take away, but the horses seem to like it.

Same questions as loosie... Especially regarding the forage. It really is amazing what a GOOD quality forage can do to put weight on your horse. In a lot of cases it is actually a better option then adding grain.

I feed him twice a day (per vet) the oats (per vet) was really the only grain he could eat for a while. And I have just kept that in his diet as we have changed and added. His total intake of grain/sup is once scoop (lb) of the oats and 1 of the 12% pellet, also 2 lbs of the dried alfalfa twice a day also he gets once cup of beatpulp on the last feeding and also a stomach suplement that the vet had me get to help him digest food and grass better. He is never locked up and always able to graze and I keep hay out for him to eat. He is out with the others but to be honest he would rather walk the run and play with them. He is gaining weight just slow about it. Im more concernd with the way his witthers are so thin and high. I live in FL and well we don't have that many hills lots of sand though lol. A lil history about him I purchased him not knowing that the owner throws her feed on the ground and lets her horses eat it like that and that he was not always hin a pasture but a round pen. So I got him home after the vet check and put him on the same sand colic prevention my other horses are on and he went down. He had 6 mop buckets of sand come out of him and the vet said he had never seen a horse pass that much sand and not get a blockage. He lived droped to 400lbs and was as weak as a newborn. Now here we are he is almost compleatly healthy. The vet said that the sand cut up his insides.

Considering where he's been, he looks great. How is he feeling in terms of energy? Other than a few ribs, is he back to normal otherwise? I thankfully don't know much about the long term affects of sand colic.

Irritates me so much to hear that! If your vet is not savvy about equine nutrition, how are you supposed to know better?? If feeding 'hard feed', esp grain in only 2 meals per day, no wonder he still has digestive probs. I'd get onto an equine nutritionist(pref independent of feed co) and get them to advise you on what/how to feed. As for 'only grain he could eat', oats are about the safest & only grain I'd consider giving a horse as a rule. Don't get the comment about changing & adding.

My giddy aunt! 6 buckets!! As for the owner putting feed on the ground, *generally* that shouldn't be a problem - that is, after all where horses naturally find their food. But if they were in a pen with no pasture, and perhaps also weren't fed as much/often as they should have been, then this can lead to them ingesting too much sand & the likes, as they try to get every morsel out of it.

As for not having hills, working in sand is probably almost as good.

I just looked up an equine nutritionist and the only one around here is with the nutrina feed dealer and will only cost me around $250 to come out and see me LOL I will keep looking and cross my fingers I find one a lil cheaper. In all it is two full buckets ( my scooper is a 3qt) god I am happy that I cheaped out and did not get the huge one now that I know my vet is a quack when it comes to feeding him. His energy is good but he is spoiled rotten and know that I will give him extra treats here and there so he takes his time to come in. And the pellets are just a 12%pellet should I pull that from him? He seems to really love them. Maybe increase the oats and reduce the pellet? I am afraid to give him to much protien. How much beat pulp can you feed? I feed 1 cup and I measure it out is that enough? I took him for a walk in the sand last night and he loved it!!