Weight gaining supplement?

I've used extruded soybean meal (1 cup twice daily) with REALLY good results on an 18 year old Belgian that gets diarrhea with even the slightest amount of alfalfa. In his thinnest period I also added 1 cup of Calf Manna supplement twice daily; but only needed that for a couple of months. He'll be on the extruded soybean meal forever! Good luck!!

How do I know how much rice bran to add to his feed? I have also heard of people adding corn oil to their grain...what do you think of this?

I'm just curious, how is lunging going to be hard on his joints? He's doing very well with it and actually seems to REALLY enjoy it. The pasture is usually frozen and uneven so he doesn't do much out there to get his energy out and is just grazing on hay all day, so this keeps him "sane". He loves being lunged and his expression brightens and is very excited to be moving about. I do not lunge for more than 10-15 minutes (including walking in between transitions so he can catch his breath) and its mostly walking and trotting with maybe 2 minutes of cantering because he gets too excited by that point and overworks himself, we do maybe 3 circles each direction and we walk for a good 15 minutes to cool down (his thick coat makes him so hot so quick).

He is stalled at night because they do not offer pasture board. He is in pasture sun up to sun down and is stalled at night, unless the weather is unbearable (like the past 2 days...who has ever heard of thunderstorms and 60 degree weather during January in Chicago). The paddock is way to muddy and slippery to let them out until the ground freezes up again, which is supposed to be Wednesday, so he has really been enjoying his lunging sessions.

I feel you on the weather being wonky we are in Chicago too! My hard keeper (the Oldenburg on our profile) did the best on ricebran. We tried him on Triple Crown Senior and he was struggling to keep weight on and VERY hot on it. Switched to Strategy and ricebran and he was a different, and plump, horse. I would start with a cup each feeding and see if your horse likes it, then you can gradually up it. At his best weight and in full work, my guy was getting free choice hay, 1 1/2 scoops of strategy 3x a day with 2 cups of ricebran per graining (+ u-guard and salt/mineral mix). He is a huge guy and it took active managing to keep him at a good weight! You will also love what the ricebran does for their coats! Best of luck!

I found a colt in an abandoned barn a couple years ago. I called the Sheriffs department and they handed him over to me. He was emaciated. I got a couple vet recommendations of a diet of flaxseed oil, alfalfa, oats, and plain yogurt. It was crazy how quickly he put on weight. Your horse doesn't look too bad though. Heres some before and after pictures of the colt. The first picture was taken the day I brought him home, the second picture was taken about 6 months later.

I have been using Purina Ultium feed. It is high in fat. Has been working great! My horse has gained around 150 lbs since I got her 4 months ago. I feed about 2 pounds a day. One in the morning and one in the evening. You need to gradually work them into the amount you want them to have. Vegetable oil and corn oil work great too. Bout 2-4 oz per feeding of oat/grain

Really? Hmmm. I was about to try Ultium the other day after studying their brochure at the feed store, but got Patriot 14 instead and was going to try ultium next. I don't need either of them to gain weight!! I was going to get it b/c it didn't seem too "fattening". Maybe I will hold off.

I talked to the barn owner today and she recommended Empower. She feeds it to her TB gelding and he does great on it. I'll keep you guys updated!