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What to do over the winter??

5K views 43 replies 13 participants last post by  Janasse 
#1 ·
Okay so my gelding is 17, will be 18 in March. He's always been a harder keeper, especially over the winters. He seems to already be starting to lose weight, even though it's only gotten down to the 40's at night. He does get more ribby when ridden a lot, he's been ridden about 5x a week, but not hard at all. He gets a little over one scoop of senior feed twice a day along with beet pulp. Right now he has free choice hay and probably (hopefully) will continue to have that through the winter. Should I start blanketing him to keep him from burning calories to keep warm overnight? Or is there something else I could do?
 
#3 ·
Has he grown a thick coat? If not, yes put a blanket on him at night so he doesn't burn unnecessary calories. Make sure you're feeding him enough of the senior for his size. It goes by weight, so a scope can mean anything.
 
#4 ·
I've measured it out before but don't remember exactly how much one scoop weighs.. I will try to figure that out next time I go out there. He has a pretty thick coat every year and it's already coming in thick.. We've slowly been upping his feed to help him maintain his weight, but I didn't know if there were any supplements that would help or if putting his blanket on him would make much difference? Usually I only put it on him if it's supposed to get below about 30 or 35. (It never gets any colder here than the low 20s-upper teens)
 
#5 ·
Senior feed is mostly protein, so maybe adding a fat supplement would round things out. Do you have Farham Weight Builder in your area? It's 40% fat and fairly inexpensive compared to other fat supplements. If not that, then something like Nutrena Empower or Omegatin.
 
#6 ·
There is actually another boarder at my barn who has been giving her horse that while she is recovering from a really bad colic case and it's helping her gain weight back.. I should have thought of that. If I can't find it in town I could get it online though!
 
#8 ·
Well I was open to all opinions on things I could do :) I've never even heard of Agway.. Haha. We have tractor supply and 2 local places. So pretty much any fat supplement would help him gain and keep on weight? Right now you can faintly see his ribs and you can feel them, and he's never quite been as "big" as I'd like him to be :/
 
#26 ·
Okay, so what do you think about these two? The second is cheaper and provides more calories.. What else should I be looking for in a supplement?

Cool Calories 100 - Horse Weight Gain Supplements from SmartPak Equine

Hard Keeper Solution Vita Flex Nutrition (Equine - Supplements - Weight Builders)
I totally agree with Bubba in that oil is just as good. I tried all the oils and for me the cool calories seems a lot cheaper. it's like 30. for a bag that will last me with 4 big Tbs several months. when i but corn oil for olive oil or canola oil i go through a bottle a week at about 8 to 12 each time so the cool calories seem to work really well and be cheaper, or at least it seems that way to me. unless Bubba has some secret place to buy real oil on the cheap LOL in which case I'd go with that.
My horses love the oil and it has really helped with their coats. Also it really put the weight on my VERY hard keeping Tbs.
 
#11 ·
If adding more fat/oil to his diet turns out to be not enough, I'd really suggest blanketing him as well.
Correct blanketing (aka, referring to a blanketing chart and using suitably weighted blankets for outside temperatures) can do wonders for keeping weight on, especially when it comes to older horses.
I know with my mare (26 years old), she starts dropping weight like crazy when it gets cold if she's not blanketed, no matter how much hay/grain she gets. She'll get "hot" from the extra feed but she'll be skinny and "hot". As soon as I blanket her, the weight will stay on and I don't need to feed nearly as much because she's not needing to eat a ton to stay warm.

However, I'd start with trying to change his feed regime and if that doesn't work well enough, then consider blanketing. :)
 
#13 ·
So pretty much any fat supplement would help him gain and keep on weight? Right now you can faintly see his ribs and you can feel them, and he's never quite been as "big" as I'd like him to be :/
Not really. You need to find the right fat supplement for him and his metabolisim. I would drop the beet pulp - it's just filler. Senior and empower is what we have our 25 year old mare on to maintain her weight.

Sheet or Blanket also. Saves calories if he doesn't have to work as hard to stay warm.
 
#15 ·
My 20 year old mare is a hard keeper. We just started her on equipro 12/12 max I think it's called. Its 12% fat and has other things in it. We also give her Beet pulp mixed with cracked corn and wheat. Seems to be working, she's feeling and looking great! We also give her a sea cucumber supplement for her joints, which I noticed a difference in just days with that- with all of this together she's like a new horse! She also gets blanketed in the winter... Verrry soon her blanket will be going on!
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#16 ·
He was just started 2 or 3 weeks ago on a different joint supplement, I think it was called Corta Flx. I've never heard of a sea cucumber supplement before. But usually Hunter gets blanketed only if it's below like 30.. Some nights 35. Should I start blanketing him sooner? Right now it's getting into the low 40s at night and is in the 70s in the day.
 
#17 ·
You'll want to verify with your own research, but I just did a preliminary look-around, as it's been a very long time since I had to feed a skinny horse oil. Looks like corn oil is bad, as is sunflower oil. Canola oil and soybean oil are still not ideal, but far preferable. If you can get flax seed, I think that is the gold standard. And I just read something about coconut oil potentially being very good, as well.

The Truth about Feeding Horses Corn Oil » SmartPak Equine Blog
 
#19 ·
we use Cool Calories and a probiotic supplement to keep our OTTB as fat as a pig!!

Seriously. He's fat. Our vet came out today as Epona, our Belgian mare had an allergic reaction to...something.....vet thinks something bit her multiple times...and she was amazed at how fat our OTTB is.

She said she wouldn't advise that we allow him to gain anymore weight.:lol:

:lol::lol::lol:


He was plump like this all through last winter....with just using Cool Calories and SmartDigest from Smart Pak.....oh, and we do blanket him.
 
#20 ·
we use Cool Calories and a probiotic supplement to keep our OTTB as fat as a pig!!

Seriously. He's fat. Our vet came out today as Epona, our Belgian mare had an allergic reaction to...something.....vet thinks something bit her multiple times...and she was amazed at how fat our OTTB is.

She said she wouldn't advise that we allow him to gain anymore weight.:lol:

:lol::lol::lol:


He was plump like this all through last winter....with just using Cool Calories and SmartDigest from Smart Pak.....oh, and we do blanket him.
I'll be looking more into trying the Cool Calories. :) how cold does it get before you blanket him? I see you're up in Pennsylvania and I'm way down in Georgia...
 
#21 · (Edited)
Cool calories is endorsed by Bob Avila and Amy Tryon which didn't mean alot to me, but it impressed my BO....:D

So I gave it a try.

Feeding him only free choice hay, SmartDigest probiotic supplement, 2 scoops of Cool calories, 1 lb shredded alfalfa cubes and 3 lbs of Purina Strategy....while on DRY LOT with only 1 hour grass time daily, he went from a body score middle two, looking like this the day we bought him:




to looking like THIS in only 5 months:




Since his weight gain, we have modified his diet somewhat and moved to a private farm with 23 acres of lush green grass.

Almost two years since we bought him, His current picture, taken last week shows him looking like this:










Rather plump for aN OTTB, we are told and he is constantly mistaken for an Appendix...:lol: He has grayed out dramatically, and his dapples have exploded!! lol. He was mostly black before.....



His current diet consists of daily

1 scoop Cool Calories
1 LB shredded alfalfa cubes
Probiotic supplement
2.5 lbs Strategy
7 hours of grass time
free choice timothy hay

I don't know if it's just his genetics or what, but he is one fat dude!! For an OTTB, that is....for a standard horse, he is about right. I don't know how he came to look like he did in the green picture we took the day we bought him, but since he is a definite easy keeper, I can only assume he was purposely starved....because when fed properly, he will eat and eat and eat. He literally eats more than our draft. For real!!! He gets two extra flakes than her....and almost always eats every last stem!!!

Vet was out yesterday to see Epona for an allergic reaction and commented on Beau: "he looks good but PLEASE don't let him gain anymore weight".:lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
#22 ·
Senior's is a completely balanced ration for the senior horse even if he has no teeth. It has extra oils and probiotics. It's best to weigh the scoop of feed. I dump it into a plastic bag and head for the grocery store. He can have no more than 5 lbs per feeding. I like to scatter them well. A feed pan allows the horse to bolt them down. The faster in, the faster out. An old table top with sides makes the horse nibble them, better digestion. Also consider using a small mesh hay net, again to slow him down. They are less than $10 from Chick's. Tie it high so he doesn't paw at it, which breaks it.
 
#23 ·
If he's already growing a good coat, do not blanket him. Blanketing causes them to overheat and dehydrate. You live in Geogia. Our horses are fine in -35 which you people have no concept of. I was in Georgia in November and tho't the cooler temps were great, good working weather for us Canadians.
 
#24 ·
Saddlebag, you have to take into consideration that our horses are acclimated to the colder weather. To the horses where the OP is the winter temperatures are cold to them. You can't compare the situations without taking that into consideration.


OP - Have you had your horse looked over by the vet to make sure there isn't an underlying condition as to why he won't gain/keep weight? It is at least looking into. :) If you have already mentioned that he was looked at, I didn't see the post. :)
 
#25 ·
Thanks beausant for the detailed diet of your guy and the pictures!

I've never had hunter looked at by a vet because of him being a hard keeper, ive just noticed that he loses weight when he is ridden more or when it gets cooler. He's a pretty good size in summer with warmer weather and being ridden less. He's only lost weight in the summer with heat indexes like over 100F and him sweating a lot.

His food is somewhat spread out for him to eat, and he doesn't rush to eat like some horses do. He also takes his time eating hay, so I don't think how fast he eats big bites is a problem.
 
#27 ·
I also have a 17 year old, he is TB-QH cross, I live in NB Canada, it goes down to the -40's here in the winter, my guy is out 24/7,with access to a barn and shelter, I dont blanket at all during the fall, early winter, he grows a beautiful thick winter coat....By putting a blanket on, the horse cant adjust, I feed my boy BOSS, Flaxseeds, MSM, free choice hay. ..He gets Probiotics for 3 months out of the year..He was a hard keeper until we finally found what works for him..My boy cannot have any starch or sugar, I tried feeding him Soya bean meal which had 0.003% starch, he went crazy with his nerves..You would think such a small amout of starch on a 1200 pound horse wouldnt make a differnce...anyways, back on topic.....I will blanket my boy during the winter if it goes below -30, At his age, Im just trying to prevent him un nessasary weight loss from shivering, I have not seen him shiver, but, I want to make sure he doesn't..
 
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