Slim horses?

I would go ahead and get his teeth done. I'm betting that would help more than the specialized feed. Horses want to graze and when their teeth hurt or make it hard to graze it's harder to get weight on them. If you did get the teeth done and kept the feedings that you already have I would guess (I say guess because I don't really know how much you are exercising him) that he should have the 50# packed on by halloween.

I plan to get both horses done here real soon, I just didnt do it when he came(the vet) because I wasnt set up to contain him safely after he was sedated.And I was by myself.He did say they werent bad though.But I certainly understand the importance for weight gain especially!Thanks.

Oh but come on guys, all old horses are skinny :roll:

Yes there is no excuse. I have a growing and filling out 5 year old who I manage to keep at a 5 or 6 out of 10 condition score in moderately heavy work.
We just sold our 21 year old horse in perfect condition and health to some wonderful people that also have no problem keeping weight on him.
It's not that hard. Give them pasture/grass hay and a good mineral supplement and they do really well. Unless you're dealing with a hard keeper, IR horse or any other horse with a food issue. Then all you have to do is construct a feed program with your vet/nutritionalist and a couple books. It's not hard.

Stella was skinny when we got her and I fattened her up on grass hay and pasture. During the summer my horses live on pasture alone (except for this year's drought) and nobody gets grain. It's definitely not rocket science to keep a horse thriving. These are her before and after pictures. (I know most of you have seen them posted several times already. )

I guess it depends on the situation. There are quite a few people on here including myself who have horses that have been rescued. All 3 of my horses were in just awful condition when I got them but they have come a long way in the time I've had them. Still not 100% but nearly

Some have tbs, once again like myself, that are terribly hard to keep good weight on. They are a slender breed to start with and the tiniest amount of weight lost really shows.

As far all the others *sighs* I just don't know. Lack of education and a lot of people seem to have not been educated properly with regards to feeding.

And then there are those that can't afford to feed because of the droughts that are going on everywhere but they wont sell their horse to someone who will be able to care for it.

I've thought about this a lot myself and that's the best I can come up with :)

Are we talking slim horse or actually skinny? I know vets around here are pushing for slimmer horses to reduce the risk of founder because too many people have gone too far the other way and getting their horses too fat and founder was on the rise. On the other hand - if you can see ribs and such, then that is not good either.

There is a healthy range. Some horses are going to stay on the slimmer side of the range and others on the heavier side. Anything outside of that healthy range - too heavy or too light - is not healthy.

I go by the ribs should be felt but not seen.

Urgh I hate hate hate hate!!!!!!!!!!! HATE!!!!!!! The way thin horses look. I mean even if its not unhealthy but still thin, I just hate that look. I know SOME people will say they like their horses like that, not chubby whatsoever. But I strongly disagree. My horses are ideal weight and apperance for warmbloods which is a little bulky, I really don't know how to say it haha, and my project pony is very chunky. He is loosing weight but I would much rather have him look super fat than thin. Much more cute I think!

While I agree a horse that is well-muscled and filled-out looks the best (heck my favorite breed is the haflinger!) I just shake my head at the super fat comment. After having seen the effects of founder on a cresty-necked horse (not my own thankfully) and the pain that horse went through, I just can not think of any over-weight horse as cute.

3 neighs, may I ask how long it took to fatten up your horse? She looks beautiful.I wish I had pasture for our boys.It sure would help the process Im sure.Wish me luck and knowledge getting Butler bulked up before winter hits us.

sorry if my post was a little unclear...

I do NOT think an overwieght horse is a cute horse. However I wuld find it more cute than a bone thin horse.