[Rachel1786]

This was honestly just a random thought I had while eating my hamburger for dinner. I know it's high in omega 3's and fat and I'm always looking for ways to get my seniors weight up since he can only eat so much food. So can you give mayo to a horse? Has anyone here ever given or heard of anyone give it? Would they even eat it?

Like I said, this was just one of those random things that popped into my head. I don't think I would actually give it, well unless a ton of people say it's worked great and it's a healthy fat and omega 3 source lol.

 

[PaintHorseMares]

It certainly has a lot of fat, but it also has a lot of sugar (not to mention all the preservatives and stuff). I would stay away from it.

 

[Peppy Barrel Racing]

Instead of Mayo I would suggest trying an easily soluable fat supplement or you can also add oil to your horses feed. I feed my TB 14% with beet pulp with a weight supplement powder or fatty oil. This keeps him nice and plump since I do some much work with him and he is a hard keeper weight wise. Beet pulp is a high fiber food supports good digestion it is also easy to digest. There is also a wheat bran you can try too. Since he's an old man I hope he's on senior feed since its easier to chew. There are also ground up senior feeds you can try that you add water to that are easy to swallow if he has teeth problem.Sorry I don't know anything about mayo but its sounds like it would be unhealthy for your horse.

 

[Rachel1786]

Instead of Mayo I would suggest trying an easily soluable fat supplement or you can also add oil to your horses feed. I feed my TB 14% with beet pulp with a weight supplement powder or fatty oil. This keeps him nice and plump since I do some much work with him and he is a hard keeper weight wise. Beet pulp is a high fiber food supports good digestion it is also easy to digest. There is also a wheat bran you can try too. Since he's an old man I hope he's on senior feed since its easier to chew. There are also ground up senior feeds you can try that you add water to that are easy to swallow if he has teeth problem.Sorry I don't know anything about mayo but its sounds like it would be unhealthy for your horse.

He's 36 with a lot of missing teeth so he's on triple crown senior, soaked with beetpulp,alfalfa pellets and Hard keeper solution and smartpak smart flex senior supplements. He also gets chopped hay and 24/7 pasture. The mayo thing was pretty much a random thought about how maybe I can add some more fat and calories to his diet. I just got a bag of soybean meal which I will start adding to his feed tomorrow.
I know the store bought mayo is pretty loaded with crap, but I hear it's easy to make your own, so I was thinking of maybe making some for him lol. I would do anything for this horse.

 

[Peppy Barrel Racing]

He's 36 with a lot of missing teeth so he's on triple crown senior, soaked with beetpulp,alfalfa pellets and Hard keeper solution and smartpak smart flex senior supplements. He also gets chopped hay and 24/7 pasture. The mayo thing was pretty much a random thought about how maybe I can add some more fat and calories to his diet. I just got a bag of soybean meal which I will start adding to his feed tomorrow.
I know the store bought mayo is pretty loaded with crap, but I hear it's easy to make your own, so I was thinking of maybe making some for him lol. I would do anything for this horse.

Sounds like your doing a good job with him as long as he is maintaining a healthy weight I wouldn't worry about him too much its hard to keep weight on old timers.

 

[Delfina]

I added Cool Calories to my gelding's smartpak. He's only 5 but he dropped a ton of weight for some unexplained reason (Vet is stumped) and is struggling to gain it back no matter how much food I shovel at him. It's all fat and calories.

 

[Masquerade]

Horses are not designed to digest milk products like mayo which is why people add high fat oils to increase calories. Even if you made your own mayo to feed, it has raw eggs in it and could lead to salmonella or go off if it takes your old man a long time to eat his dinner with his few remaining teeth. :wink:

 

[Saskia]

Yeah I wouldn't go mayo. Its not going to have more calories than the same amount of oil would have... so I don't know, just seems a little pointless even before you consider possible health side effects. I gave my horse boiled barley when I wanted him to put on weight, also, just add oil to the feed - very high in calories.

 

[kitten_Val]

Feeding mayo to the horse does sound weird. I wouldn't check that out personally. If you want to add more calories go with the usual oil instead.

 

[Corporal]

He's 36 with a lot of missing teeth so he's on triple crown senior, soaked with beetpulp,alfalfa pellets and Hard keeper solution and smartpak smart flex senior supplements. He also gets chopped hay and 24/7 pasture. The mayo thing was pretty much a random thought about how maybe I can add some more fat and calories to his diet. I just got a bag of soybean meal which I will start adding to his feed tomorrow.
I know the store bought mayo is pretty loaded with crap, but I hear it's easy to make your own, so I was thinking of maybe making some for him lol. I would do anything for this horse.

Agreed with above--NO MAYO, bc it's base is eggs and your horse is a herbavore. (Might be good for your old dog?!?)
UNfortunately, every horse over 30 yo wil NOT have any tooth growth. All the teeth left in his mouth are wearing down or falling out at this point. He might enjoy grabbing mouthfulls of grass but most of it is now falling out of his mouth, unmasticated, undigested. He needs ANY food that can be made into a mash and any food that won't wear his leftover teeth down ANY MORE. I prefer Purina Equine Senior--lots of good senior food-but that's bc it's been tasted on elderly horses (AT Southern Illinois University's Ag school) and they found that their elderly horses that had little or no teeth did indeed gain weight being fed that as a mash. EVERY horse can have different feeding specifications, so I'd check with your Vet about what to feed HIM. =D
(You're an angel caretaking an old horse!!)

 

[loosie]

There is also a wheat bran you can try

Agree with what others have said, except this bit. Wheat is not a good feed for horses & wheat bran is seriously high in phosphorus, which can lead to probs such as 'big head' & other skeletal issues, due to calcium deficiency. Low starch/sugar diets, high in fibre are best and a little oil can be good, but not much and it must be added very gradually starting with tiny amounts, for the horse to produce the enzymes to digest it.

Sounds like you're doing ok by your old guy Rachel... so long as you don't bother with the mayo:lol:

 

[Rachel1786]

Agreed with above--NO MAYO, bc it's base is eggs and your horse is a herbavore. (Might be good for your old dog?!?)
UNfortunately, every horse over 30 yo wil NOT have any tooth growth. All the teeth left in his mouth are wearing down or falling out at this point. He might enjoy grabbing mouthfulls of grass but most of it is now falling out of his mouth, unmasticated, undigested. He needs ANY food that can be made into a mash and any food that won't wear his leftover teeth down ANY MORE. I prefer Purina Equine Senior--lots of good senior food-but that's bc it's been tasted on elderly horses (AT Southern Illinois University's Ag school) and they found that their elderly horses that had little or no teeth did indeed gain weight being fed that as a mash. EVERY horse can have different feeding specifications, so I'd check with your Vet about what to feed HIM. =D
(You're an angel caretaking an old horse!!)

He actually does pretty well with grass, even hay, although I now give him chopped hay which he loves. His senior is very well soaked to the point where it's almost soupy. I do not like purina senior at all, I put him on that last year on our vets recommendation and he just kept loosing weight on it, triple crowns ingredients are 100x better then purina's! Our vet does not know a whole lot about nutrition(most don't, as the 3hrs they get on it are given by the big feed company).

Agree with what others have said, except this bit. Wheat is not a good feed for horses & wheat bran is seriously high in phosphorus, which can lead to probs such as 'big head' & other skeletal issues, due to calcium deficiency. Low starch/sugar diets, high in fibre are best and a little oil can be good, but not much and it must be added very gradually starting with tiny amounts, for the horse to produce the enzymes to digest it.

Sounds like you're doing ok by your old guy Rachel... so long as you don't bother with the mayo:lol:

Thanks Loosie, I've nixed the mayo idea lol What type of oil would you suggest and how much to start and how much to work up to? I've heard mixed things about feeding oil so I've been hesitant to do so.

 

[masatisan]

I added Cool Calories to my gelding's smartpak. He's only 5 but he dropped a ton of weight for some unexplained reason (Vet is stumped) and is struggling to gain it back no matter how much food I shovel at him. It's all fat and calories.

Have you had a chiropractor take a look at him? They look at things from a totally different perspective and very often find things that vets will totally miss.