[HorseRider403]

My horse is a 22 year old Quarter Horse gelding who can't seem to keep his weight. At any time of the year he is thinner than he should be but since winter has arrived he's gotten even skinnier. I've upped his feed to a scoop of senior grain and 2 1/2 scoops of beet pulp and over the 2 months i've been feeding him that he still isnt gaining weight. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[MIEventer]

I would have his teeth checked, and I would get a fecal test done to ensure that he doesn't have parasites. Get him scoped for ulcers as well.

If that passes, get his face infront of a round bale. My TB is 20 and is a hard keeper and he flourishes with roughage in his tummy 24/7.

If you are feeding Purina Senior - I would up his feed graudally to 4lbs twice a day which would = 8lbs a day.

I would also look into adding Ultimate Finish 100 or contact Smartpak Equine and look into their Smart Gain 4, which is formulated for senior horses and hard keepers. Also look into Digestive Aid suppliments that smartpak equine has formulated for senior horses digestive tracts.

My guy is on 4lbs of Purina Senior twice a day, face is stuffed in a round bale all day, and he gets digestive aid suppliments through smartpak equine. His weight is being added on week by week, with great improvements.

 

[eventerdrew]

i agree about the purina senior. It works wonders for my older mare. I also recommend Amplify. It's made to maintain weight on hard keepers. Though, the new version of the Purina has the Amplify nugget in it. But it may not be enough.

Definitely get his teeth checked too.

good luck!

 

[heyycutter]

i like Nutrena Senior. works great for a horse i got whos 25 and still going strong

 

[churumbeque]

How much and what kind of hay. My horses get lots of good grass hay and gain weight over the winter

 

[AQHA13]

We had a 34yr gelding that passed away a couple of years ago, but we fed him senior feed and beet pulp because his teeth were nearly nonexistent. However we also got a big thing of canola oil (I think, it was from costco) and added that to his grain. At first he would only eat a little but he got used to it and I would say that he got almost a cup a day. It really helped him gain weight and keep it.

 

[HorseRider403]

Thanks for all of your ideas! I just had his teeth floated and some other dental work done in November so I don't think that's the problem. Last week we just started adding corn oil to his diet and so we're going to see how that goes. He gets fed twice a day of the nutrina senior along with the beet pulp. Thanks again for all of your ideas!
churumbeque- He gets four good size flakes of grass hay a day (two in the morning and two in the evening).

 

[MIEventer]

Do not feed corn oil, it is not good. Studdies have shown that Corn Oil does not have the omega's that you need, and it aids in inflamation - I hope I have that right....I have to grab my "The Horse" magazine and read the article.

You are far better off feeding Cocosoya.

And you are far better off allowing him to get as much roughage into his system than senior feed. Roughage always comes first, then grain.

 

[darkwillow]

Make sure your horse has been wormed recently!! It sounds like you might have tried that already, but in case you haven't, do it!! You can put as much food in as you want, but if he has worms, it's not going to help. If he's kept with other horses, make sure they get wormed too.
Just a suggestion, in case you haven't. If you have, I'm clueless : )

 

[~*~anebel~*~]

4 flakes of hay is not enough. As previously stated he NEEDS free choice hay, and water for that matter.
After that I would get him on a soybean hull based complete feed or rice bran with a nutritional supplement (Hoffman's minerals, for example). Stay away from starchy complete feeds and sugary grains.
If he still isn't gaining weight then I would also be feeding soaked grass hay cubes and up his beet pulp and complete feed/rice bran.

There is an old mare at my barn (her back is so swayed from age that her stomach hangs down to her knees, and she has no teeth). She is fed as much soaked cubes as she will eat, is on a round bale during the day (mostly to quid on, lol) and gets about 3lbs (dry weight) of soaked beet pulp a day, along with her senior feed which she gets about 8lbs of each day. Although she is ancient (she must be in her 30s), she is in good weight.

 

[churumbeque]

churumbeque- He gets four good size flakes of grass hay a day (two in the morning and two in the evening).

4 flakes a day is really not very much hay. Grass hay does not weigh much and they need more of it to get the nutrients. I feed double that at a minimum. I would start with upping hay intake before anything else.

 

[HorseRider403]

At my barn there aren't any hay bales available and even if there were, he probably wouldn't get much considering his rank. Other horses tend to push him around. But i'll talk to the barn owner about upping his hay.

 

[Five Furlongs]

I didnt read any other posts but here would be my suggestion:
Keep him on the senior grain, but not too much. Do you have him on a weight supplement. I would suggest putting him on weight builder, or a supplement like that, it really helped my friends skinny horse. Also he need to be getting alot of hay. Hopefully he will start gaining weight! I think that the weight supplement will really help, hopefully. and the beep pulp is good also I he eating in a stall. If other horses are eating with him that could also be a problem because he could not be getting enough of his food. Hope this helps.

 

[Appyt]

I have a 31 yr old blind appy who has about half his teeth left. I feed him Total Equine. Anywhere from 2# twice a day to 6# twice a day depending on whether he will eat his beet pulp or not. Fussy horse.. Total Equine can be fed as the sole feed if necessary. He also gets as much Beet pulp as he will eat(usually about 2 large coffee cans a day with 8# of TE right now). I used to mix those 2 ingredients as well as alfalfa pellets and soak it good. Now he won't eat it that way so I feed it separately. He also gets 1-2 flakes of prairie hay(chopped into 3" long pieces by me).. He is in good condition. Not fat, not skinny.. I'd like more fat on his bones but he likes to walk it off. He is blanketed for winter.

If you are where you can get Total Equine I highly recommend it.. Check the site for a dealer in your area.. $15. a 40# bag is what I pay. It costs me $5. a day to feed the old turd.

 

[luvs2ride1979]

Thanks for all of your ideas! I just had his teeth floated and some other dental work done in November so I don't think that's the problem. Last week we just started adding corn oil to his diet and so we're going to see how that goes. He gets fed twice a day of the nutrina senior along with the beet pulp. Thanks again for all of your ideas!
churumbeque- He gets four good size flakes of grass hay a day (two in the morning and two in the evening).

You should always increase hay before increasing feed. Hay puts on weight better than feed or additives. I would give him a lunch meal of 2 more flakes of hay. If you can't do lunch, then increase his hay to 3 flakes per-feeding.

I would also replace 1 scoop of the beet pulp with 1 scoop of alfalfa pellets. Alfalfa is high in quality protein and amino acids, which puts on weight and muscle better than beet pulp. One 3qt feed scoop holds about 3-3.5 lbs of Alfalfa pellets. Even just 1/2 scoop twice a day would help.

You might also consider using flax meal or Uckele's Cocsoya oil instead of corn oil if you don't see much results. Corn oil doesn't put on weight as well and it has shown to increase inflamation in the gut and joints of older horses. I personally do not recommend it. I've had better luck with flax and cocosoya.