24 year old palomino gelding super skinny!!!

[Sassysarah123]

Hi,
I need some advice on what to feed my 24 year old gelding. He is way too skinny and we don't know how to get him to gain weight. We used to give him 3 quarts of senior feed a day but since he started losing weight we give him 7 quarts now He pretty much just eats hay for the rest of the day. He used to be a barrel racing horse so he can still run pretty fast and you can do a lot on him. But we just recently stopped riding him because he was just getting WAY to skinny.
Any advice?
Thanks in advance

 

[promiseacres]

Have his teeth been checked or floated in the past 6 months? If not have it done ASAP.
Feed wise a good senior feed and hay should be adequate if no health problems.

 

[Alaskan]

I agree on getting his teeth checked. Teeth issues are a common problem, especially with older horses.

Has he been wormed recently, or checked for worms?

With the difficult keeper I had I found adding some good oil to his feed helped him to keep weight on.

Remember though, all diet changes need to be done slowly.

Anyway, here is a great article that goes over most everything.

https://equusmagazine.com/management/feeding-weight-gain-25995

 

[Ridgetop]

Have his teeth checked. Our 28 & 30 year old mares need to be floated at least once a year. At last dental check the 28 year old needed to have about 3-4 teeth pulled! If you add oil, corn oil seems to be most palatable. Depending on where you live, check the protein in the hay. High protein alfalfa will take weight off. When we were feeding first cut alfalfa (highest protein for milk production) to our dairy goats it took the weight right off the horses! They were healthy but way thin. Switched to lower quality hay including barley or oat hay for one feed and the weight went back on inn a couple months. Depending on your weather you could also keep him blanketed. If the weather is very cold he may be burning those calories to stay warm.

 

[AClark]

I'd probably have him tested for Cushing's, if he's eating that much and still losing especially. Fairly common for older horses.
Deworming also won't hurt especially if it hasn't been done yet this winter.
Don't measure feed by volume, measure by weight. Find out how much a QT actually weighs and go from there, you may not be feeding as much as you think you are. I can feed a 3 qt scoop each to mine and they are obese, but 3 qts is well over 4 lbs of what I feed. I feed alfalfa pellets and bermuda or prarie hay, but wouldn't hesitate to feed alfalfa if the prices weren't outrageous here. There's a lot of protein in alfalfa.

 

[greybeard]

Don't measure feed by volume, measure by weight. Find out how much a QT actually weighs and go from there, you may not be feeding as much as you think you are.

Very possible. I believe the directions on the senior feed I'm feeding right now say 1 lb per 100lbs body weight per day. I began in late November, looking after (for a neighbor) a nearly 20 yr old mare that had been losing weight for the previous 3-4 months and it's ribs were showing, but is now beginning to put on some weight and flesh. I split it between 2 feedings/day, and began with a lesser amt to lessen the risk of bloat or other digestive problems and increased it over a period of several weeks.
Owner says she has been de-wormed but also states it's probably time to have her teeth floated again. He'll have to take care of that when he returns to this area.

 

[AClark]

Unless they are dribbling food or not eating, teeth don't matter as much with things like senior feed, where you'll really see a tooth problem is with hay, and you'll find soggy globs of it where they couldn't chew it or they're choking since it's not chewed. Most senior feeds are soft enough to not require a lot of grinding.
My kids quarter horse dribbles food, had her teeth floated, still dribbles but she keeps the weight on, just a sloppy eater.
Feeding by weight really matters, mostly you want to go slow not so much for bloat in horses, but founder, or colic if they don't drink enough. Touchy animals for sure.
Also, feed for the weight you want, not the current weight or they'll maintain. If the horse is 850 and should be 1100, feed for 1100 lbs.
Cushings is definitely a factor for an older horse that is struggling to keep the weight on. It's a pretty simple blood test and worth ruling out if you're feeding enough and their teeth are ok but you aren't seeing improvement.

 

[greybeard]

I don't want to hijack Sara's thread, but I am not really a 'horse person' so I just went by what the instructions on the feed said, which= a lot more feed per day than the instructions the horse owner gave me. I estimated and got a separate estimate from a different local horseman we agreed that the mare weighed about 800-900lbs when she arrived here, and went from that.

I don't know he quality of the hay..the owner provided the round bales from his ranch out near San Antonio.

 

[Baymule]

I have a 28 year old gelding and a 30 year old TW mare. Both are rolly-polly fat and slick. I feed them a 14% all purpose pellet and have for years. I used to drive 50 miles one way to get it, now it is only 20 miles. It has a sugar beet base and they love it. You might get beet shreds and moisten with some warm water to make it easier to chew. It doesn't have to soak for very long.

 

[AClark]

Yeah the feed bag instructions are really good as long as it's weighed out. Free choice hay is great, and if you're feeding a good pelleted ration, shouldn't matter if it's not top quality. I feed what is locally baled here, bermuda/prarie hay in round bales - not sure how great it is, just what everyone feeds.
Since this horse isn't being ridden, I'd feed for maintenance at what his weight should be. How big is this horse anyway? I could give you a rough estimate of what he should weigh and if you tell me what kind of senior feed you're giving him I could give a good idea on how much he should be getting.