Do you think he's improving?

[aggieterpkatie]

Some horses are hard keepers. There was a TB mare at my college farm (where I worked) and NOTHING would put weight on her. We tried everything. We had her scoped for ulcers and everything. She was just a hard keeper. Didn't look too much different than your guy, actually.

 

[dianneS]

I got him some Farnam weight builder and beet pulp today to add to everything else. We'll see how that goes! If he's never any heavier than he is now, that's okay with me. I just don't like when other people say he looks skinny, but I guess I'll have to get over that if he's just meant to be a skinny horse!

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I got him some Farnam weight builder and beet pulp today to add to everything else. We'll see how that goes! If he's never any heavier than he is now, that's okay with me. I just don't like when other people say he looks skinny, but I guess I'll have to get over that if he's just meant to be a skinny horse!

You will hear that. I have a percheron who is very long bodied. Her neck is thick, her front shoulders are huge and her hind end looks good. But, her ribs always show every so slightly. And lots of people will say, she is so skinny, why don't you feed her more. I explain that she eats. She actually gets a senior formula pelleted feed that does help. My vet was just out last week and said she looks great, don't change a thing. To which I said, can I give your number to the next person that tells me to feed her more.

 

[dianneS]

And lots of people will say, she is so skinny, why don't you feed her more. I explain that she eats. She actually gets a senior formula pelleted feed that does help. My vet was just out last week and said she looks great, don't change a thing. To which I said, can I give your number to the next person that tells me to feed her more

I have a TB mare who is at a perfect weight and looks fantastic for any age but especially for 19! A few ribs show on her ever so slightly, which is normal for a TB. I still get people wanting to know why she's 'thin'. Its usually non-horse people that ask this question however, the ones who think all breeds should be built like a big stout quarterhorse and a coat as sleek as a racehorse, even in the dead of winter! That drives me crazy.

 

[dianneS]

I'm putting the big guy on 2 lbs of soaked beet pulp daily, top dressed with a 32% ration balancer and 2 scoops of weight builder daily. I'm taking him off his pelleted feed. He choked twice in two days. I'm getting his teeth done soon, and I'll post more pics in 30 days. We should see a difference by then. The grass is really coming in now, and he's on 24/7 pasture. I'm hopeful that this will do the trick!

 

[FlaRocky]

Hello, The beet pulp does wonders, I swear by it... I just lost my old girl, she was on 2 lbs beet pulp 2 x a day. Along with Cocosoya and she looked like a 14 yo. She was at least 26-28, don't know for sure. She was caught off a mountain in east ky. and Reg with the Rocky Mountain Horse Association back in 86 as 1 of 33 that started the breed. The soaked beet pulp and Cocosoya kept her in great weight. And I use it with all my broodmares. It might take 4-6 weeks after his teeth float to start seeing a change in weight. Depending on what the vet finds.

Keep us posted,

Maye

 

[dianneS]

Well, I think the big guy is starting to gain some weight now. Its hard to see, but I can feel it when I groom him. His ribs are not nearly as prominent and neither are his hip bones.

It could be that the grass is finally really coming faster than the horses can keep up with it, or it could be the beet pulp/weight gainer? He's only been on the beet pulp for a little over a week, 2 lbs a day top dressed with 1 lb Purina Enrich 32 ration balancer and 4 oz. weight builder. I'm also giving him garlic and apple cider vinegar to keep the flies off of him. I don't want him burning up excess calories stamping flies! (The flies aren't bad yet, and we use fly predators, but I'm preparing for the bad season.) He's on pasture 24hrs a day.

I'll post new pics of him in three weeks. I think we should see a difference by then. He's still got some winter coat hanging on right over his rib cage, its weird. Otherwise, his summer coat is looking really good and healthy. Its still a bit hard to see his progress, but the weight tape shows that he's gained some.

He's also amazing to ride! He moves off my leg, and has lateral movements, he's got a super smooth trot and a nice rocking horse canter. He rides like a Cadillac! I love this guy!

 

[FlaRocky]

You will find that maybe he is your Christmas morning ALL year round. You keep unwraping the layers(old coat, old bag of bones) and find a very wonderful well trained boy that might be a little full of himself after he get in shape and up to weight. But then you get to put new layers on him. Tune up his training, filled out and making weight looking like a new copper penny. Oh Boy I can't hardly wait to see the progress of your boy. Post new photos next week instead, please.

Maye

 

[dianneS]

I attended a holistic horse-keeping clinic yesterday. Of course, I wasn't surprised that they said beet pulp is an unnatural diet for horses. They also said that alfalfa should only be given at a ratio of 10% or less of the horses overall diet, if used at all. They also said that grains are unnatural for a horse to digest and should only be given for energy, they don't produce weight gain. I figured as well that they would frown on the fats... and they did. They said oils are very unnatural and hard to digest in a horse, that it stresses the liver. There was a lot of scientific proof backing up their information and it did make sense.

Their advice: Hay, hay pellets, hay cubes, maybe some alfalfa for a little added protein. A little grain, preferably oats for energy when needed. Lots of access to pasture and all the hay he can eat...

I may actually switch to timothy hay pellets, in place of the beet pulp, and see how it goes. I may ease off the weight builder and see how he does without it. He is shaping up nicely. I can't take pics now, my camera battery is dead! He is improving, I can see it and feel it now.

I learned therapeutic exercises to help develop a topline on this guy. These were more than just your basic "belly tuck" exercises and even horses on stall rest have been shown to develop a muscle and eliminate their boney looking backs and rumps by doing these exercises daily. I really think that my horse's lack of a topline and that hunters bump make him look thinner and older than he is.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Horses have gallbladders, therefore they can digest fats. It may not be natural, as most horses don't generally find corn oil in the wild, but they can digest it and it does help put weight on skinny horses.

And I don't understand their comment about grains should only be given for energy and don't produce weight gain. That's what weight gain is...more energy coming in than going out.