Skinny New Horse - Feeding Suggestions?

[MissDanni]

Well I went to visit the new horse today, and I have some concerns.
(We are having him brought home on Monday.)

While the lady has been very forward with me about the horse's lack of exercise due to her health troubles and this being the reason for selling him..

She has told me that he has been on hay as well as fat and fiber all winter.

But he is very skinny right now. He is going to take lots of work to get his muscle built back up.

Other than hay, what would you suggest would be good to get him started on to help build back his muscles?

I plan to work with him slow at first and then pick up pace, but everyday for sure.

Something with good protein and carbs... suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[lupinfarm]

It could be that he needs a worming. Worm him straight away, and I love the High Fat High Fibre for building weight, but you have to feed as they direct on the bag. The most common mistake with HFHF is that people feed what they think the horse needs, or just a handful here and there. That doesn't work. The feed is designed to be fed as directed, and it seems like the horse is getting a lot but its a lot of good stuff. If his weight is really low, start him on some good quality, grass hay free choice.

Good groceries make a huge difference, don't worry too much about building muscle right away if his weight is low, get him to a good weight and start working him up and down hills, trail riding is excellent for muscle building. I've heard of people doing something of aerobics with their horses... stepping up onto a big tractor tire, stepping down, ect.


Good luck!

 

[MissDanni]

She said that she had him dewormed but a good cycle of worming never hurt anyone as far as I know.

He is defiantly skinny, about half the size that he shows in the photos I posted on my other threads.

I'm talking ribs, spine and hips...

He was eating fine when I was there, his manners are excellent, gave him a good rub down EVERYWHERE with no problems, he has appetite, no swelling and teeth seem fine, but muscle is pretty much non-existent.

I can't wait till he gets home and we can give him a great meal and walk around with him.

Although I am concerned I am very glad that she cares enough about him to know that he needs more than she can give him.

 

[lupinfarm]

I hate to say it, but its possible she told you she's feeding him, but not really feeding him. To have lost that amount of weight, ... well thats a lot of weight lol. We got our pasture puff pony and she was hips and ribs and skinny necked thin because she'd been starved. We threw her all the hay she could eat + more and fed her up on HFHF and she started gaining weight in no time. She still doesn't have much muscle, but she also has problems with her back legs so it is to be expected.

 

[patandchickens]

It would be smart to have a vet check him over, ideally before bringing him home. That would be your best bet.

That said, in terms of what can be said over the internet: a skinny horse is usually a combination of poor hay, insufficient hay, worms, and bad teeth.

There is no way for you yourself to evaluate how his teeth are. It takes a good equine dental specialist (be they lay or DVM), usually with a speculum, to determine that. From the circumstances you describe it is pretty likely his teeth have not been done in a long time, at least not by someone GOOD, so it would be wise to start asking around about who's a GOOD dental person in your area. While any ol' vet will do teeth, most of them IME do a pretty lousy job at it and it is really really worth the extra research and $ to get someone COMPETENT.

For sure worm him, preferably the day before you bring him home or at least before he steps off the trailer.

And then, mainly make sure he has access to unlimited free-choice good-quality hay. You can gradually add in some form of concentrate, or concentrate-with-oil-added-onto-it, or something like that, but do it very gradually, like over the span of weeks/months.

A vet can tell you if he has any other existing problems that could be contributing to his skinniness.

I would suggest not actively exercising him til he has gained back noticeably. You can (and should!!!) still work with him on groundwork, leadrope, walking type stuff... but don't try to be "muscling him up" yet with an exercise program, you have to let him start feeding himself up better first.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[MissDanni]

Perhaps some of the selling reasons were financial, I suppose a person wouldn't want to admit that.

When he gets home on Monday, I will take some pictures and post them. It will be good because then we can track his gain with photos.

So you think I should cycle him on dewormer, continue with the hay and some fat and fiber?

Anything else I could give him for a boost?

@pat - I'm going to see if our vet can meet us here when he arrives home and give him a good once over and get him back on track.

 

[ducks4you]

@pat - I'm going to see if our vet can meet us here when he arrives home and give him a good once over and get him back on track.

Your VET will give you the best advice. I think we'll all agree that horses are pretty hardy EXCEPT for their digestive systems, which are very sensitive. Your Vet will probably prescribe a LOT of good quality hay, and recommend what types are best--probably NOT a lot of alfalfa at first, because it's very rich--so that you do not compound lack of weight with colic or founder. You might ask your Vet about feeding Purina's (newest formula) of Equine Senior. It's very palatable and easy to digest, and even younger horses recoving from illness are helped by it. My 13 year old SB--I've had him one month now, has put on weight and filled out since I put him on this. BUT, he wasn't skinny when I bought him.BTW, a Vet check could tell you if this horse is for you, or not. They're not very expensive, and I, for one, am NOT interested in buying/acquiring a new horse that I have to continually nurse, if I had intended to ride him. It's different if they are a "member of the family" that you have ridden for years, who deserves a retirement.

 

[MissDanni]

Horse is bought and paid for; it's a done deal.

After talking with the vet we are going to deworm him as soon as he lands, give him free supply of hay, lots of water and slowly work in some grains.

One of them is going to stop out and take a look at him.

It's going to be a long 5 days waiting for him to get home.... *sighs*

 

[lupinfarm]

Its understandable that most people don't actually have vet checks done on the animals they buy. Those vet checks cost a fortune, at least where I am. If you've been around horses long enough you can generally get an idea of how they move out, any suspect lumps and bumps, ect. from looking at them. Obviously you won't know everything until you get the vet to look them over, or even close, but its a good starting point. I didn't have a vet check done on Mylie, and none of my horses have ever had vet checks and we only ever had one hard keeper... a TB mare who was 16.

Not to say vet checks aren't a good idea, they're a great idea... but to get a really good idea of the health you need to do x-rays as well, not just a basic exam.

I'm sure you'll have your new guy tip top in no time at all. Have fun!

 

[ducks4you]

"The BEST days are when (babies)/horses come (home)!"
loose quote from Melanie Wilkes