How To Help Your Horse Gain Weight

The issue of "weight gain" has been one I've had to deal with concerning my now 28 year old Arabian mare for about the last five years. As horses age, they tend to lose the ability to intake the vital nutrients from the feed that once made them fat and happy. The following is my journey regarding weight gain, and the final happy conclusion that I hope will help many others put those extra pounds on their beloved equine friends.

I began with what I consider a staple in feeding an older horse (and even younger horses benefit from a small ration), a good "senior feed". I choose to use Purina Equine Senior, but I have also used Kings Equine Senior and several others whose names now escape me. The important thing is to make sure it is a palatable feed that your horse will eat consistently and that it has a good "beet pulp" content. In addition to this staple feed, I also always have on hand a bag of "A&M", or Alfalfa and Molasses, as it has a nice roughage content and when mixed together with other feeds it makes a horse more accepting.

The first recipe that I tried included a 1 pound scoop of both Senior Feed and A&M and a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. This worked quite well for a while, as the oil content will add weight and brighten the coat. The only problem was that it was a "messy mixture" that I could not pre-make in bags for the people who ran the boarding stable I boarded at to feed for me every evening...it had to be mixed on the spot. Still, I diligently went out daily and fed this mixture (eventually getting up to 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, as urged by my Vet) and I saw results.

The next recipe that I tried included the same 1 pound scoop of Senior Feed and 1 pound scoop of A&M, but instead of the oil I decided to try a store bought "weight supplement"...I would now advise against it. I'm not saying that they didn't work, and Farnam's worked the best, but the expense was quite large and after speaking with a breeder of racehorses in my area I realized that I could create my own recipe that would be both easy to feed, palatable and cost effective...the answer was RICE BRAN!

Currently, my 28 year old mare receives this recipe, and it works wonders while being cost effective and easy to feed!

1 pound Senior

1 pound A&M

1/2 pound Rice Bran (you can up this slowly depending upon the size of your horse-my Arab only weighs about 950 pounds)

-Mix together well, but DO NOT use any water when using Rice Bran. Feel free to add in any other supplements like Biotin, Pain Management (like Bute), other medications, etc. if your horse needs them, they mix well in this feed. FEED ONCE PER DAY.

Once your horse reaches that "ideal" weight, you can slowly begin to cut back on the mixture until you are feeding more of a maintenance ration. Additionally, it is important to make sure that any horse you own is on a proper dental health routine, including a mouth check at least once per year (twice for our senior equine friends) by a good vet. Proper tooth care can make an enormous difference in a hores' wieght, and overall health and comfort.

In the end, the roller-coaster ride that I have been on to try and keep my mare healthy and happy seems to have found one of those long straight-aways where the ride is easy and comfortable.