Just like to offer some freindly tips that may help.

Did your vet check his teeth, it could seem as thoufh he is eating but if his teeth are worn and havent been filed down they may be very painful and he is trying his best to chew but doing morre harm then good. How is he when acceptin the bit.

If that isnt the problem you culd tyr adding mineral supplements to his diet, it can also depend on the age of the horse. He may need to be worked to build up the muscle tone aswell as the large amounts of feed he may be getting, if his belly is quiet bloated he may just need working everyday and see how that goes.

I owned a Standrad Bred gelding and he was 16.3 hands and needed working aswell as fedding eacxh day to keep his muscle down up as his size looked out of propoartion and sometimes his rib were visible.

even if you lunge him each day, or swim him iff you can as that awlays helps.

Maybe change his diet or talk to a nutrtionist as I had been given very good advice as I now own QH Mare who had foal 4 months ago and was given greta tips which have really helped her get back into show comdition. Also with the Fruit side of thimngs not to many apples as it isn't really good for there tummies, to much sugar can cause ther tummies to twist and go easy on molasses products if you can as it does the same thing.

Bets of luck it is all trial and erroro with theses, Inknow from experience.

Cheers

You sound like you have half a clue ( so to speak ) - if someone has something to say about your "savvy", tell 'em to bite their bums

Don't keep your knowledge to yourself - share !

Freck

all oldies dont keep condition like they did when they were younger - ..

Contrast: I work in a nursing home - some residents eat all their food and then some ! - but dont get fat - Perhaps metabolisim changes as you age - ...

Freckle

I sympathise with u. It has taken me a year of trying all types of different feeds etc to find what suited my horse best. In the end I found a feed called equibalance produced by milne feeds here in WA fattened mine up plus giving him all the hay he could eat plus barley/lupins and lucerne chaff. He's only 15 hands and eats well like a horse!! The other horses all look great on just hay and he needs to be fed like a racing/performance horse.

Good luck

A friend of mine has had great success with a product called Weightgain, which is made by Omega feeds at Gunnedah. I use a product of theirs called No Grain which is basically sunflower hulls sprayed with molasses, and it has kept the weight on my horse.

I have found that oats, or a grain mix, is ideal for fattening horses, but you should exercise them when feeding this, for obvious reasons. A more expensive way to fatten your horse is the Mitavite range, especially breeda or economix, I have had great results with both of these. You could also try Equibix.

The bran mash idea is great, I feed epsom salts in my horses dinner every night, it is an old racehorse remedy for taking heat out of horses.

Good luck, Bowerbird.

This is what I have been feeding for a great result so far:

Scoop = large plastic feed scoops from feed stores.

4 scoops Wheaten/Oaten Chaff
2 scoops Lucerne ( although this was swapped over for last horse, as he prefered lucerne )
2 big scoops of Horse Supplement Pellets ( i have found these to be really good )
1 scoop of Steam Rolled Barley. I did boil my own for awhile there ( got lazy though ). but best way to do it is in a slow cooker if you have one. Put it on in morning, and done for night. Another substitute for this is boiled rice. That is great too, buy it bulk, and it is very cheap ( cont by parboiled stuff from feed stores, get from wholesale normal shops ).
I feed Stressalyte electrolyte replacement and Groom vitamens. I then coat feed in Molasses. Again, expensive way to do it, but it really does help them to get an appetite.

This is fed twice a day, with unlimited access to hay, and green feed. Weigh Powder ( 80% ) is also a great weight builder!
Hope any of this helps ! Good Luck.

Yes pumpkin cooked is great for horses for weight gain and I remember when I was about 16 I found a product that looked like pollard or bran but it was called brewery grain and I think it came from the brewing of beer. Anyway I feed it to my skinny thoroughbred and she put the weight on nicely with about half bucket at night with a bucket of chaff and pad of thick lucerne for brekky. I asked up here in Townsville and no one seemed to know it but then one guy knew what it was and said they used to bury it on stations and when the drought hit they would dig it up and feed it to their cattle. (not sure how it was burried). It might be worth finding out if you can still buy it also has anyone else heard of it or used it. Bare in mind I used it 13 years ago

Most of the previous suggestions are very good. Basically you are looking for a feed with a high energy output. My recommendation is steam rolled barley (high in energy but low in protein)and copra (high in energy & protein) to be added to his diet. Copra is coconut meal and can be fed wet or dry. Some horses will not eat it but it's cheap enough to give a try and it will give him a wonderful coat.

Some other suggestions (will be repeating some other ideas here and thanks to John Konke for measurements). Some I have used, other methods have been recommended over the years :

Polyunsaturated oil (corn, soyabean, blending cooking oil etc.) can feed up to 4 cups a day. Do not feed used cooking oil. Oil is a very high energy source. If you are going to feed over a cup then you need to supplement with additional vitamin E (100iu vitamin E per 100ml of fat above standard recommended dose). If fats are provide more than a quarter of the energy in a diet, protein needs to be supplemented at a ratio of 1:4 (ie 1 cup protein meal per 1 cup oil).

Milk powder is high in energy and is a good source of protein, high in B group vitamins. Howevwer it doesn't provide much available energy to older horses (ie been weaned) and is an expensive way to feed.

Lupin are now available in an extruded form and are easy to feed. They are also a high source of energy and protein.

Peas (might be harder to find) are again a good source of protein and energy and mix well with soyabean meal. whole peas must be soaked before feeding

Corn/oats, corn has the higher energy of the two. Both provide low protein. Oats is a "traditional" feed because it is almost always palatable to horse and less likely to cause digestive upsets. Corn is considered a "heating" feed. TBs are believed to have a delayed insulin response following feeds containing grain or carbohydrates and this can cause them become "fizzy" within 3-4 hours.

i no it sounds alot but my horses are show horses and they have to be fat andtis really works
buy weightlifter its amazing

So now if I have a horse that I want to put weight on I put him in the stable for a week (with daily outings ofcourse) with hay and feed morning and night and hay at lunch and I've never had any bad side effects but definate weight gain.

The theory is pretty simple- limit energy output. I don't recommend high energy foods (which is good- less expense) and use calm performance pellets (easily digested and absorbed) and chaff.

You can worry yourself sick and spend an hour mixing feeds, but horses digestive systems are very simple - they graze on grass!-so keep it simple, limit their energy output (still take them out-dont' make them stand there all day) and it could be your answer.

1.

1 scoop of coppra.
1 scoop of rice pollard.
1 scoop steamed flaked barley.
A good double hand full of chaff.
Moistened with water.

2.

1 scoop of Mill Run.
2 scoops of chaff.
Moistened with water.

Both I put a handfull of sunflower seeds, 1tbs calcium powder, 1tbs epsom salts, 1tbs seaweed meal and mollassas. I feed him twice daily along with hay or lucerne 4 times a day.

Good Luck!

I have also been told by numerous people that barley is great for fattening a skinny horse. But i do not have the time to boil my own each day.

If someone can let me know if they have tried either the hygain micronised barley or mitavite steam extruded barley it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Nushie

Barley is great for fattening, just buy the steamed and rolled version and feed it out. Oats are also cheap, easy and safe and are actually Ok for most horses, you can usually feed a couple of kilos at least a day.

My 17.3h , 650kg mare eats 4 kg oats & 2 kg pellets, plus chaff & lucerne, per day & is fine.

But your horse really needs more roughage. Does he have access to grazing? If not, you might need to provide hay along with his feeds, but definitely at least incluide chaff with his feeds. Concentrates alone go through a horse's system too quick to be of any good.

You should havea ration of AT LEAST 1:1, so that is at least one kilo of roughage for every kilo of concentrates.

If your horse continues to be thin, I really recommend a complete vet examination. My horse started losing weight and I tried everything to fatten him up, but he got severe colic one day and died. It turns out that he might have had a stomache tumor, and thats why he wasn't putting weight on. I don't want anyone to go through what I have been through.

Check out if there is any low grade discomfort anywhere. I have had several horses mysteriously drop weight very quickly and in each case I have done everything else, teeth, worming, diet, more hay, less work, before realising what was the matter. Athiritis, back pain, badly fitting saddle are some ideas for you.

Another thought - check your water supply. If the water supply is insufficient or contaminated so that the horse does not drink enough this will have a big impact on the horse's condition. Some horses are really particular about the water. Be over-scrupulous about the water and make sure there is plenty of it especially in hot weather or hard exercise. It is incredible how much they drink. Beware automatic drinkers - I read somewhere the little ones should only be used for dogs. A horse needs a huge one.

Good luck - I hope you fix your horse soon. One of the thrills of riding is to see your horse become more beautiful each day and it is heartbreaking when they look poor.

I am still to this day feeding Weight Lifter and I am very happy with it,
the comments I made about speaking to John Kohnke were actually incorrect,
John has since been in touch with the people from Weight Lifter to say that
he never made these comments to me, and that he in fact recommends Weight
Lifter to his clients when doing specialized diets for horses.

The comments that I made were actually said to me by another person at a
show that I was at who asked me what I was feeding my horse, I have never
spoken to John Kohonke directly and I now know that John did not make these
comments.

I would like to apologise to the people at Weight Lifter and John Kohnke for
any harm I might have caused them, I have actually used Weight Lifter now
for a long time, and have been very happy with how my horse looks and just
how calm she is on their feed. I can also confirm their feed is made from
the very best ingredients, my initial comments were an error of judgment on
my behalf.

What happened to Dana?

This site seems a little quiet at the moment.

Fire up boyz.

I was just reading all this ( it may be a bit old by now ) everyone is recommending different feeds but I was wondering if you have had his back checked out? I've been having similar problems with an ex racehorse, since getting some work on his muscles I'm noticing a difference. Even in the length of time he takes to eat he used to take ages to eat a feed but now he seems to eat a bit quicker, he's not bolting his food, but eating a bit faster.

Liesl
http://www.freewebs.com/shaiarabs/
"Words that soak into your ears are whispered ..... not yelled!"