horse diet

Question
Hey Corlena,
My horse Jasper just turned four years old. He is a registered paint gelding. I can see Jaspers ribs he is not extremely skinny he looks normal everywhere but the rib area. I feed him two big scoops of triple crown growth grain every day,as much hay as he wants and water. We don't have a lot of grass right now from winter but he does get some. He has been wormed,(we worm our horses every three months) he acts perfectly normal and no signs of being sick. It might be because he is so young but I just want to make for sure. If you could give me some tips on how to get him to gain weight that would be great! load me up with any good information!
Thanks!
Sincerely, Hannah Hammon

Answer
Hi Hannah,

Thank you for your question and my apologies for taking a while to get back to you.  At Japser's age, you would ideally want him to start to fill in a bit and gain some condition.  At 4, a horse has done over 93% of his growing and has his bulking up to do for the next year or two.

It sounds like you have a good start to your feeding program by ensuring Jasper has access to hay on a free choice basis.  It is possible that his hay is a little short on energy content which could lend to his slender condition.  Even though we think about feeding grain to bring energy to the diet, a horse gets the majority of its daily energy from hay...because they generally eat way more pasture or hay then they do grain.  However, it's hard to change the energy content of the hay you have in the barn so added feeds will help with the overall energy level of the diet.  

Because Jasper is mostly done growing, I would suggest that you switch him off the growth feed.  If he is currently being worked, consider switching him to Triple Crown's training feed.  If he hasn't yet started training then try their Total Lifetime Care formula.  I like these 2 feeds for their fat content as the fat will help with body condition.  Rather than feeding more grain (whichever you choose) than you currently do, keep the same feeding rate and consider adding beet pulp to your ration.  Beet pulp is rich in fermentable fiber (and therefore high in energy) and is safer than feeding a lot of grain...because the horse's digestive system thinks its a really good quality hay.  Start by mixing up a few pounds a day and keep him on that for about a month to see if it helps with his condition.

Normally I would suggest including yeast in the diet to help with weight gain, but Triple Crown includes yeast in it's feeds.  There would be no harm in buying some and adding it separately but in this case there may not be much added benefit in doing so.  Although there is no danger in feeding too much yeast, you reach a point where feeding more does not add any more benefit.  In case you decide to feed some, the suggested feeding rate is 30 grams per day of live yeast or 60 grams per day of yeast culture.  The manufacturer will provide an appropriate feeding rate.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena