Mcal/lb of feed

Question
I have two horses that are too thin and need to put weight on.
I cannot figure the Mcal/lb of the ready mix feeds I use for lack of info on the feed.  This presents a problem because I would like to increase both horses energy intake.   

One horse is 29 yrs old.  He has been a hard keeper all his life that I have owned him, since age 3yr.  He is a nervous horse and just uses a lot of energy in everyday life.  He is now a pet and no longer is required to do much.  He was injured by a donkey a few years ago, and lost quite a bit of weight before he levelled off and started gaining again.  He never gained it all back though.  He is big bellied, but backbone still protrudes a bit and tail head, and he shows most of upper ribs.  Currently he eats Heritage Senior 7.5 lbs a day, alfalfa hay 12 lbs a day, and 3 lbs of beet pulp (dry weight, and he is on pasture about 10 hrs a day.  The vet gave him some probiotics he takes daily, which helped with loose stool, and he gets 2 oz red cell each day. He drops a lot of food out of his mouth, but we place a pan under his feed bowl and he reclaims it all eventually.  Any advice on puttingweight on him?

The other horse is a rescue animal I have not had for long.  She is an Arabian mare 18 yrs old, about 750 lbs.  She also is getting Heritage Senior, but only 4.5 lbs a day, that is what she is built up to at this point.  She also gets 3 lbs a day of beet pulp, and 12 lbs of alfalfa hay.  She has access to pasture 24/7, and is not required to do any work right now.  Teeth are fine.  She is so very thin.  Any recommendations?

Answer
Hi NL,  

Formulating a ration for your horses is the first step in helping with body condition.  Looks can be deceiving when it comes to choosing feeds, and without running the ration numbers you can never be absolutely sure if a dietary energy deficiency is the reason your horse is not carrying weight, or if it is because of a metabolic disorder of some sort.

I have developed a ration balancing software, 'Ration-X', which is designed to allow the everyday horse owner to accurately balance their horse's ration.  It includes formulas for calculating Digestible Energy (DE) values of your feeds, as most companies do not list it on their tags.  The formula for calculating DE content of a mixed feed is quite complicated and differs depending on fiber and fat content, but I can do that for you with a little additional information.  I would be pleased to run your horses rations for you...I simply need the gelding's body weight and the Crude Protein (CP), Crude Fibre (or ADF), and Crude Fat values from your Heritage Senior horse feed.

As far as additional suggestions for putting weight on your horses, it appears that you are doing everything right.  You have checked their teeth, are using senior feed and beet pulp and you are wisely using a probiotic, which would also be a good idea for your mare.  I'm not sure which probiotic you are using...but I like Alltech's "Lifeforce Formula' for those horses who have a lot of trouble keeping weight on.  I would also suggest that you try feeding loose salt to your horses (an eighth of a cup a day is a good starting point) as it is surprising how much of a role that salt can play in body condition, and surprising just how little salt a horse gets from a salt block.  Balancing your horses rations is the next logical step in assuring that there are no other contributing factors to their weight issues.

If you can provide me with the additional information I can very quickly balance the rations for you :)

Thanks, Corlena