Gaining Weight

Question
He Corlena my name is Casey. I have a 2 year old tobiano dun paint and she is real leggy. I have been feeding her 2 flakes of orchard grass hay and a flake of alf alfa morning noon and at night. I do grain her with mare and foal 4 cups and 2 scoops of a weight booster. She is still real slim and ribby. I have been trying to get some weight on her and nothing I do seem to work. I think that she is going through growth spurts because she does seem to look really good then the next day I go out and her ribs are showing again. Please help....Thank you Casey

Answer
Hi Casey,

Growing horses can be such a frustrating group to feed sometimes, because they do grow in spurts and what can look good one day, looks skinny the next.

My philosophy in feeding young horses is that every mouthful of feed should count for something, and should be nutrient dense...not just filler.  I would start by suggesting that you feed hay or pasture to this growing filly free choice.  And by that I mean she should never be without.

Whereas I often steer people clear of feeding starch, I do believe in feeding starch to growing horses...and yes I can hear the cringing from here!  A lot of people believe that too much starch in a growing horse's diet will cause joint defects, it is more that a heavy young horse standing on bones and joints that lack mineral (and vitamin) for structure creates joint defects.  Glucose (that comes from the consumption of sugars and starches) is the favorite energy source of muscle, and extra glucose is converted to stored fat more readily than dietary fat.  So glucose feeds muscle and creates body condition.  Instead of feeding a 'mare and foal' feed, I would suggest switching to a juvenile oriented feed.  The better formulated versions of the juveniles will provide just the right balance of starch, fat and fermentable fibre, and it will be mineralized to help promote healthy joint formation.  It will also eliminate the need to top dress with weight booster.

I make my own supplement for horses that have trouble gaining weight that works like a charm, but at present can only suggest the next closest one available.  Check out the additive 'Lifeforce Formula' from Alltech, Inc.  It is available directly from them online.  Essentially what it does is help improve the digestive process and allows horses to get more use out of what they are consuming (it does a little more than that but I don't want to give away all of their secrets or mine :-)).

Of course I would recommend that you ensure her worming is up to date.  And sometimes you can worm regularly and still have an infestation so I am a fan of doing a fecal exam with your vet.

I hope this helps and please let me know how it works for you.  Thanks

Corlena