I have a 11 year old gelding that I have owned all of his life. I have recently moved him up to Michigan from Texas and he has had to go from 10 acres of pasture to 1. He has depleated the grass in the pasture so we feed him a hay suppliment (because of the hay shortage up here) and sweet feed. He gets about 2 and a half scoops of 11% sweet feed a day and 3 scoops of hay cubes. I know this is more than enough food for a horse of his size and for the work he does (none) – but he stays skinny. He was never skinny before I moved him up here – so I'm wondering if it is just that he is stressed? Its been about two months since the move… Any ideas or suggestions?

Stress may have altered the intestinal fauna. Worm him and then give him probios. This will return it to normal. I also suggest upping his hay cube rations and decreasing the feed. This will encourage the 'good' bacteria to grow while limiting growth of the 'bad' bacteria. You may even be able to buy the hay replacer pellets that can replace hay and feed together. Then you can give him free choice.

Also you said he ate the acre down bare. This makes it more likely for him to have worms since the low grazing increases his chances of consuming eggs. I worm mine more often when uncontrollable events (such as an injured horse) force me to pasture one in a small area for too long like this.

Make sure he gets plenty of clean water too.

Filed under: Michigan hay

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