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.
I think he's just out of his normal enviroment and will have to feel secure with the surroundings from 10 acres to 1.It's very important that he has as much hay as he can eat overnight.The temperature will keep him needing hay for warmth.Worm him out and give vitamins in his water.
Bri
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I own apps and paints as well as palominos.
Try calling your vet out to look at him. It is always better to get a proffesional's view on the problem.
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When was the last time you wormed him? If he's not on a regular worming program start as soon as possible. You may want to call with your vet and ask what is the best way to go about doing it, because if a horse has not been wormed in a very long time and you immediately kill all the worms, you might have a case of colic on your hands.
If wormer is not an issue, there are a lot of weight-gain supplements on the market that can help (some can make them very hyper, but if he's not being worked I wouldn't worry about it at all). Also, in addition to hay and grain, you can try beet pulp. This works really well as a weight gainer. It comes compacted and needs to be soaked in water for a good while before it can be fed. Also, adding natural fats to their grain (such as a couple of tablespoons of corn oil) can help to add a little weight. They also make the coat shiny. If you can, try feeding him more regular hay first before you try anything else. In the long run, feeding more hay might be less expensive than buying a supplement (but check your costs).
If he still will not gain weight after about a month of this, consult your vet, because there might be a more serious problem going on.
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try backing him off his sweet feed and opt for a pelleted feed that is higher in fat.Sweet feed is high in sugars and starches and at higher levels can cause metabolic problems like Insulin resistance.Pelleted feed is more easily digested also so he can absorb what he is being fed. Higher fat feeds add calories, and some believe can also help calm a horse ( if he is stressed) Or you can cheap it out and you can look into feeding beet pulp with some oil for fat ,or rice bran or flax.Beet pulp is recommended to put on weight. and as it is a very high fiber product,it can also be used to meet his fiber requirements with the hay shortage.Horses are meant to feed on fiber not corn, oats etc (grains) .They should have at a MINIMUM 1% of their target body weight a day in hay.If he is under weight ,figure out what he should weigh ( for example ..900lbs) and feed that in hay a day ..so he should have at the very least 9 lbs of hay a day.Better is 2% (18 lbs) WEIGH his hay /cubes so you know what he is getting You can substitue beet pulp shreds at a rate of 1 lb of beet pulp equals 1.5 lbs of hay.Some people feed it dry, but if your horse bolts his feed, soak it for at least 10 mins.Adding fiber is the first thing to try to get his weight up as far as feeding him.
Also ..have you ever had him looked at for ulcers?
What is his deworming schedule?Ever worm him for Tapeworms?He may have picked up some worms in his new home that he wasnt exposed to before,a 5 day power pak (panacur) might not hurt him.
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20 yrs of woking on horse farms
The move can stress him and the lack of free grazing will do it to. Try some molasses over the cubes. It is high in fat which will help build weight fast. You may need to throw more cubes at him for a while until he gets his weight up, then back him off on the portion until he is maintaining his weight.
Calf Mana is also high in fat and can be used as a feed suppliment for weight building. Remember that all the additional food may make him high strung.
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Both of our horses are rescues, and they have returned to being normal again long since. I can only tell you what worked for us. Stress could have been a factor in this, but there are other things to consider.
First of all, like they said, paste worming is very nescessary. In addition to that we use strongid-c daily to ensure that they get no strongyles, bots, or other types of worms.
14% sweet feed causes them to become more hyperactive and sweat, but it's what we used a good while before switching to 12%. Safe&Sound has been REALLY good stuff for us, and is veterinarian recommended. You see the difference and it doesn't take long to show. We feed twice a day, without alfalfa cubes or anything of the liking. They get a flake or two of hay with breakfast and supper, as well as whatever forage they can get out at pasture.
Ulcers? That's another possibility to look for
Not once has their weight gone down since we've had both horses, so I hope I have helped.
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add beep pulp to the sweet feed,
and try something called rice bran oil
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Try adding cool calories t o his diet, they give the horse extra weight without giving them too much unwanted energy.
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naturally, there is going to be some weight change with the whole mooving factor. I would take him off of the sweet feed… slowly. cut the amount you give him in half every week until your bag is gone. i assume that you feed him 2ce a day. you are right to give him 3 flakes of hay, but i think you should also put him on some pellates (i like the brand patriot), which are very nutrisious, and better then sweet feed. also, i love the product called weight builer. it works, if fed properly. that is about all you can do. if that does not work, call the vet. i do not know his background, but if there are other horses in the pasture, it is a good chance that the grass is very short and hard for him to get much in a day. also, try worming him. if he has worms in his belly (you will not be able to tell by looks or behavior), then they are taking abot half of his daily nutrision. good luck.
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mix corn oil with his feed and he will get fat fast and yes..I'm sure you would be stressed too if you had ten acres to yourself then someone just confined you like that
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rescue starving horses
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.
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How many horses on 1 acre of pasture? Just him?
How many pounds of feed in your scoop? Feed is more dense than hay cubes…so when you may be feeding nearly 10 lbs of feed per day, you aren't even close if you're using the same scoop for cubes. Remember, it's the weight of the food that establishes adequate quantity…not the volume.
Assuming you're on a worming schedule, have you adjusted it to your change in climate? There's a world of difference between MI and TX, it is possible he's picked up a new parasite. Check with your vet for their recommendation.
You might also take some manure in for a fecal. That can let you know if he's got resistant parasites or malabsorption issues.
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Own 5 fat horses and one hard keeper.
he needs rugging up. it gets colder towards the north and he probably hasnt adjusted to it yet he needs more forage than anything else at the moment so make sure that he is getting enough. if in doubt ask your vet.
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ive just read the whole of the manual of horsemanship
We had the same problem. Moved from CA to MI and then to TX. In CA we fed Alfalfa and never had to supplement. Our horses were nice and fat. When we moved to MI they feed grass hay and our horse was never the same. He was never able to maintain his weight on grass hay alone. Soon you will have no pasture if that hasn't happened already and your horse will end up losing weight to try to keep himself warm. Get a nice big winter blanket. We got a Weatherbeeta blanket with a hood. Our horse was outside during the day and inside at night but he lost so much weight after growing a heavy winter coat and trying to stay warm. The blanket helped and we started him on beet pulp. You can get it in pellets or shredded. We would mix in warm water and our horse loved it. He wouldn't eat it unless we mixed the warm water with it. He eventually started gaining weight. They don't have A&M or Alfalfa cubes that we could find in MI so Beet pulp was our only method of keep weight on our horse. Now that we are in TX and they still feed grass hay here…we have an alfalfa cube and A&M supply here so our horse is able to maintain his weight on that. Good Luck.
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You should ask your vet and have them come out and take a look. It could be worms so make sure you keep up with your wormer medication. It could be the surroundings and the change in the environment so give him a little more time. It could also be that he needs to have his teeth floated. It's a common problem in older horses, though he's not that old and it's something that your vet can diagnose and treat by filing down his teeth after giving him a mild anesthetic. It'll hurt you more than him, because between all of my horses I've had to hold up three of their heads ( the anesthetic makes them a little limp and they can't hold their heads up well) and it made my shoulder hurt like hell. Also, horses need about three acres a piece to graze on. If there is any way that you can get even another acre, more would be better, it would help alot. Put him in one paddock for about 30 days and switch him to the other. The more and the bigger the paddocks the better. The more you can move him to different pastures the better and the longer it gives the grass to grow in the others. Good luck.
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Has he been wormed recently? This may have something to do with it. Also on a smaller acerage of land if their were horses on it before worms are more easily transfered by the cycle through the ground. If he has been wormed then my next thought is that he So even if he has been recently wormed before your move I would have his stool tested for worms. Also trying to adjust can cause the horse to get in some way depressed.
My sister in laws horse when she moved away to college took her mare with her and her mare became very depressed. Once she brought her back home she would get very skinny every winter and would lose lots of weight. It took about 5 years and she is doing awesome now.
Is your gelding eating all the food you give him? Or does he spit some out? If he is chewing but spitting it out his teeth may need floated. Also if he just isn't finishing his food an option to help his appetite pick up is a shot of the vitamin B12. What this does is increases his appetite and he will gain weight.
It may also be that horses sometimes have a hard time adjusting to diet change. If he was on pasture land before and now you are having to supplement with other feed that is a pretty big change for his body.
Without seeing your horse and how he is acting it is hard to pinpoint what it might be….your best bet would be to find a good vet around where you now live and have him checked out.
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you might want to try less sweet feed and feed corn and oats. i avoid sweet feed because the sugar isn't good for their teeth. my horses keep their weight really well on just corn and oats for grain.
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I would go and get some conditioning mix or cubes. I recently rescued a very skinny tb and extra feed is all he needed. however, if his feed hasn't changed and he isn't doing any more work it might be worth having your vet check him over to make sure he is healthy, there are some problems that can cause weight loss.
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is he being wormed regularly
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ask some on from Michigan with a fat fat horse what they feed theirs.
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deworm him really good. tapeworms, strongles, etc. about the feed… you need to buy a feed with low fiber (MAX 4) and high fat (MIN 12%) or something to that extent. ask the feed man. he can help!
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I'm very surprised no one mentioned depression. ill admit i dont know much about parasites and stuff but 10 acres to 1 acre has got to be tough on a horse. that would be like you moving from a house to a camper!
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Take your horse to the local large animal veterinarian and have a general physical; then run a fecal flotation to rule out parasites as there are more in Texas than Michigan; If the general physical shows dental problems (hooks/points) then have the veterinarian perform a complete dentistry or float teeth. If none of this shows anything have the veterinarian run a complete blood count and chemistry panel to determine if there is a metabolic cause. If you let me know where you live in Texas I will be glad to refer you to a veterinarian as I know many in east Texas and the hill country.
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HOLY COW, TEXAS TO MICHIGAN!. I think I would lose weight with the stress of that. Good advice already given, try more fat (oils) more hay, less grain and maybe even one of those weight builder supplements, just do it incrementally and don't forget his blankie
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