Comments on: Winter Weight Loss

By: Preventing Barn Fires – America’s Horse Daily

Preventing Barn Fires – America’s Horse Daily — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:10:15 +0000

[...] same process might occur with damp grain, sawdust or wood shavings, too, and in these situations, an explosion could result, due to the [...]

By: Gabrielle Ross

Gabrielle Ross — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 06:35:22 +0000

Healthy weight is easy to maintain, just watch your diet and always exercise.-.~

By: Teresa Jones

Teresa Jones — Sun, 02 May 2010 15:15:44 +0000

We only give our horses 1/2 scoop of sweet feed or oats depending on the time of year and open feeding to hay. The hay is a mixture of alphalfa, timothy, and brome. According to the shoer are horses are overweight. Horses will eat all the time if you let them. You can cut the gain with supplements in the winter but allow them to have as much hay in the day and not at night that should help if you want to keep the weight down. We do not worry about the weight only because the horses are not ridden. I think most people give to much gain or pellets.

By: Abigail Moore

Abigail Moore — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:07:06 +0000

Exercise and strict dieting can do magic if you are trying to lose weight. I did a lot of cardio just to lose weight.”:-

By: patty

patty — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:36:43 +0000

I have a 10 yr old gelding who never raises his head – eats all the time. Large bales all winter and grass all summer. I can half way keep his weight under control in the summer because I ride alot, but when the weather turns bad it’s a free for all for his eating. I have a round pen that I’ve been thinking about using to monitor his eating habits. How many hours a day can I safely leave him in there without food to try and control his weight. Of course, he would always have water.

By: shirley

shirley — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:37:44 +0000

i have a 30 yr old horse,can not get weight on him, he will look very well then he falls away again,tryed beet pulp ,oil and i need to no whats next to try ,and how to start him out on something new to eat ,thanks

By: stef

stef — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:05:50 +0000

Dawn….

I have a 10 year old mare that I’ve had the same problem with. I struggled for over a year trying to get her on the right diet and couldn’t get her to gain a pound until I met up with an equine nutritionist at the feed store. I told her I was afraid of founder because we had already had a scare with that. She suggested purina’s ultium. She told me it’s an all around food. Hope this helps!

By: becca

becca — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:55:08 +0000

I have a bunch of old guys too and it is an on going battle to keep them where we think they should be for weight….I have tried everything.. Right now we are using omeg 3 powder Boss.. Black oil sunflower seeds… they contain about 2000 calories for a cup…wieght builder. optitizme…..And they get the oppropriate grain….for what they are old young mare brood mare ect….They also get beet pulp…and we feed soyameal..too….and alfaha cubes…All of that seems to be somewhat helpful…..our one girl had an abbcess so she lost lots of weight.. but is now on the road to packing it back on….my older guys… its just going to take time…..they dont fight back in the paddock so they are all feed seperate…..Can we say high maintance…We just added the sunflower seeds. so we will see how that helps….the one horse if i dont keep him on the soya meal he looses… he gets he gains .. so i have no idea
I will try what ever to keep them looking good… Oh yeah And dont forget the oil and vinegar……That seems to work so far… nothing is going to gain over night just be determined….But i know what you mean its a struggle…Just cause a horse shows ribs doesnt mean they are not being fed ….keep an open mind.dont jump to conclusions..

By: kristin

kristin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:22:55 +0000

Hi Dawn,

Here is a suggestion offered by Dr. Lenz in The Journal…

“Another good way to provide calories to a horse quickly and safely is to add fat in the form of corn oil to the diet. A pound of corn oil (two cups) contains around 4,000 calories compared to 1,800 for a pound of corn. Up to a cup of corn oil twice daily can be provided and should be mixed with sufficient grain to keep the mixture palatable to the horse. Four pounds of dry grain per cup of oil works well.”

By: Dawn Brown

Dawn Brown — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:24:18 +0000

I have a 16 yr old aqha mare and I cant seem to keep her ribs and backbone from showing. I feed her a grain which a older horse mixture you get from the local MFA, and she gets plenty of hay. I have wormed her, but still no results. Any suggestions?

By: Midge Ladner

Midge Ladner — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:26:46 +0000

I am by no means an expert, but the expert from UT that spoke to our 4-H group said that in the winter horses need more hay, but not better quality hay. He said many horse owners feed the best hay they can, which is high in protein, etc., when they should instead feed more hay that is of less quality. Not moldy, or gross, but longer stem, maybe try “cow hay” instead of “horse hay” for your easy keepers. Wish I had your problem!!

By: Dee Ramsey

Dee Ramsey — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:17:44 +0000

My old gelding (23 yrs old) started losing weight and we could see his ribs. We increased his grass hay (no alfalfa) and all he got then was a hay belly but we could still see the ribs. Our vet said to avoid the chance of his getting Ulcers to eliminate all grain (we were giving him 2 Cups of equine senior once/day as a supplement). He recommended Purina’s Wellsolve L/S (pelleted with NO grain). We’ve been giving him 4 Cups/day along with 2 C of rice brain and he’s filled out all over but does not have the hay belly. He looks like his old self and is more energetic. Living in Northern Nevada we have cold winters. At evening feed we give a sprinkling of alfalfa (not even a quarter of a flake)on top of the grass to help generate heat during the night (he has a stall to come into).Even tho we have the barn, when the temp gets down to below 20 degrees, we blanket him. Hope this info helps those who may have the same problem with their older guys.