I feed a ration balancer to all our horses. It works pretty well from the 4 yr old to the 30 yr olds. We’ve got a new horse in that needs weight. He’ll be in light to sometimes moderate work. 14 yr old QH.
They all get a steady supply of average quality grass hay. Best we can get in this area. We don’t have access to alfalfa.
What’s your favorite way to add fat for weight gain?
By adding something that is 100% fat and not a silly supplement that is only 30% fat.
Plain old vegetable oil has worked fine for me, although some horses can be picky about oils. If he’s only getting a small amount of a ration balancer, any significant quantity of oil might overwhelm the pellets and make it unpalatable.
Good news is it’s cheap so it’s easy to try and not much lost if horsey turns his nose up at it.
Not all situations allow for oil to work well, not all horses will eat oil (especially if only getting a ration balancer).
Not all horses like 100% prilled fats.
30-40-50% fat supplements can, and have, worked very well for a lot of horses.
Everyone has a favorite. It’s really a matter of picking something and trying it, hopefully being able to purchase small quantities to start, or know someone who would love to take a larger amount off your hand at cost or even a bit less.
I’ve used Max-E-Glo successfully in the past. Purina Amplify, Buckeye (I think?) Ultimate Finish (in 3 different fat %s), Triple Crown Essential Omega Blend (an oil), ProElite Omega Advantage (lower % fat), and many others, all can work very well. Cocosoya oil is another that is pretty palatable, and they have a solid form as well.
Plain vegetable oil is the cheapest for sure, but not always doable.
The alternative, depending on just how much weight he needs, is to give him a regular feed for a month or 3, get him to good weight, then transition back to a ration balancer if you can.
Or, add alfalfa pellets to his ration balancer.
Calories don’t have to come from fat, though the higher the fat %, the lower the volume for the same calories.
Ive never been a fan of adding straight oil. Seems gross, especially since Im only feeding small amounts each meal.
Ive thought about adding amplify. Easy enough to get from TSC.
Generally with ration balances your are getting all the protein/vitamin/mineral bang for the minimum amount of calorie buck. Personally I would go with a more calorie dense feed as opposed to a ration balancer plus fat.
I agree about no oil though- it’s messy, hard to use in summer and winter and lots of horses think it’s gross.
If I needed weight gain, feeding a ration balancer + fat supplement is not how I would go about it… I’d also be swapping to a more calorie dense food, personally.
I find the best results for the average horse w/ average nutritional/caloric needs is to add alfalfa pellets. No skinny TBs with us on that regime.
MannaPro has a supplement called Senior Weight Accelerator. It’s essentially dehydrated vegetable oil and flax seed. I’ve used it, and was happy with it:
https://www.mannapro.com/products/equine/nutritional-supplements/senior-weight-accelerator
Rice bran, micronized linseed (or the oils of either one)
Hey Beowulf… I know this is an old post but hope you don’t mind a question Starting my 27 year old mare on Senior Weight Accelerator. Wondering how slowly you started it. I know the package says "over a 2 week period ", but do they mean 2 weeks just to reach one scoop”? Just wondering what you did ( if you remember) and how much you ended up feeding and about how long it took you to get there. Also if you split that up between meals?
Thanks so much for any help you can give me…
Yes, they mean two weeks to work up to one scoop. Generally with any supplement, they want you to work up to the maintenance dose over a week or two – unless it’s something joint-wise; then they want you to start with a higher dose and work down.
I started with 1/4 scoop for a few days, then 1/2 scoop for about a week, then onto the 1 scoop. With this supplement in particular, I really think the slow loading dose is just so the horse doesn’t turn his nose up at his food because there’s something new in it.
I didn’t split it into two feedings, but I sure would if I needed more than one scoop. I fed it for about six months to help a geriatric horse who suddenly lost a lot of weight. He ended up being diagnosed with Cushings hence the reason for his weight loss.
Ok, thank you so very much for the help. I already started 1/2 scoop x 5 days (with no issues) and was contemplating what to do next… guess I’ll go to 3/4, and then a full scoop when I hit the 2 week mark. Fortunately so far she’s eating it, and I want to keep it that way. She gets a lot of grain, so that helps hide it. Couldn’t do rice bran (she has ESPM) and she she won’t eat oil. Hopefully this will help…Thanks again!
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