Adding weight in winter with OIL

[CoachGlass]

My wife’s mare always gets ribby in the winter. I am thinking of adding either a weight gainer or oil to her diet. Right now I have her and my 4YO daughters pony in separate pastures to ensure they are getting enough hay and grain from the 2 bossier horses.

Been looking at Rice Bran oil but also read that I can use vegetable oil or corn oil. Has anyone had any good results adding weight using other oils instead of RBO. Really trying to find a cost effective supplement to give her to add more weight on her to through the next few months.

RIght now I am feeding them around 6-7 flakes a day between them two and between 5-6 qts of grain each a day. She doesnt look poor or anything, but you can see her ribs a little and by her back hips are sunk in a little. I have started back trying to get her into shape to ride again, she had a few months off do to wife being pregnant and my coaching high school. So I want to add the extra intake.

Edited: They are also given free choice mineral block and of course fresh water. I also added a 16% protein tub from TS yesterday. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr…b?cm_vc=-10005

[Angela_Freda]

6-7 flakes weighs what?
What kind of hay- grass, alfalfa, mix?
And each horse gets 6-7 flakes a day [so 12-14 flakes a day total] or both horses get that amount between them?

And what is the ‘grain’ you feed, and again, how much does that 5-6 qts each day { so does that mean they each get about 3 qts a day or they each get 1.5 qts?] weigh?

And this is the analysis of your 16% Protein tub:
This 16% Protein Tub can be used to provide supplemental nutrients to all livestock classes.

• Rich in [B]molasses[/B] for palability and available energy
• Safe for horses and all classes of beef and dairy cattle
• All-natural
• [B]5% fat[/B] - Safe hi-energy vegetable oil source

  $58/200# of this stuff... how much are you supposed to feed of it?
  

[CoachGlass]

@Angela Freda

6-7 flakes weighs what?
What kind of hay- grass, alfalfa, mix?
And each horse gets 6-7 flakes a day [so 12-14 flakes a day total] or both horses get that amount between them?

And what is the ‘grain’ you feed, and again, how much does that 5-6 qts each day { so does that mean they each get about 3 qts a day or they each get 1.5 qts?] weigh?

And this is the analysis of your 16% Protein tub:
This 16% Protein Tub can be used to provide supplemental nutrients to all livestock classes.

• Rich in [B]molasses[/B] for palability and available energy
• Safe for horses and all classes of beef and dairy cattle
• All-natural
• [B]5% fat[/B] - Safe hi-energy vegetable oil source

  $58/200# of this stuff… how much are you supposed to feed of it?

The hay I am feeding them is a mixture hay, its mostly bermuda grass. They are given anywhere between 3-4 flakes in the morning and also the same thing again in the afternoon. This is between them 2, but I know she is eating more than him. He is a slow eater but looks like a bear in the winter. The other two I have in the other pasture, eat their food fast and keep these two ran off. As far as the grain, I like to feed a 12 or 14% protein pellet from my local feed store. I keep them separate, I feed the mare 3 qts twice a day also and the pony gets around 2 qts twice a day. I weighted the feed last summer but can’t remember the weight.

[Amy3996]

How big are the bales of hay you’re feeding? Small 50lb squares or larger 3 string bales? The average recommended forage intake for an adult 1000lb horse is 1.5-2% of body weight per day, so 15-20lbs of hay per horse. A horse that needs weight or is out 24/7 in cold temps is going to need more than that to maintain condition. I would tend to increase the hay and switch to a higher quality grain before adding oil or supplements.

[CoachGlass]

They are the two string bales. I will increase my hay for her, even though my other two are easy keepers and never see their ribs. Would I need to increase their intake also or do you think they are fine?

[ecileh]

I have fed my PSSM mare vegetable oil, rice bran oil, and corn oil. The only one that I saw any weight gain with was the corn oil–and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than rice bran! I buy it in big jugs at BJs.

If yours won’t eat oil (some won’t) you can also try Buckeye Ultimate Finish 100. Or any number of other fat supplements–that one just happens to be safe for my mare (not all are low carb).

[Amy3996]

@CoachGlass

They are the two string bales. I will increase my hay for her, even though my other two are easy keepers and never see their ribs. Would I need to increase their intake also or do you think they are fine?

If your easy keepers are in good body condition, their hay intake is likely fine. If you increase the harder keepers’ hay to say, 20-25lbs per horse (a bale a day between the two horses, assuming a 40-50lb square bale), and they still aren’t picking up weight, then I would look at upgrading to a higher quality grain before adding oil or supplements.

[Simkie]

I love feeding oil, but it does sound like your skinny horse just needs more hay. 6-7 flakes/day sounds in the range for just her, not her + pony.

[Guilherme]

Horses eat by weight, not volume. So right now you don’t KNOW what you are actually feeding. Go to Walmart and get a hunter’s scale in Sporting Goods and a kitchen scale in Kitchen Goods and KNOW what you are, or are not, doing.

Adding oil is not a bad plan. We’ve often used canola oil as it appears to be very palatable to my horses. Of course as a rule they will eat anything that doesn’t eat them first! Here is some specific information: http://convert-to.com/547/canola-oil-conversion-and-nutritional-facts.html

Mine are also very easy keepers so I don’t do much beyond supplement their winter pastures with round bale hay that we make.

Good luck in your program.

G.

[UpChuck]

How old is the mare? Perhaps a higher quality senior feed as opposed to the pellets may be a better option.

I agree with the other comments that she should be getting 6-7 flakes or day to herself assuming 50lb bales. Also, has she had her teeth checked recently?

[Libby2563]

I agree with increasing hay consumption, considering a higher-quality feed, and checking teeth, but if you still do need to add some fat, can you get rice bran (meal or pelleted, not oil) from your feed store?

Here is one example: https://www.mannapro.com/products/eq…tabilized-bran

Just another option for you! I personally don’t like the mess involved in feeding and storing oil. Rice bran is easy and I’ve had good results. I prefer pelleted.

[candyappy]

The easiest thing is put in a feeder and keep it full of good hay. If the pony is fat you will not want it on free choice hay though.

Hay is always preferable to grain, oil or fat supplements.

[PeteyPie]

More hay.

[Texarkana]

Echoing; it sounds like you are not feeding enough hay. Even though it may not feel like it, it is much more economical (not to mention healthier) to put weight on a horse with hay than concentrates or supplements.

With that said, my toothless oldster blimped right up on 2 cups of vegetable oil (soybean oil) per day. I had to take my time slowly building him up to that quantity over a few weeks. I have to say, I’ve fed a lot of horses oil over the years and he’s the only one in recent memory who’s shown really dramatic results with it. Also, vegetable oil has gotten surprisingly expensive lately! At the local Food Lion, it’s about $6/gallon. Yet at the local Safeway, it’s nearly $6/quart!!! :eek:

[4LeafCloverFarm]

My senior is a hard keeper in winter only. I’ve gone the rice bran and corn oil route. Both worked well. The rice barn (I used Manna Pro Max-E-Glo) is quite expensive - about $40 a bag at my TSC. Corn oil on the other hand is cheap - restaurant size at Walmart is like $7.50. But the oil is messy and not all horses like it. With either, add slowly to build up to recommended amount. Both are very rich and adding too much at once can cause digestive issues.

That said, I ditched the fat supplement I had switched to last winter (Purina Amplify) in favor of a totally new feed for my senior this winter. I switched from Purina Equine Senior (5.5% fat) to Pro Elite Senior (10% fat) and it really has made a difference. And the bonus is, no oil, no fat supplement, no rice bran… it’s awesome. So, look at feeds available at your feed store - not all are created equal. She may benefit from a different feed that your easy keepers. I feed 1/2 “grain” and 1/2 alfalfa pellets at eat meal to all my horses. Adding alfalfa pellets is another option, as only she would get it at meal time, and the pony wouldn’t. So no worries about the pony over eating.

And as everyone else said, plenty of hay. If the pony starts to get a little tubby, add a grazing muzzle to slow him down during the day, remove at night. It really does help to have a scale in your barn. A “flake” can be a pound or 10 pounds, depending on the type of bale and the variety of hay. I might have missed the type of hay you are using, but most feed stores have compressed Alfalfa (or chopped Alfalfa) and adding a pound or two on top of your hay is another way to add calories. I use compressed Alfalfa as a topper with my guy’s hay. A 50 pound compressed bale lasts about 3 weeks, give or take.

[S1969]

@CoachGlass

They are the two string bales. I will increase my hay for her, even though my other two are easy keepers and never see their ribs. Would I need to increase their intake also or do you think they are fine?

How much of a bale is 6-7 flakes (half a bale, 2/3 bale?)

My TB mare will easily eat 2/3 of a 50lb bale every day in winter. And not look heavy. My warmblood mare will eat the same and be fat. So, every horse is an individual.

There really is no “economical weight gain” supplement - hay is the best and most efficient source of calories for horses. But oil is not a bad option if you need to add more calories and you’ve maxed out on the hay a horse will eat. Some horses do not like oil, though - so start with just a little and increase slowly.

Depending on the horse and your feeding schedule, things like beet pulp or alfalfa cubes can help get in more calories at mealtime as well.

[PeteyPie]

It’s important to feed plenty of hay especially in the winter because hay is metabolized slowly and the bacterial process that occurs during digestion produces heat, more heat than what is produced digesting richer foods like grains and oils. So eating hay will keep a horse warm.

This is not to say that feeding oil is not a good thing; it is very good for increasing calorie intake without risking colic or ulcers and the right oils are an excellent source of Omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin E. There is also some scientific evidence that oils may actually reduce ulcers and colic. Here are a couple of concise articles about oils:
https://ker.com/equinews/feeding-oil-horses-choose-wisely/
https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/nutrition/a-slippery-situation-selecting-the-best-oil-for-a-horses-diet/

Cereal grains may be necessary for horses in higher exercise but there are many indications that there is a relationship between feeding cereal grains and increased colic, laminitis and ulcers, even more so with sweetened feeds (because the high sugar or starch seems to be the culprit). For that reason it is important to choose the grain and the quantity very wisely. Many horses in less demanding occupations are never fed grains. When I say “grain,” I am referring to cereals like corn, oats, and barley, not processed pelleted foods. The processed pelleted foods may be ration balancers or complete feeds and may contain no cereal grains at all, but I’ve noticed many people call them “grains” so that’s why I mention this.

[RInurse_Rider]

Do you blanket your horses? I have a mare who will only eat so much, and I used oil to help keep weight on her in the winter. Then I taught her about blankets. No weight loss this year. I also feed soaked hay cubes at mealtime - they get water and long-stem forage all in one.

[foggythistle]

My gelding also runs on the slim side. Last winter he got a little too slim. This year I’m keeping him warmer with more layers and an added hood. It has definitely helped him keep the weight on since he’s not burning so much trying to keep warm.