Keeping weight on without grass

[hgood2614]

Hello,
I have a 6 year old thoroughbred gelding, and over the winter he is not out on grass. He tends to drop weight without the grass. I have tried supplementing with more hay during the day, but he tends to waste it especially when he is in his stall. I do not want to increase his grain because I am unable to feed him lunch, and don’t want his meals to be too large.

I was thinking about adding alfalfa pellets, but wasn’t sure how helpful they would be if they are not soaked. I was wondering if anybody has had any success with supplements, or anything else.

Please let me know any ideas or thoughts.
Thanks!

[Simkie]

Can you net his hay so he can’t waste it? It’s tough to make up lack of forage with a bucket meal or two a day, even with a forage product like alfalfa pellets.

[JB]

What grain are you feeding, and how much each meal?

I agree that some horses eat more hay when it’s netted because it’s not “omg it hit the floor it’s inedible!!”.

[jawa]

I have an aged pony that can’t eat hay and can minimally eat grass. His weight is kept up by getting 2 meals a day. They are LARGE meals that he dines on over a 8-10 hour period. I soak his feed, 1lb of beet pulp, 3lbs of timothy pellets, 3 lbs of alfalfa cubes, two times a day. He munches on this mash throughout the day and night. He will eat for 10-15 minutes then go lounge for a bit, eat a bit, lounge a bit. His mash is kept in a space that only he can enter (he’s 14.1, the others are over 16 hands).

How many lbs of hay is your horse getting a day?

What type of hay is your horse getting?

What brand/type of feed is your horse getting?

How many lbs of this feed is your horse getting?

If your horse has teeth and he is in a space to eat his hay by himself, I would up the quality and quantity of hay first (and net it to reduce waste).
If the increased (quality and quantity) of hay doesn’t cause an increase in weight, or a maintenance of weight, and your horse has time in a separate space, I would consider adding some straight alfalfa hay in addition to his regular ration or a bucket of soaked alfalfa cubes or pellets.

You might also consider adding a sheet or blanket when the temperatures get low. The added insulation can help to conserve calories.

[hgood2614]

I would have to talk to my barn manager, but that is a good option. I am just worried he will not want to take the time to do that. So trying to find other options.

[hgood2614]

He is currently on Triple Crown Senior. It seems to be the only thing to keep weight on him. I have tried several other grains and none worked well for him. He is currently getting about 3lbs per meal.

Also, yes I will have to look into the hay net as an option, but not sure if my barn manager will do that. Unfortunately, it is a smaller farm and my horse is the only problem child with weight lol

[GraceLikeRain]

I just bought a huggeee smartpak hay bag: https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/smartpak-slow-feed-hay-bag-13939?utm_source=cpc&utm_medium=google&utm_content=shopping&utm_campaign=br_shopping_tes&utm_term=BR_Shopping_TES&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqdP9BRDVARIsAGSZ8AkkoH-F-QKiyihU-wCGHl7ac4v2DHP6XVJ7efjz-s2o7QfIHhQlJ7EaAoDWEALw_wcB

It holds an easy four flakes and because it is so structured it is a snap to load. My horse is barefoot so I just toss it on the ground. Without a hay bag she drags hay all over her stall. With the bag she finishes 4 flakes when before she was only eating maybe 1.5 flakes.

It is more work but from the perspective of the BM wasting hay is costly so an easy to use hay bag like this may be more desired than tossing good hay away every day that gets mixed in with bedding.

[JB]

@hgood2614

He is currently getting about 3lbs per meal.

4-5lb each meal would be great. You could even push it and do 5lb + 1lb alfalfa pellets, since the TC Sr is forage-based to start. But I’d start with 5lb TC Sr each of those 2 meals and see what’s what after a few weeks, and go from there. 4.5lb TC Sr, + 1lb alf pellets or 1lb Renew Gold or other fat supplement, are other options

[2DogsFarm]

Added fat worked for me.
For 17h+ 18yo WB who started coming out in Spring a bit ribby, adding 1 cup of Nutrena Empower Boost (20% fat from rice bran) twice a day to his regular ration of whole oats.
Put the weight back on in a bit over a month.
Following year I started adding Boost in the Fall & continued through Winter - he kept his weight.

For the 17yo TWH showing the same Spring loss, I went straight to rice bran - added a heaping 1/4 cup to his oats 2X daily, Now that he’s in good weight I am down to 1X rice bran daily, but will up it when Winter settles in & grass is done.

[hgood2614]

I will try upping his amount of feed per meal. For the alfalfa pellets, some people say they aren’t very effective if they are not soaked. Would you consider that to be true? Because unfortunately I do not have the time to soak alfalfa pellets, and I know large batches aren’t a good idea because it can spoil.

[hgood2614]

Those are both very good options, and will have to look into trying them. Thank you

[JB]

@hgood2614

For the alfalfa pellets, some people say they aren’t very effective if they are not soaked

soaking has no impact on effectiveness, it’s just adding water, as if the horse takes a bite of alf pellets, then a sip of water.

The issue is that some horses will choke on dry feed. If that’s not your horse, then especially since you’re already not soaking feed, and you’re only adding a relatively small volume of alf pellets to several pounds of a nice textured feed that also already contains some pellets, there should be no issue. 1lb alf pellets is about 3c

[hgood2614]

Okay, thank you for the information. It is extremely helpful.

[Another_Poster]

Is your horse stalled or in a separate area? Is soaking feed totally out of the question? More info on his living situation may help us offer more useful suggestions. It was def some trial/error for me to figure out what worked for my horse with the housing arrangements I have which is herd turnout and no stalls/barn.

For my older, toothless gelding, I soak alfalfa pellets and beet pulp. He spends about 1-2 hours 1-2 x day eating this mix then gets turned back out with the herd.

Adding corn oil or rice bran to feed is a fairly easy way to add calories. I’ve had friends that have had good success with cool calories.

As for him wasting hay, maybe a hay net? Or water trough with some kind of slow feeder on top? I’ve seen the old 100 or 150 gallon Rubbermaid water troughs turned into slow feeders with a panel of sorts that sits on top of hay that allows them to eat but keeps hay contained and not trampled into bedding.

[Equkelly]

When I’m trying to get a horse to gain weight, my rule is increase forage first, then try adding fats, then try increasing grains as your last resort.

I understand the the hesitation about asking the BO to net the hay but is there a way where you could ask if you pay extra if he’d be willing to do it? Or if you fill the nets up ahead of time? Or even if you just do it yourself? If you get one of the bale size hay nets they’ll last for like 2 or 3 days depending on the size of the hay bale.

If that doesn’t work/ is not an option, I would try adding alfalfa hay to his diet. Pellets are fine, but IMO don’t make much of a difference for weight gain unless you’re feeding a lot so if good quality alfalfa hay is an option I’d prefer that over pellets. If your barn doesn’t feed alfalfa, you can ask if you can buy it yourself and if they’ll feed it. I would offer to pay extra if needed too.

Then if that doesn’t work I’d add fats like rice bran, cocosoya, healthy coat, amplify, or something along those lines.

Only when you’ve increased grass hay, added alfalfa, added fats, would I even entertain the idea of increasing or switching grain.

[Posting_Trot]

I’ve been using for almost 4 years that Smartpak hay feeder referenced above. It’s a great option. It does hold a lot of hay, and it does keep the horse from wasting the hay. (That is what my horse did/does with hay that is on the floor of the stall–she paws it, steps in it, and then seems to think it’s inedible. The feeder keeps that from happening).

It does take a bit more time to stuff the hay into the feeder, but it saves hay and it’s really only an extra minute or two at most. And the horse will end up eating all of the hay that he’s been given.

(on that score it’s worthwhile to ask about his teeth–are they done regularly? Horses who don’t have their teeth done regularly often don’t chew well, and that has an impact on how much nutrition they get from their hay).

You could try, also, adding some ground (or whole) flax to his ration. You could add a half-cup to each feeding. Flax provides proteins, oils and calories.

And finally, the suggestion about adding a blanket is a good one too.

[B-burg_Dressage]

I used to have this issue with my ottb.

I’ve found that adding actual alfalfa hay into his diet has helped the most. He’s excited about cleaning it up so there is zero waste of that. He still gets grass hay as well. I use a water trough to feed all hay in and find it helps with waste.

I also still have him on a quarter scoop of dry alf pellets with his grain but I honestly don’t know how much of an effect that has on him. I just never took him off of it after I started feeding actual alfalfa hay.

I’ve found adding the alf hay has enabled me to cut back on grain and still maintain body condition. Not to mention the added benefits in his guts.

[hgood2614]

During the day he is out in a large group, and inside a stall on his own overnight. Soaking feed is likely not an option. I do not think my barn manager would be willing to do that, and I do not get up there enough to do it myself.

I am considering rice bran, as an option. With the hay net I would have to talk to my barn owner, but it could be a good option.

[hgood2614]

Using a hay net is an option I will have to discuss with my barn owner, but I will have look into getting my own alfalfa hay as well, rather than the pellets.

[hgood2614]

Yes, I plan to talk to my barn owner about the hay feeder, and hopefully if it is easy to fill he will be willing to use one.

Also, his teeth are regularly done, and the vet was out a little over a month ago to float them, so I know that is not an issue. And I do blanket him, so that is also not an issue.