In green
Op says horse is about a 1000 pounds. So he probably weighs more then that. Everything is about 37 lbs of hay about 9 lbs of grain. Says can see a couple of ribs doesn’t qaulify as needs weight. It’s all a huge guess on everything. Post a picture of the horse. Lean is better then FAT to many horses are too Fat, just like a good percentage of the human population are obese or morbidly obese.
@Angela Freda I agree 
BCS requires hands on. Ribs easily felt but not seen is perfect for that area of the body. It doesn’t mean the rest of the horse will be perfect. I do think it takes some training and experience to determine between high and low within a number - low 5 vs high 5 for example - and between adjacent numbers. It shouldn’t take a genius though to see (and feel, feeling is important) whether a horse is a solid 4 or a solid 6. Ribs are just the easiest measure to have someone say the horse is too thin (ribs easily seen, 4 or lower) or too fat (have to dig in to find ribs, 6 or higher). Finessing from there takes a bit more knowledge.
Without knowing more, a few ribs seen could be a high 4, and that’s ok - would be nice to have them covered, be solidly in the 5 range, but it’s not unhealthy to be there, especially for a horse doing this sort of work.
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Thanks for the input! My only issue is I worry about him not having any fat on him when winter comes. And I like my barrel horses to be a little bulked up muscle wise and he doesn’t want to put ANY weight on at all. He is on the same exercise regime my other boys are on to gain muscle and doesn’t want to put any on! I know that sounds like alot of hay per flake but I live in stephenville and where I get my hay from the bales are HUGE. I believe there is about 12% CP in the hay and it is fertilized really well. I’ll definitely look into a fecal egg count! He was very wormy when I bought him, his previous owner brought in alot of horses from the sale barn and didn’t keep her horses wormed. My vet recommended I worm him every 8 weeks on the dot for a while to make sure I got rid of all the worms. I’ll talk to her about cutting back on that!
rlane3245, what cross training do you do with him… I know nothing about barrel racing, but I imagine hills [slow at the walk and trot is harder and better work than letting them canter or gallop up] and strength and balance training would help, and might help build the muscle you think he’s lacking.
I had to laugh at your ‘on the same exercise regime as my other…’ comment.
My husband and I exercise about the same amount…and he drops weight way easier than I do… point being, don’t forget that they/we are all individuals and there’s no one size fits all plan. 
ETA Also I know some Barrel Racing QHs have some TB in them. For my hothouse flower TB, it was the IR diet that really helped him be less of a hard keeper… is there any chance this guy is part TB? Or potentially needing a higher fat, lower NASC diet?
ETA2- doh! nevermind, I see we’re talking about a paint?
This migraine is frazzling my brain today…
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Has he had issues maintaining weight in past Winters? Usually that’s due to forage quality. His current diet is really not high in protein - he’s probably getting enough, but it’s not on the order of high where swapping 30% of his grass forage out for alfalfa is going to push him over any edge. That takes a LOT of protein, and that doesn’t happen with grass forage, with a few exceptions.
And I like my barrel horses to be a little bulked up muscle wise and he doesn’t want to put ANY weight on at all.
See, this is where we need a picture so we can all be on the same page. There’s a BIG difference between bulking up with muscle, and having proper weight. You can’t get the former without the latter first, barring genetically large muscling. If you are looking at a Paint who has a lot of TB in his breeding, he’s not going to look like a Paint who is much more foundation in type.
He is on the same exercise regime my other boys are on to gain muscle and doesn’t want to put any on!
Muscle != weight. The come from different things. And just because other horses are muscled up on the same program, doesn’t at all mean he will be. I develop a lot more muscle, more quickly, than my husband does, and also lose weight faster than he does, which is pretty “backwards” in the generic sense. But it’s really just about the genetic ability of a given body. He’s a “long and lean” guy - literally, his arms are long in proportion to his body, to the point where even though he’s just 6’1", he needs large tall long sleeve shirts. He’s never going to be bulky without steroids.
Distance runners vs sprinters.
I know that sounds like alot of hay per flake but I live in stephenville and where I get my hay from the bales are HUGE. I believe there is about 12% CP in the hay and it is fertilized really well. I’ll definitely look into a fecal egg count! He was very wormy when I bought him, his previous owner brought in alot of horses from the sale barn and didn’t keep her horses wormed. My vet recommended I worm him every 8 weeks on the dot for a while to make sure I got rid of all the worms. I’ll talk to her about cutting back on that!
Worming every 8 weeks doesn’t get rid of worms. Worming with products that are effective gets rid of worms. Using Panacur/Safeguard, or Strongid, or Anthelcide, is going to kill very few strongyles. Using ivermectin will kill just about all of them.
12% protein at that rate of consumption definitely means he’s getting enough protein and lysine, so that’s not the issue. It’s hard to believe calories is the issue as well, but it’s possible it is.
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