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Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition

   Welcome to my forum. 

Here you will find more than 6 years of questions and my answers. It is searchable and offers a great deal of information. 

Currently, I am discontinuing new questions. This may change in the future, but in the meantime, please know that It has been a true pleasure serving you. 

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And finally, look for my articles in a variety of local publications and online newsletters, as well as the Horse Journal, where I am the Contributing Nutrition Editor.  

 

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 Dr. Getty 

 



Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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picky underweight horse

I have an underweight 5 yr old saddlebred mare that I purchased 3 months ago. I bought her untouched and by untouched I mean she has spent her whole life running wild with 50 other horses in the hills of Virginia.

She has never been on any type of grain before and I have worked her up to 3 lbs of a grain my sister has mixed up (16% protein). She has free choice to a grass round bale (I am a pasture boarder) 24/7. I am reluctant to increase her grain more but she still needs to put on alot more weight and tends to yo-yo alot between weights. I have tried adding a pellet weight builder to her feed but she will go off her feed once something new is added, even if it is gradual.

She was vetted before I purchased her and her teeth have been checked. Because she is so green, exercise consists of ground manners and lounging basics 3 to 5 times a week.

Any suggestions about supplements I should try or ideas about getting her to accept changes to her feed?

I am also interested in what manufactored feeds you recommend or what proportions of what(ingredients) would you make for a mixed feed.

Thanks, Kelly

Where are you from? Wisconsin

How did you locate this forum? looking for horse nutrition answers

Re: picky underweight horse

Hi Kelly,

How exciting to have a truly wild horse. You are a lucky lady!

Horses in the wild rarely have large amounts of grain and do well without it because their digestive systems are not designed to digest and metabolize a lot of starch. So, I would recommend that you not feed her any more than 3 lbs a day, and divide it between meals.

It takes a little time for the bacterial flora that exist in her hind gut to develop and accustomed themselves to a new environment. And, without a good bacterial flora count, she will not utilize her nutrients as well and therefore, will not gain weight. Therefore, she is a good candidate for a probiotic. There are several on the market. I like Ration Plus and I also find ProBios to be a good product. Use one of these for 2 to 3 months.

In addition to a probiotic, you'll want to add more calories to her diet. There are several ways to do this without adding more grain. Beet pulp, rice bran, flaxseed meal, soybean meal, alfalfa cubes – all of these are good sources of energy and other nutrients. Horses love alfalfa so you will likely be successful in offering it to her, either as a hay or as pellets or cubes.

So, to provide a good mixed feed, you can continue feeding her a small amount of grain (oats are best – stay away from corn), and add to it alfalfa pellets and stabilized rice bran.

She will also do well with a vitamin/mineral supplement such as Select I (for alfalfa diets) or Select II (for less than 8 pounds of alfalfa/day).

These are a few suggestions. There are many combinations of ingredients and supplements that you can choose from. However, I think you are more likely to be successful in getting her to eat roughages (rice bran and alfalfa) since they are more in tune with what she was formally accustomed to eating.

Let me know how things go.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Re: picky underweight horse

Thanks for the quick response!

I am very glad to have found this forum. A couple of questions...

What brands of alfalfa pellets and stabilized rice bran do you recommend? And what ratio of the oats, pellets, and rice bran do you suggest, 1:1:1 (lbs)?

Is it an old wise tale to think that the alfalfa pellets will expand too much in the stomach without it being moistened and cause problems?

Unfortunatly, the place where I board her only feeds her once a day, is this going to be a problem?

Thanks again for your help, Kelly

Where are you from? Wisconsin

How did you locate this forum? looking for horse nutrition answers

Re: picky underweight horse

Hi Kelly,

Feeding her a meal once a day is generally not a problem as long as she is truly being fed 24/7 with as much hay as she wants. However, a once-a-day meal is problematic if the meal is too large. The total meal should not be more than 3 lbs, so it will be very difficult for her to gain weight on this feeding regimen. So, if you can work in a second meal, that would be best.

Alfalfa pellets are excellent and do not expand in the stomach. Perhaps you are thinking of beet pulp? That will expand to some extent but it is still not dangerous.

One meal should contain 1 lb oats, 1.5 lbs alfalfa pellets, and 1/2 pound rice bran. You can also offer a flake of alfalfa hay for “dessert.” I recommend Natural Glo stabilized rice bran. And, choose an alfalfa pellet manufacturer that is a name brand – such as Purina or Nutrena or Evergreen. Their pellets tend to be less dusty than off-brand varieties.

I’ll look forward to hearing how she is doing!

Dr. Getty

Re: picky underweight horse

Besides the mix you mentioned Select I or II, this is along with the Ration Plus, right?

Unfortunatly, I am finding it hard to locate a dealer in my area but have found Alliance Nutrition very helpful.

Thanks Dr. Getty for the help and recommendations, I will let you know how it goes!!

Kelly

Where are you from? WI

How did you locate this forum? horse nutrition

Re: picky underweight horse

Hi Kelly,

I offer Ration Plus on my website at a reduced price, so if you so not have a local dealer, it may be more economical to purchase it from my site. The link for it is on my homepage.

And, yes, you would feed Ration Plus together with the Select I or II. The Select supplements are available on line, though I do not distribute them. I like valleyvet.com as a veterinary supply source.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Re: picky underweight horse

Okay, one more question. Is there anything I can use to make it more appealing to her so it is not just a dry mix? Like an oil or flavoring of some sort?

Kelly

Where are you from? Wisconsin

How did you locate this forum? looking for horse nutrition answers

Re: picky underweight horse

Hi Kelly,

You can add some canola or flaxseed oil, though many horses do not care for oil in their food. But, all horses are different, so she may very well enjoy it. And, since she is only getting the one meal each day, the extra calories would be a good thing. Give her ¼ cup of either of these oils (flax is better, if your budget will allow it).

Another thing you can do is add a little warm water to moisten the feed. Don’t make it soupy, just moist.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m glad to help.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Re: picky underweight horse

Dr.Getty

If I feed the Natural Glo Pellets which already has the 1:1 Ca/Phos ratio, should the amount of alfalfa pellets change at all?

Thanks, Kelly

Re: picky underweight horse

Hi Kelly,

According to Natural Glo's nutritional analysis (found on http://www.naturalglo.com/nutrition.htm), the phosphorus level is 1.5% and the calcium level ranges between .02 and .07 percent. I'm not sure where you saw the info on 1:1 -- was it from another website?

Rice bran (all brans) are very, very low in calcium and high in phosphorus. So, the alfalfa's high calcium level is important for balancing out this level of phosphorus.

Based on the more current research, horses can very safely consume as much as 6 times more calcium than phosphorus (except a horse that has kidney failure). The danger comes in when the phosphorus level is above the calcium level.

Keep up the fine work!

Dr. Getty