Dr. Getty,

I have a 7 month old quarter horse colt who is having a hard time gaining weight. He has had a bit of a hard start in life. We bought him in May at a dispersal sale of a big show barn, he was not weaned at the time. He was left at the farm for over a week when he could have been at least seperated from his dam, but was not. We had some friends pick him up and they said he was taken off his dam and loaded on to their trailer. That was the begining. He lost a bit of weight from the stress of that experience, but seemed to be getting better when his yearling buddy had to be put down due to complications from an injury and a terrible HYPP attack. After that we thought we were going to lose him too. He would hardly eat at all, and wouldn't even go anywhere near the other horses. He was also extreamely "dumb" from the time we brought him home. He never had much energy and seemed to have very low intelligence. A very good friend of ours who is not only a veterinarian but has degrees in nutrition suggested putting him on a vit/min. supplement and he is now showing much more activity and intelligence.

My problem is that he is not seeming to pick up weight very fast. He is on pasture 24/7 and also has free choice prarie/alfalfa hay at all times. He and the other 2 weanlings are also fed oats and a peletted feed twice daily. We had tried safe choice, but they won't eat it. We had thought of trying the Ultium, but it's nearly $15 a bag here and we go through it way too fast to be able to afford it for all of them. We would have to seperate the three of them durring feeding time and none of them will eat without the others there. The two colts are the worst, the absolutely will not eat without the other one, they don't care about the filly that much. With winter coming and it getting very cold I am worried about him. I have a winter blanket ordered for him, but I was wondering if you could suggest anything to help put some more weight on him?

Thanks
Malissa

p.s. he also gets about 1/2 cup corn oil per day(1/4 morning and 1/4 night) in his feed. We cant get flax meal around here and we live way out in the boonies so shiping anything is usualy super expensive. He is also still getting his Vit/Min. supplement. He gets Grow Colt. Thanks again! I'm just worried about my little guy!

Where are you from? Nebraska

How did you locate this forum? A friend from the CPEA message board suggested it

Hi Malissa,

Yes, I can see that he has had a very stressful time. But, I am encouraged that he has improved since you’ve started feeding a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement.

If you can stop the oats, that would be best, since his risk of developing orthopedic problems is high when fed a starchy diet. Instead, please consider getting flaxseed meal. Take a look at Nutra Flax on my website – the shipping is free to anywhere in the continental U.S.

In addition to NutraFlax, he likely needs additional Lysine. There’s a product called "Lysine" made by Vita Flex that would be very helpful in providing this essential amino acids. Growing colts require a large amount of this amino acid in order to build body tissue.

You didn’t mention which vitamin/mineral supplement you’re giving him, but choose one that also contains probiotics, so he will better utilize his forage so he can gain weight.

And finally, add some alfalfa to his hay ration. This will round out his protein profile, as well as help him gain weight.

Please keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Dr. Getty,

Thank you. He does get alfalfa. Our hay is mostly alfalfa with a bit of prarie grass in it. We have found our horses do very well on it versus just prarie(which most people around here feed) or just alfalfa. The supplement he is on is Grow Colt. We have found him and the other colt to be very picky when it comes to the pellets they get. They will not eat Safe Choice, they just pick at Strategy, but seem to love Nutrena's Compete. Do you feel it is ok to continue to give him this one, and how much wold you reccomend feeding him per day?

Thank you again for your time,
Malissa
And the skinny colt,
Gabriel(Misters Opposition)

Where are you from? Nebraska

How did you locate this forum? A friend from the CPEA message board suggested it

Hi Malissa,

Great job! Good -- I'm pleased about the hay. Instead of Nutrena's Complete, see if you can get Purina's Equine Junior - it is a safer feed for young hourses. And, seriously consider adding flaxseed meal to the diet. This will definitely help him gain weight better than feeding more of the pellets.

All the best,

Dr. Getty