Hey Doc, How are you doing? Everything is going well here with the nutrition!! I do have a question for you. I am wondering what your thoughts are on horses gaining or maintaining their weight by feeds high in fiber or fat? I have switched most of my horses to high fiber and thought the older ones or TB's needed the higher fat feeds. I have Poulin 10/12. My vet was by the other day and suggested putting my older morgan on fiber (hay stretcher/accel)and taking him off the high fat. Now I thought I was doing the right thing by him to feed the higher fat feeds because of his age. Vet says morgans just don't need to eat grain... LOL I guess he was a little fleshy. Anyway, I was told by the poulin nutritionalist that this 10/12 would give them their weight through fat and that it would not hyp them up because it is low in carbs/sugars. Seems as though they are a little foolish but I am not sure if that is "spring" or feed, they do look wonderful. Another point of this story is that if you do not feed a recommended amount (in Poulin 10/12 4.lbs per day) (trotter 5.lbs per day) they will not be getting the full amount of vitamins for a well rounded diet. Shoul I be concered about lowering feeds to under the mim amount if they are over weight? Guess that is 2 questions in one.. thanks for your thoughts on this subject..

Where are you from? Maine

Hi Sass,

Since you are feeding a vitamin/mineral supplement (Accel), you don't need to be concerned about feeding the suggested amount of the Poulin feed.

And, your horse can do just fine on an all-forage diet. You can simply use the Poulin feed as a "carrier" for your supplements. Additional fat would only be necessary if he needed more calories (which he doesn't seem to). But, flaxseed meal is a good addition to the diet because it adds omega 3 fatty acids that are not typically found in roughages. The Poulin feed may contain flax -- check your ingredients. If not, you may want to add a couple of ounces of Nutra Flax to his feeding plan.

Hope I answered your questions!

Best regards,

Dr. Getty

so you are thinking that having them on high fiber and use the fat as an additive is the way to go if they need more weight. I have a supplement here called Omegatin that I have been using as a top dressing to the ones that seem to need weight like: young that get lanky, fiber eaters that may need some fat, old. Maybe that is the way to go instead of having the poulin 10/12 because the omegatin is high in calories and omega fats..
I am not giving all the horses accel, only the ones that are not on grain because they would not get enough vitamins and minerals. Any tips on getting them to eat the dam stuff?? it seems to be at the bottom of the feeder half the time and it is expensive... It is difficult to feed hay pellets and the dry supplement like that together.
Do you think that I am finally getting it?

Where are you from? Maine

Hi Sass,

Omegatin is a fine product, so you can feed that to your horses that need to gain weight. It's not as high in omega 3 fatty acids as flaxseed meal and also contains some grain, so it is higher in starch. But, as long as your horses are not prone to laminitis, Omegatin is fine.

About feeding Accel -- most horses like it because it is in an alfalfa base, but you could moisten the feed with a small amount of water to get it to stick, or even some apple juice.

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Dr. Getty