My horse is a 24 year old Appaloosa gelding. He is being fed 4 pounds of Country Acres horse feed per day (two meals) with 3 flakes of Timothy hay in the morning and three at night. He doesn't seem to have much energy on the feed he is getting now. What can I do to give him the energy he needs for trail riding? If I give him any more grain then he is getting now, he gets way too fat, he is a really easy keeper. I also want to keep his diet as close to the natural diet for horses as possible. Any suggestions on giving him more energy without getting him too fat on grain? Thanks so much.

Where are you from? Indiana

How did you locate this forum? Friend on Horsecity.com

Hi Kristina,

You're wise to not over feed grain, especially if he is already prone toward storing fat. The first thing I would add to the diet is a good B Complex preparation. I recommend B Plex. This will help him derive energy from his feed and give him more energy to do work.

Since he's holding his weight well, give him more hay so that he doesn't run out. If he goes for hours without anything to graze on, it can actually make him fatter due to the body's tendency to slow down the metabolic rate.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO