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How to add weight to a thin horse.
My horse had been stable on 3lb SBM and 3lb Cool stance daily, split into two feedings. As much orchard grass hay as he will eat.
I ship to a different location twice a year, and he usually loses weight on the trip and then regains it. This year (early Nov) he has not. He is 13, TBXWarmblood cross, in FEI dressage work. He is THIN. I know the difference.
What can I do to get more weight on him?
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6 Replies
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@Carol This question opens several questions. The first is, what is weight? The word includes body fat, muscle, bone, water, and other things that can be weighed. I sound a bit fussy here, but if the horse loses body fat during a long distance trip and exposes lost muscle, that is a different problem than just body fat.
Other questions include his age, any other stressors such as a new farm or new horses next to him, an increased work load, and colder than expected weather.
But despite these seemingly silly questions, the fact that a horse on 3 pounds SBM plus 3 pounds Coolstance loses any condition is alarming. It is understandable losing some water weight, body fat, and even some muscle over a 2 to 3 day road trip, but this should return quickly as you noted.
Loss of body fat occurs when the calories consumed is less than the calories needed to maintain the weight. The equation is: calories in = calories out.
However, the other factors affecting how many calories are needed and how they are used must be added to this equation. Calories in x (factors affecting absorption) = calories out x (factors affecting metabolism).
Assuming the calories have remained the same and the work load is the same (calories out), then the problem lies in the factors. The simple solution is to add more food that doesn’t inflame the body. I usually recommend cleaned (dehulled) oats (aka Racehorse Oats). This will add the needed calories in the form of excess sugar (starch) to put on body fat without adding the inflammatory effects of byproducts and other unnecessary ingredients.
Of interest, though, is discovering why your horse has not been able to regain the lost weight in shipping. The easiest answer would be increased cortisol. Another would be the barn isn’t feeding him what you think he’s getting (I’m saying this for a complete analysis and may not be specific for your case). More complex reasons would include a metabolic change such as a low grade infection in the lungs or chronic pain he isn’t showing. To determine why he hasn’t gained back the weight will require a thorough investigation by you and your vet.
The Laws of Thermodynamics is the rule. Look for the obvious (not being fed, increased work load, lack of appetite, no available edible pasture, etc). Then look for the subtle (stressors such as a new horse, bad barn help, cold winds, painful tack, uncomfortable stall, lack of good and safe sleep, etc). Finally, look for a medical reason (low grade shipping fever/pneumonia, any other infection). Your vet can help with this.
I know this was long winded, but I’m answering to cover so many possibilities for all who will read this. I’m grateful you are feeding your horse to prevent inflammation and increase high-quality protein intake. Feeding Coolstance as a fat source of calories helps many, especially older horses. But in athletes, sometimes an increase in glucose to replace lost glycogen during physical activity, especially in horses with increased muscle mass with its increased glycogen stores, may be all that is going on here.
PS – I will be having my live Rounds With Doc T on Thursday, January 4th at 8pm Eastern time. This would be an excellent question for that. Doc T
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Thank you for your detailed reply. Fortunately I have a great barn and trainer who are very concerned about his weight loss. I just returned from 10 days away and while gone they have tried adding 1/2 c coolstance per feeding, 5-6 alfalfa cubes cleaning out his hay mow and changing his feed bucket. None of which has made much of a difference, although he shows some interest in the cubes but even less in his feed over the last week. They have noticed he walks a very particular pattern in his turn out. Due to recent (successful) hock injections and adding of hind shoes he has not been getting his regular 5/wk ride, and just started back lunging on Weds. But that should have helped ( less burning of calories).
We are going to persist over the weekend and will call our vet if no change. I will also get the racehorse oats. How much should we feed? We add that to what he is already getting?
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Start with a pound of oats.
It seems like there have been changes in his routine, including hock injections (this involved sedation, which may have stressed the gut microbiome). Another stress was you leaving for 10 days if he likes you and expected you to stabilize his life in the “new barn.”
If he perks up with you being present and the time from the last sedation increases, then all should improve, with or without the added calories of grain.
Please let us know what happens as time goes on. Doc T
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His appetite has been variable; we had not tried adding alfalfa cubes so started with that- he showed some interest but still overall variable. We found an acupuncture video on diagnosing hi d gut and stomach ulcers and he shows moderately positive responses to all of the pressure points. We started him on ulcergard. My question is the vet demonstrating the acupuncture says to give no grain, just alfalfa as a grain substitute, plus another fat source such as Coolstance. (And his own supplement, of course). No grain. Does soy bean meal count as a grain? What diet do you recommend for horses with ulcers, and is it a permanent change or temporary?
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Soybean meal (SBM) is a legume grain, not a cereal grain higher in sugar like oats, wheat, and others from grasses. I believe that much of the inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract is from the lectins in the hulls of grains. These are proteins developed by plants to cause harm to animals, so they stop eating their seeds. Search for lectins on this site for more information on this. Also, if you haven’t already, take the nutrition course included in the membership.
SBM removes the hulls when making the meal and should not have inflammatory lectins. However, SBM has all the essential amino acids needed to repair and build muscle, the immune, nervous, and hormone systems, and the integument (hooves and hair).
The best test for ulcers, especially hind gut ulcers, is a test for fecal blood proteins. Your vet can perform this simple stall-side test (Succeed makes this test). Of course, a positive response to Gastroguard will also prove the stomach has ulcers, but as a medicine, it won’t remove the cause. This is why so many vets now recommend removing all grains and grain byproducts.
In addition to the lectins is dysbiosis (an altered normal gut microbiome) caused by the lectins plus the high amount of sugar being fed. When hay is fed 24/7, the horse never has downtime for gut repair. So, removing grain is essential, but feeding only 1.5 to 2.0% of their body weight in forage (pasture plus hay) is also important to reduce sugar intake. While some horses lose body fat with reduced hay intake, exposing the lost underlying muscle, they will become happier overall as the subtle gut pain disappears. After the gut heals (about 2 to 6 weeks for most), adding some extra hay will help him restore body fat. This should be done carefully so the ulcers and excess body fat don’t return. I have seen hard keepers (thin horses on lots of hay and grain) gain body weight once all grain and grain byproducts (found in grain mixes and “balancers”) are removed.
Stress is additive, too. An inflamed gut plus age plus shipping can all lead to a horse not feeling well with weight loss. The good news is that shipping stress can become easier for your horse with patience (time) and removing inflammatory foods. I’m glad you’ve caught this in time and are searching for answers. Keep us posted!
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I had a chance to watch this video. The first thought is that he will get kicked! I have seen horses become distraught and “unglued” with hind gut inflammation – worse than the last horse. Please be careful and stand by the shoulder and face the rear and have someone control the hear. Remember Law 1 – a horse can kill you, and Law 2 – the horse that will kill you is your own (Please read The Ten Irrefutable Laws Of Horsemanship included with your membership).
My second thought is that he is completely correct in that the horse will show discomfort to palpating these areas with hind gut inflammation, along with “bad behavior” and an unwillingness in all areas involving movement (riding, loading on a trailer).
Omeprazole is called Prilosec in the human form in America. While changing the pH of the stomach to a less acidic environment, this secondarily changes the pH of everything distal to the stomach. In turn, by reducing the acid, the microbiome is changed. Unless the base cause of the acidic environment is changed by improving the diet, the acidic pH will return.
I agree with removing molasses and all grain to reduce the intake of sugar; however, remember that hay is also loaded with free sugar and starch. Soaking the hay and limiting the feeding of hay to a 12 hour window will also improve the pH of the gut, and therefore the gut microbiome. Finally, there are many inflammatory ingredients in the grain mixes and the ration balancers as well as many supplements. It is best to remove all of these until the gut heals. Then, if needed to add body fat, stay with de-hulled oats (cleaned oats). If eating “processed foods” is avoided by humans for better health, it should also be avoided by our horses.
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