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Regular
Posts: 50
| Anyone have any suggestions on feeds for a hard keeper? Mare 11 years old, has a tendency to get ulcers. No active symptoms now. I just feel like I'm feeding a lot of different things and I'm wondering if I can simplify by switching grain? Right now she gets a scoop of total equine, 2 pounds of rice bran, a scoop of oxy max, mega oil, and 2 scoops of daily gold. Im not getting the results I want, and she's not thin but not as heavy as she could be and I expect she'll only lose more weight as I start getting her fit to run this spring. Looking for simple and effective ways to make her look and feel great! She's on high quality alfalfa as well. Not sure what the problem is with my feeding I've never had a horse this hard to keep weight on. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 380
| High quality hay 24 7 and a high fat grain. That's what I gave OTTB that came to me very thin and was hard to hold weight on. |
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| Have you had her teeth floated recently? When was she last de-wormed? Has she always been a hard keeper, or has it just now gotten worse? I would get an appointment with your vet lined up, if you haven't already, to draw some blood and make sure everything is going well internally- they can also do a fecal egg count and see what her parasite load is like. I definitely second the hay 24/7, simpler is always better, and with everything she is getting fed now, it sounds like that could be adding to her ulcer problem (even if she isn't showing the classic symptoms now).
Edited by madredepeanut 2018-01-12 9:11 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 233
| Free choice the best hay you can lay hands on, 4-5 lbs alfalfa pellets and 4 lbs ultium a day, split into 2 or 3 feedings. |
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Regular
Posts: 50
| I just bought her this August, so her teeth were checked then and she was perfect. Wormed her in October, and she had a full blood panel done in October as well from my vet. She was in better body condition then and got blood drawn for something else so vet care isn't necessary at this point. Her previous owner warned me she could be a hard keeper and had her on a different supplement program. I might look in to switching her back to that. But it was still a complicated mixture, like 3 different top dresses, rice bran and beet pulp. She had her on total equine before as well, said the mare did fine on it previously. She has access to hay all the time, she's not a fast eater but we make sure she has some all day, |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | I would stop using the oxy max,flax,total equine ,mega oil,rice bran,kind of an over load of fats that a horse cant process.they are vegetarians.I've seen some pretty plump horses just fed crimped rolled oats.another has suggested teeth floating and worming,which is a nice place to start.To keep it simple,crimped oats,Forco,8oz/coffee cup of fat daily.and any viamins/ minerals,salt and free choice hay. |
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Expert
Posts: 1694
Location: Willows, CA | Call me on Monday and I can help. 530-518-8254.
Win |
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| Sr feeds are the best for hard keepers and thin horses. Easier to digest. Purina Sr active and Alfalfa Hay. Add Dac oil. You will see a
big difference in 30 days |
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| DaArrow - 2018-01-12 8:41 PM
Anyone have any suggestions on feeds for a hard keeper? Mare 11 years old, has a tendency to get ulcers. No active symptoms now. I just feel like I'm feeding a lot of different things and I'm wondering if I can simplify by switching grain? Right now she gets a scoop of total equine, 2 pounds of rice bran, a scoop of oxy max, mega oil, and 2 scoops of daily gold. Im not getting the results I want, and she's not thin but not as heavy as she could be and I expect she'll only lose more weight as I start getting her fit to run this spring. Looking for simple and effective ways to make her look and feel great! She's on high quality alfalfa as well. Not sure what the problem is with my feeding I've never had a horse this hard to keep weight on.
I had a tummy ache just reading all the unnatural items you are feeding not to
mention the trash from human food processing such as rice bran or beet pulp.
SIMPLIFY:
Worm with a tube of Quest ..
Change to 50-50 whole oats and a good 14% sweet feed.
A 3 lb scoop of each morning and night = 6 lbs x 2 = 12 lbs/day
plus a block of alfalfa and some decent hay 24/7
Only supplement you need is a handful of Moorman's GroStrong minerals
every other day in their feed.
Chewing creates saliva which is the start of good digestion and the GroStrong minerals
adds to good health and drinking water.. especially during winter. The natural fiber
from the whole oats and small amount from the corn in the sweet feed and alfalfa
makes good poop and makes a horse shine like new money ..
Follow the above feeding routine explicitly and you will have a fat horse in 30-45 days ..
60 days if back bone is showing across her rump to tail.
Ignore the added fat because what you are feeding is nothing but the used oil from
the fast food French fry cooker.
If it will make you feel better ... throw in a handful of WHOLE FLAX SEEDS at each feeding
which will give her hair an extra bloom ...
IMO feeding stuff with names you can't pronounce and waste products from human food
and ethanol production is a crime ... lol Most of your big name feeds are full of trash
for bigger profits and I compare them to the ingredients on a package of cupcakes ...
Once you read the cupcake list .. you will never eat another cupcake and same for
your horse feed.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND A LOWER FEED BILL
Example of this simple nutritious feeding program >>>>
Edited by BARRELHORSE USA 2018-01-13 12:43 AM
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 DIAMONDS N BLUEJEANS 3MO 25.jpg (76KB - 216 downloads)
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 Board Detective
Posts: 3885
Location: Millen Ga | I feed my hard keeper an FRM forage based pellet. No crazy expensive feed, no supplements. I think we as horse owners overthink things and think our horses need high fat expenive feeds. I treated her for ulcers with paste for 21 days with meds I got from Dr Ford at a barrel race ( WBRL finals in Perry last year) and then put her on this forage based feed and never looked back. Horses need forage. period. Thats how they are designed. she stays fat year round on 2 scoops morning and night and its only like 11 bucks a bag. Its the FRM Trail Boss nugget. Not saying it will work for yours, but it did for mine.
Edited by Tanya 2018-01-13 8:40 AM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
| My hard keeper 15 yr old gets a lot of alfalfa hay . Pretty much free choice .. & a little grass hay as well . I put her on 9 lbs of equine sr. A day & she is looking amazing ! I have her on 8 lbs of sr a day now . She’s very very ulcer prone . Only other thing she is on is THE GastroPLUS to keep her eating .. otherwise she goes off feed . |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| You’re gunna get 100 different answers...so I might as well throw mine in the mix.
Depending on where you’re located and what you worked with in October she may need another dose. Wormers don’t always cover the full spectrum and timing is important - for example we don’t worm for bots in the fall until after we have hard freezes, otherwise they could just come right back.
In our personal experience, we’ve had the best luck with Purina Ultium for its lower NSC, good quality hay, and Platinum. Our hard keeper turned right around on this regimen last spring and even now halfway through what’s been a pretty tough winter all 4 of ours including the hard keeper look fabulous.
If the Ultium hadn’t done the trick I was going to try Renew Gold, but as of now it’s not available right in town like the Ultium is. |
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 Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | Free choice quality hay 24/7. Use a slow feed hay net if need be. Pasture is great too. If you can completely stay away from processed grain, you will be better off. I prefer to use soaked beet (no molassass) and soaked alfalfa pellets to add more and to put any supplements in if you need them. I've had great luck with THE Muscle Mass on hard keepers and you can add an ulcer prevent in the mix. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| I bought a broodmare sight unseen about Dec 1. She was a little on the lean side. She gets separated from other horses and gets 4 lbs of a 14% protein pellet morning and night along with a handful of GRO STRONG mineral only at night. Boy does she look better. Even I am amazed. If there is an ulcer issue, treat the ulcers and feed either PURINA OUTLAST or PLATINUM ULCER meds. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I bought a skinny gelding who was on a junk pellet and just not a big eater and I was told he was a hard keeper. I treated him for ulcers and switched him to Renew Gold 2 cups am and pm, alfalfa and a couple scoops of alfalfa pellets. He is still not a pig like my other horses, will quit eating to see what is going on or for me to pet on him -takes him FOREVER to eat, but he has gained so much weight and looks fantastic. People who knew him before I bought him do not recognize him now. He gets 0 processed grains.
Edited by rodeomom3 2018-01-14 6:30 AM
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Free choice grass hay the best you can get is the key to getting weight put on a thin horse, but make sure teeth are good and been dewormed.  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | My 2 cents (for whatever it's worth)
I feel that all hard keepers have a digestive system that isn't functioning at 100%. Most have some type of stress related issue. Throwing tons of different feeds and supplements, at one time, never seemed to do much for me, and I do think you can certainly overload. I am also NOT a big believer in adding a bunch of fat for this type of horse. It also isn't a quick fix. Most, do well with treating for ulcers and adding some type of digestible alfalfa. However, I have seen a couple that needed turn out on free choice alfalfa for a couple of months to line out.
It's a good idea to do teeth and worm, but in my experience that is rarely the main issue. Also, it may be worth putting on a digestive aid for a little bit. This "may" help jumpstart the digestive system. I do not believe in probiotics. Also, I don't feel long term use of digestive aids to be appropriate or worthwhile.
Edited by Tdove 2018-01-14 3:23 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 268
| Renew Gold and add some calf manna. Works great for mine. I also use cur Ost. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534
Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | When i got my pally he was about 300 lbs under weight and so dull looking. They said he was bottom of the totem pole and got picked away from any feed that was out. Turns out they just weren't feeding because he's surely at the top. After i treated him for ulcers and dewormed, he got 4 pounds morning and night of Tribute Kalm Ultra, 2 pumps DAC oil and 2 scoops DAC bloom, along with unlimited hay. Ive never seen a horse turn around and fill out so fast. It's simple, affordable and the horses love it. I'd definitley get your mare on a ulcer preventative, and get rid of all that extra youre feeding, even thought shes not showing the signs doesnt mean she doesnt have them, and that will be a huge factor in her gaining.. Good luck, i know how frustrating it can be when battling with weight. |
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 Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Remove all proccessed grain and supplements with synthetic ingredients and fillers. Replace all grain with alfalfa either baled or a quality cube. If you do want or need to feed a small grain amount to mix in a supplement, choose whole oats, about a pound per feeding, or maybe something like Renew Gold where you don't have to feed much. Any grain over 2 pounds per feeding is contributing to your issue rather than helping. I am feeding omnis cubes and top dress with my supplement choice. That's it. No loose hay or additional fat sources. My horses are TOO fat on this really. As everyone else said, check teeth, deworm with appropriate product, and then change your nutrition program. It's amazing how well a horse will thrive on a diet that doesn't consist of a bunch of processed crap. |
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