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| I have a 9yo quarter horse that ive had for awhile.. I haven't been riding her that much anymore. but just here lately ive noticed she has lost a bit of weight but not a whole lot.. but she has lost almost all her muscle. She gets fed 2 scoops of XTN and half a scoop of Empower and 3 little scoops of the "cool calories" and 4 flakes of hay, once a day sometimes twice. I had this problem once before this and wormed her and she was fine but it wasn't that long ago so I wouldn't think she had worms now. Her pasture has NO grass and she has lived alone for a while and loves it so it seems. My question is should I feed her and gain the weight back before I start riding her again to build her lost muscle or can I just go ahead and ride her and still let her gain her weight or will me riding her not allow her to gain her weight back? she has no vet issues so please help.
PM for pics. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| Where are you? Is it cold? Does your horse have a blanket or are they using their body (shivering) for heat? Is there a way for her to get out of the elements? This can really take it's toll on a horse. Also, if you haven't been riding, it's totally normal for your horse to lose some muscle tone.
How about teeth? Have they been floated recently? I always make sure to have my horses done in late fall so that they can chew forage going into winter.
As for the feeding...you can feed up to 8 scoops of Cool Cal 100 if you need to, I have found that when I used it, 5 scoops and then backing down to 4 was the magic weight gain/maintenance number. It works REALLY well if you feed beet pulp in conjunction. Start there and maybe realize that your horse may need a bit more help with food/etc going into winter. Some just lose weight when it comes to the cold season. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
 
Location: Gainesville, TX | Agree with all the above. Oil can help, beet pulp, and more hay too. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1898
| Are you feeding the hay once a day? If it is cold where you are you might want to try feeding half her hay ration in the morning and half of it at night. Horses create body heat by digesting forage making it is easier for them to maintain their body temperature reducing the intensity of shivering which creates extra calories use.
It is ideal for a horse to eat all day long but for most of the working world in areas with out pasture it's just not feasible. It is best to feed as many small feedings as you can throughout the day but twice is usually easiest for the average working person.
You might also try feeding your grain one hour after the horse has consumed her hay or in the middle of the day without hay. Grain takes longer for the gut to break down and absorb than forage. So, by feeding the grain with hay, the forage is essentially pushing the grain through before the horse is able to absorb the nutrients completely.
Good luck!
Edited by cyount2009 2014-01-08 9:56 AM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| A horse should get minimum 30lbs of hay daily.
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 The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
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The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1215
1000100100
a horse needs at LEAST 1-2 Percent of there body weight in forage every day. I would weigh everything you have to see what your really giving. a small 900 pound horse would get about 8-9 flakes of hay to keep proper gut function+ body condition. obviously this would be more if the horse was under weight. my flakes weight between 2-3 pounds each. It sounds like she just isn't getting enough groceries. and being only fed once a day her tummy acid could be taking a toll on processing the calories she is getting. along with this I feed 4 1/2 pounds of ADM Junior split into two feedings (think of a medium sized gas station soda cup and that is about a pounds of junior glow, nothing like your giant 4ish pound coffee can) along with forco to make sure they are getting the best chance to utilize there feed. I think if you did a little horse nutrition research you would no longer have to give cool calories. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 999
Location: Sunny So Cal | All of my horses get fed 3 times a day(alfalfa and timothy hay), then grain and supplements at night. When I brought my gelding in from pasture he had lost a lot of muscle and weight. I put him on THE Muscle Mass and that helped him gain his muscle back and put on some weight. I would definitely feed more hay, give some grain and if its cold put on a blanket. I find this is the fastest way horses lose weight is when they are cold and trying to produce body heat. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 614
Location: Usually on my horse | IMO you are not feeding nearly enough. That is why you have an underweight horse. Only feeding once a day is not good for them either. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| In my experience, once they get too light, you have to double or even triple up on feeding until you catch back up to their 'maintenance weight'.
You need to make sure your horse is getting free choice, good quality hay. I personally recommend 2-4 lbs of rice bran, along with 6-12 lbs of Ultium Competition or Triple Crown Complete. For quicker weight gain, and a nice balance with the rice bran, supplement at least 3-10 lbs of good alfalfa pellets. I'm also liking my Renew Gold experiment.
I would spend time lightly riding her (lots of walking and some trotting, limiting faster speeds) a few times a week to help build muscle.
Feed her a lot more!! |
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