mare won't gain weight

[Anonymous]

i just bought a quarter horse mare as a 2yr old and now she is 3 and hasn't gained very much weight. I was want ing to start her on barrels last year but i decided not too because of where she is so skinny. She prob weighed bout 750 when i got her and she prob weight 800-820. I have been feeding her legands 14% and i think that is helping. i would like to start her this fall so i need some thing to help her along. Any advise will help. Thanx

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Is she also receiving quality minerals? What are the sizes of her sire, dam, grandsire, granddam?

Is she eating the proper % of hay for a horse her size? Does she eat all you give her? If so, try giving little more. (You didn't say if she was getting hay and/or pasture to graze).

Does she have a clean bill of health otherwise?

 

[bubchub]

When one of our horses won't gain weight, we buy feed with a high fat content. We also add a cup of corn oil and a couple tablespoons of clovite to fatten them. I hope this helps.


-Bubchub

 

[certherfbeef]

My horses graze their pasture down to almost a dirt lot every year. Because of that I feed stuff called Sand Clear. It will ball up all the dirt and pebbles that they have injested from grazing so close. Will help to put weight on them after the regimine of feeding the sand clear is complete. I get mine at the feed mill, but your local tack shop should be able to find it for you.

 

[Alan]

Here's a neat way to tell if your horse has a problem with ingesting sand. Take a few pieces of fresh horse manure and soak it in a bucket over night. you may need to mix it up but you want all the poop desolved. the sand will settle on the bottom of the bucket. Carefully pour out the water, my thought is if you have more than a table spoon of sand you need to start the sand clear and run it for 7 days.

Alan

 

[Anonymous]

It could be genetics. If the parents are not big horses, then neither will yours. If you can see ribs and a lack of fat around the tail head, then she is underweight. I have been told that feeding anything more than 12% is not necessary as horses only require 10%, really. When growing young ones, less is best, so if you see a couple of ribs, then that's o.k. Definetely have the vet out to check for teeth needing floating and worm load. Does she have good pasture? Looking into the sand situation would also be a plus. You'll have to play detective though, if she's being robbed of nutrients for some reason. The vet will be a big help in this area. He may even tell you that she is just fine. Sometime waiting for a horse to grow up, makes it seem like its taking forever! LOL! Steady growth will make for good bones, though. Good luck.

 

[certherfbeef]

My grandfather always said that if you feed them well when they are young they won't be so hard doin' when they are older.