my 3 yr old qh mare is very thin she is at pasture 24\7 and is on daily grain. should i start her on hay and the supplement cool calories? any tips pleas _julia

First thing first.
Worm her, make sure shes not feeding worms.
A fecal count is best, but not neccessay.
There are all kinds of different diets, but the easiest would be to give her free choice good [doesn't have to be the best you can buy] quality hay.
A general rule, If a horse eats all their hay completely gone add some more to the daily ration.
On an average 800 lb 3 yr old horse not in training they would require 1250 calories per pound of 10% protien and between 1.6 and 2% of their body weight.
So, 11lbs of feed, that can be in the form of good hay or a hay/grain mix.

is timothy hay a good choice?

Sure,
It should smell fresh, be fairly green in color, may have the fuzzy ends,broad/wide leaves.
Around here they weigh about 40# It shouldn't be extreme-either light/heavy.

Make sure you don't have dust in your hay. Horses tend to actually have more problems with dust in their system than they will with mold, though neither is good at all. Good luck!

Hi there. I have a similar question. I have a four year old gelding that was neglected for the first two years of life. Since then, he has been on grain supplements with 24/7 pasture during spring and summer, and alfalfa/grass mix hay during the fall and winter. He seems to only be gaining in his belly! He is still very slim and bony on his back (to the point that I can't ride him bareback) and chest and hind end, but he has a pot belly. Will he eventually fill out thoroughly, or am I not feeding him properly? Any suggestions? He is current on vaccines and wormer.

Thanks!!

I've had great success with Farnam Weight Builder. Feed it twice a day everyday and you will see the weight come back all over. I just rehabed a friends 20 year old gelding with it and he looks great.
The product is a Premium Concentrated High Calorie Supplement. You can buy it at any feed store, if you can't find it in your area you can get it at Horse.com Good Luck!!!!!!!

budru,
Most of what are describing are muscle mass areas. Horses won't gain muscle and have that overall roundness without work.
Also what is he, some of your lighter breeds-Arabs,Saddlebreds,Tb's never do get as rolly polly as your heavier types and ponies
Again-pot belly check for worms, and do know that worms can have a resistance to daily wormers or if you don't rotate the drug in the paste kind.
This link may help you determine his actual weight/condition.
How to Body Condition Score (BCS) Your Horse

Also have you checked his teeth? Rotating wormers works well, as some kill different types of worms but not all.

if you do decide to go with a weight gainer, i have had great success with the Cool Calories......my 23 year old arab is putting on weight quite nicely with Cool Calories mixed into his grain and soaked beet pulp......

hope this helps!!!!

good luck!!!!!!!!!

There are a few things you can do, first make sure she is wormed regularly and rotating wormers is a good idea, there are alot of differant wormers on the market and what you want to make sure of is you change the type of womer not just the brand. Second I would have your horses teeth checked, I have had two of my 3 year old suddenly start to loose weight and just not seem to hold there own and it was cause from there teeth. At 3 they start loosing a few mollar caps and they can get pretty soar in the mouth or just plan not be able to chew there food right. You may have to have the vet or equin dentist pop the caps off. I kow as soon as I had this done on mine there was a hug differnce.
Another thing that has always worked wonders on my horses old and young alike is probios in the tube. I give proubis and the morman growstronge minerals.
The probios I give 10 cc twice a week for an underweight horse untill they are doing better and then once a week for mantinance.
The probios paste and minerals work wonders together! My horse need fed less to mantian and look better then they ever have.
I hope this helps.
Cathy C