How to Put Weight Back On Your Horse

Feeding the correct type of calories wisely can help promote weight gain and improved body condition.
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Your older horse lost weight over the winter. Your competitive horse had a long season … and looks it. Or maybe a severe illness caused your pleasure horse to drop more than 100 pounds.

You want to put that weight back on and restore your horse’s bloom. It should be pretty easy right? Just increase the calories, and your horse will return to his former fit and healthy self. However, it’s not just the amount of calories, but the right calories, and feeding them wisely, that will promote weight gain and condition, Eastern Hay and Grain cautions.

The best way to start is by increasing the most important component of your horse’s diet: his ration of good-quality forage. Get the best hay you can to provide the best nutrition, and provide free-choice hay so he can eat as much as he wants.

Keep in mind that different hays provide different caloric content. Timothy provides about 804 calories per pound, while orchardgrass has about 872 and alfalfa delivers a caloric punch of 977 calories per pound, so there is a significant range of calories between types of hay. Gradually switching to a good-quality alfalfa will go a long way towards helping your horse regain weight

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