I am ahving a hard time keeping weight on my new horse, i dont know his age or if his teeth have been floated

I was given a horse; he has been wormed, gets hay, grain, h2o. He is still ribby and I dont know his age or if may be he needs his teeth floated, any advice?

I am ahving a hard time keeping weight on my new horse, i dont know his age or if his teeth have been floated
The best thing to do right now is get a vet to look at him. A vet will check his teeth and recommend something to you, but most importantly, a vet will tell you if it something to worry about or not.





A lot of horse owners worry way too much - they think a horse is "skinny" when it is in good condition.





You may have to put him on a Equine Senior food, they are easier for the horse to chew, and they are pretty much just alfalfa.





If he doesn't have grass in his pasture, you may want to let him out on grass a little bit every day.
Reply:if your horse is genrally not eating well he could been in pain maybe his teeth do need doing or he has somesort of infection i would definatly arrange for the vet to come out there has to be some cause and it will be more expensive and upseting in the long run if the problem gets worse... hope he is ok!...
Reply:The other poster is right about good current vet exams %26amp; teeth floating.





You dont mention what type of grain you're feeding, or how much or how large your horse is, or the type of activity. I'll offer some advice based upon my experience of 30+ yrs working with horses.





To start, you can't count on one horse doing as well as the next similar sized, similarly active one. I've known 15.1 horses who can survive on a handful of grain 2x a day, and others that need 2+ pounds 3x a day.





Essentially, you want a high fat feed (6% or more) when you're trying to put weight on. Look for 'cool calories', they will be found in rice bran, beet pulp and cocosoya oil. They're called 'cool' calories because they won't make them crazy/ hot like high protein and high carbs will as is usually found in sweet feed, or feeds with high molasses and grain content. Look for feeds with beetpulp, soybean and alfalfa meal if you find your horse gets crazy from 'sweet feeds'. I like Triple Crown Complete, which is partially extruded, which makes digestion easier.





As with anything, make changes to the diet slowly, completing any switches at the end of 2 weeks.





You can feed different types of hay, too. Some horses need more than the traditional 2 flakes 2 or 3x a day. Some horses *must* have hay infront of them all day, or access to good pasture for 5+ hours a day. Also research other short stemmed fibers like timothy/ alfalfa cubes (soaked), chopped chaff (like Dengi or Tripel Crown chopped forage) or soaking beet pulp if you suspect your horse is having trouble chewing. Those are also good products to use short term to add on weight, say, while rehabilitating.





Lastly, research a good probiotic (Probios) and ulcer supplement (Ulcer guard), as well as B vitamins (Thia-Cal by Finish Line). If you horse came from a high stress environment, you can bet he'll benefit from these supplements added to his diet. The probiotics will help the good bacteria and make his digestion more efficient while the others will make him more comfortable and help ease any jambled nerves from moving to a new home.
Reply:See the vet. He or She will be more knowledgeable than us because the vet can actually inspect your horse.
Reply:His teeth need to be floated once a year. The back teeth get very sharp and can give him ulcerations where they rub on his gums and cheeks making it painful for him to eat. Notice if he drops a lot of grain when he's eating or tosses his head around. Call your local vet clinic. They might have a Dr. that either floats teeth or can recommend someone. Make sure that your horse is sedated when his teeth are done. It is important to sedate them so all the teeth can be floated and no one gets hurt. Also make sure that the dentist/doctor uses a speculum to open his mouth. If he doesn't he won't be able to float the back teeth. Good luck!!
Reply:I would suggest you get an age check on him.