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Hello. Every horse is an individual, & despite everything you might read, if Beau was doing well on the oats & hay, then that is good for him. Your photo shows a nicely balanced horse. As long as he maintains a good weight like this, then anything additional is unnecessary. Oats, hay & pasture are perfect for him. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Hi again. Your main source of calories should come from good forage but if that is unavailable, you will need to add more fat to the diet. You can do this with vegetable oils, especially doybrsn oil rather than corn oil. Start with 2 ounces of oil twice daily & gradually build up to 8 ounces twice daily. Another source of fat is stabilized rice bran, which is about 20% fat & is palatable to horses. This is also less messy than an oil. You would feed the same increasing amount as the oil. Watch the manure for any signs of diarrhea or loose stool & back off the fats as necessary. Hope this helps & thanks againfor using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Some brands you may wish to try are Triple crown Senior, or Purina Amplify, or Purina Impact senior. Senior diets have more calories and fats than general feeds. You may also wish to supplement with soaked sugar beet. Check for spoilage (mold) in the hay or haylage
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Hello. The only way to avoid the problem is to avoid the hay. I would definitely make sure you can get & keep some bute on your farm, & the first signs of stocking up, start the bute. If you can familiarize yourself with how the weed looks in the hay, you can pick through it to remove as much as you can. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
First, be sure to have Boc's teeth checked. At 27 the teeth are probably not in the best condition and you need to then feed accordingly. Horses this age often tend to choke because they cannot chew properly. I personally would feed an Equine Senior type diet mash and no hay. Only “complete” pelleted feeds which are designed to be fed without hay should be used since many pelleted feeds are only grain substitutes and do not contain the proper mineral balance to be used as the major or sole source of nutrition for the horse. Soak the food for one hour prior to feeding. You could also used soaked beet pulp which is highly digestible and easy to chew once soaked. If Boc's teeth are OK then feeding hay is fine but I would still soak it first. If she is emaciated and you cannot get her to eat enough calories in order to gain weight then I suggest you add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of oil (corn or vegetable) to the soaked grain. This adds a lot of calories and they like it! I hope this helps. If I did not answer you question you are welcome to post again or you an always opt to do a private consult where we can chat back and forth and you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes!
Updated on September 24th, 2025