Sitemaps

Whats the best way for My horse to gain weight2007-11-24 21:22:39

She has a one month old Filly nursing so its even more difficult to get her to gain. Shes eating well but by how much should I increase her food?

Answers:

Since she's nursing, I WOULD increase her grain. Grain will get her weight up a lot better than any roughage. An extra flake of hay wouldn't hurt either. Basically with pregnant or nursing mares, let them eat as much hay as they want without wasting any and without gaining too much weight. How much grain is she getting now? There is a limit to how much she should eat of it in one day, or she'll get sick. Generally speaking, if you are using a coffee can sized scoop, I would not increase it by more than about half of that each week. If you up it too much too fast, she could colic. But like I said, as she is nursing her baby, she really needs to be eating for two still to produce enough milk. I would much rather have a pregnant or nursing mother a little on the chubby side rather than on the thin side. Once the baby is weaned you can work on getting her back into shape, but for right now, don't worry about any excess energy, as most of it will be converted into producing milk anyway. If she's outside a lot too, that's even better.

---

Put Live African Screech Weasel in here nesting area..she will go wild and eat like a horse//(no pun intended)./

---

I believe you were wanting serious answers, not dumb ones!