𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿-𝗗𝗼𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲-𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵

Poor-doers can be some of the most stressful horses to own.

You’re trying to put weight on… but every feed aisle seems to push high-calorie cereals and conditioning mixes.

When I took on my former racehorse Rory, he was underweight, muscle-wasted and metabolically fragile. As an equine podiatrist, I had the added layer of pressure - I couldn’t afford to improve his weight at the expense of his hooves. As you can see from the progress photos we managed to get him looking so much better! Unfortunately he passed away in 2023, but he taught me so much that I want to pass it on to you guys.

Many conditioning feeds are cereal based, high in starch and sugar and are built around by-products. Which may create insulin spikes and systemic inflammation; which can result in compromised horn quality and increase the risk of tenderness in barefooted horses.

Barefoot horses cannot hide dietary mistakes, but horse owners can find themselves paralysed by all of the horse feed options; that it can be difficult to make informed choices when selecting what to feed their horses.

Decision fatigue is very real, and as an equine podiatrist I see the despair a lot of my clients face. I know! I was somebody who had a very skinny horse! And you feel like you have to hide them under a rug to avoid judgement!

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 “𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁-𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀” 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲:

Forage-first – the majority of your horses calorie intake should come from forage. Why? Because fibre is fermented in the hindgut via microbial action which produces Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA’s). VFA’s provide continuous, slow release energy and are readily absorbed through the large intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.

Now, here is the next question I tend to get asked. Is lush grass or hay better for weight gain/ VFA production? Technically, grass provides more digestible energy as it produces VFA’s “faster” due to the grass being in a vegetative state. Meaning it has very little lignin (the woody part of the plant that hay has more of).

Grass (particularly in the Spring) has high soluble carbohydrates (sugars and Fructans).

A large portion of this enters the hindgut where the bacteria can rapidly ferment them into a high volume of VFA’s. HOWEVER… a rapid production of VFA’s (specifically lactic acid) can decrease the PH of the hindgut making it become more acidic. In addition to this, the undigested sugars and starches can reach the hindgut which decrease the PH further (this is why I strongly recommend avoiding high sugar and starch feeds).

The “good” fibre-digesting bacteria cannot survive in an acidic environment, they die and release endotoxins into the bloodstream. The vicious cycle continues as the “bad” bacteria thrive in these acidic conditions producing even more lactic acid. All of which are counter-intuitive if you are trying to get weight onto a horse.

So my first question to you would be to look at what you are currently feeding your horse, taking into consideration their turnout and access to grass and hay. In my opinion, hay should be fed all year round and not just during the winter months. Grass can be given, but needs to be monitored and in some cases restricted.

Feeding fats in my opinion, is safer than lush grass because it provides concentrated calories without the high levels of sugar and starch, reducing the risk of hind gut acidosis. Plus with fats you tend to get “bonus” nutrients as opposed to just feeding oils that usually have little-to-no additional nutritional value other than providing empty calories.

However, there are caveats to feeding fats/oils as the enzymes that break down these fats/oils work in water-soluble conditions. And as we know fats/oils are water insoluble - and don’t mix well! This is where bile is useful as it acts as an emulsifier. Horses are trickle feeders and bile secretion mirrors this. Therefore, horses cannot physically digest large volumes of fats/oils.

Typically foodstuff moves through the small intestine within 45-90 minutes. If too much oil is fed, it simply enters the large intestine undigested. You end up with a greasy coating over the rest of your feed bolus, which could hinder the efficiency of the microbiota breaking it down and extracting all of the nutrients and digestible energy that is available.

An example of a good fat source would be micronised linseed meal. Unlike linseed oil it is high in soluble fibre, provides quality protein, and has a balanced ratio of omega 3 & 6 whilst also supplying omega 9! It offers “cool-energy” that is mostly absorbed via the small intestine. Any undigested linseed meal that enters the hindgut can then be fermented by the bacteria and VFA’s can be formed.

You may need to balance micronised linseed meal with limestone flour (same with coolstance copra) as both are high in phosphorous. In large volumes these could throw the phosphorus:calcium ratio out of whack. It is partly dependent on the amount of micronised linseed you are wanting to feed, and if your forage is already calcium rich i.e grass intake/feeding alfalfa/feeding pasture-type hay such as Timothy. Sugar beet pulp also contributes to calcium intake.

If you’re unsure Forage plus provides an analysis service that may be useful for you. There are guides online that provide more information on how to correctly balance your micronised linseed/ coolstance copra with limestone flour.

If you suspect your horse has a disrupted hindgut, it is important to address this as an inefficient digestive system is going to compromise the ability for your horse to gain weight. Loose droppings, faecal water, “girthiness” or any other behaviour change could be indicative of this. Work with your veterinarian to rule out ulcers in the first instance, before moving on to dietary adjustments.

Make these adjustments gradually, and support the transition with products that help promote a healthy hindgut microbiome.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴:

• A low sugar/starch chaff such as Honey Chop Lite & Healthy or Thunderbrook Healthy Herbal Chaff.

• A gut-support supplement such as RonFields Nutrition PreUlc Powder or ULC30EX. Alternatively, Omega Equine Ulsoothe or Gut Balancer. For those of you that prefer straight herb offerings there’s plenty of those categorised on my website for you. There is a solution to match everybody’s requirements, preferences and budget.

• A fat source such as Micronized Linseed meal (you may need the addition of limestone flour to balance the phosphorus:calcium ratio) I recommend speaking to an equine nutritionist.

I accept that this little write up is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to feeding the underweight horse. I appreciate not everyone can reach out to an equine nutritionist, so I hope this has been somewhat helpful.