Question
Even though my 23-year-old Paint mare Dot is in moderate body condition now, I would like her to gain some more weight, especially on her topline. The winters in this area are tough, and I want her well conditioned for the extreme cold. I blanket her in the winter, but sometimes that is not enough, especially if she is thin. Dot is not picky about her grain (2 lb or 0.9 kg senior feed, one feeding) but can be temperamental about her hay, which I offer freely. She also gets a few handfuls of alfalfa pellets once daily as well as supplements for joint, respiratory, and hindgut health. She eats slowly, so I would prefer a smaller volume of concentrates, but I am open to anything. Her weight has decreased in the past three months. She has never had a lot of fat, even when she was young, and I have not been riding her in hopes that she maintains her current weight.
Answer
The combination of senior feed and alfalfa pellets is an appropriate choice, but both are being fed in small amounts. If you are limited to feeding one meal per day, I would offer 3-4 lb (1.4-1.8 kg) of senior feed mixed with 0.5-1 lb (0.23-0.45 kg) of a high-fat conditioning supplement like stabilized rice bran to boost calories. Add 0.5-1 oz (15-30 g) of plain white salt to her feed to help meet her electrolyte needs and to encourage water intake. If you can provide two meals per day, that would be preferable.
I would continue offering the alfalfa pellets with the senior feed. Many older horses struggle to properly digest and absorb nutrients from long-stem hay, which then requires supplementing with processed forage alternatives such as chopped hay, hay cubes, or hay pellets. It is difficult to know how much hay Dot consumes because of the free-choice arrangement, but it is important to monitor and offer additional hay or hay pellets to ensure she is consuming sufficient forage to support optimal digestive function and to satisfy caloric needs.
Leafy alfalfa hay is often a good option for improving body condition as it is higher in calories and protein than grass hay when compared at equal weight and similar maturity. Alfalfa and other legume hays are highly palatable and readily consumed by most horses, and the leaves seem to be particularly tasty. Consider offering a flake of high-quality alfalfa hay with her concentrate meal.
Blanketing Dot is a great idea, as a warm, dry horse conserves far more calories than a cold, wet, shivering one. Double-check the fit of the blanket daily, and be sure to address any problems as soon as they crop up, including chafing and hair loss at the points of shoulder and withers. Be especially cognizant of shifts in temperature, and change the blanket to a lighter or heavier one as necessary in accordance with the weather forecast.
