Question

What is the best thing to feed my OTTB gelding to keep him healthy? I don’t want him to be high-strung or stressed out. Calming him would be a priority after sound nutrition.

Answer

This question cannot be answered easily. Much depends on his current diet. What is he eating? How long has he been off the track? How is his body condition? I included some general nutritional guidelines below, but if you’re looking for more specific advice, our ration evaluation service may be helpful.

Ideally, you’ll want to maximize forage intake and turnout time. Many retired racehorses do very well when turned out full-time on pasture. Free-choice exercise and fresh pasture grass suits the needs of many horses, assuming a moderate-quality pasture during the growing season. Pasture grasses often meet energy needs better than hay.

Other retired racehorses may have more difficulty with immediate long-term turnout. Keep in mind that the track routine is quite different from that of most sport or recreational horses, typically starting with a small breakfast early in the morning, then exercise, followed by downtime in the afternoon. It is important to monitor horses, as some do not transition easily to long periods of turnout. Many will show signs of anxiety (pacing the fence) or disliking the environment (running from bugs), and these may require more intense management, including periods of stabling.

Horses on the track are used to consuming large amounts of grain and significantly reduced amounts of forage. Voluntary hay intake in racehorses when offered free-choice is quite low. In a study conducted by Kentucky Equine Research, racehorses only consumed 1% of their bodyweight in free-choice premium-quality timothy hay. To maintain body weight, they rely on significant amounts of grain and carbohydrates (e.g., 10-15+ lb/day). Fresh off-the-track Thoroughbreds may not intuitively turn to increasing their voluntary hay intake, even if you’re offering it free-choice. Some horses can take a significant amount of time for their metabolisms to reset and sustain their maintenance energy needs on much lower intakes of feed. Some horses never do and will always be hard keepers.

An appropriate feed, depending on the answers to questions asked above, may be a performance feed (with >10% fat) during the transition and possibly altered to another feed based on his individual metabolism in time. Bottom line: do not shortchange your gelding’s caloric needs if this is a recent change, but transitioning to a diet higher in forage and a feed with more fat than nonstructural carbohydrate may be helpful. Supplementation with digestive support products (e.g., EquiShure, RiteTrac, or Triacton) to help with the stress of the transition may help as well.

Additional reading:

Feeding Management Tips for Freshly Retired Racehorses

Pasture Adequacy: Are Your Fields Doing Their Job?

Ulcers in Horses: Digestive Supplements and Acid Rebound