Do YOU think he's skinny? Update: Post 31

[appychik]

I'm having a hard time figuring out Gus's weight... is he perfect? or too skinny? (definitely not too fat ;)). What do you think?

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCtrew8vlgo
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FWIW, he's eating:

~18 lb. hay daily (Kentucky Blue/Timothy/Canary/Orchard mix)
2 lb. Triple Crown Lite
and pasture 24/7
and 1 lb. (dry weight) of beet pulp every time I'm out there - which is anywhere from 2-4 times a week

Supps include:

5000mg Magnesium
100mg Flex Force HA
10,000mg MSM
10g Lysine
1oz Mega-Cell
Fenugreek
Grape Seed Extract

I'm having the vet out next month for a recheck on his lameness issues plus pulling bloodwork to recheck his blood glucose/insulin levels and a dental exam or float if needed.

What do you think? I'm wondering if it's really just muscle loss that makes him look so skinny... he has no topline whatsoever :eek:. Suggestions?

FYI: Gus is IR too... and I'm doing the best I can by him, but really want his weight up a bit before the harsh MN winter sets in... and this will be his first winter "wintering" out since I've owned him (9 years).

[qhwpmare]

Gus looks just right to me...very nice horse.

[cloudyandcallie]

I've always had the opposite problem, portly WB and a TB mare who was an easy keeper, neither IR, so:

If you vet says the following are ok to use on Gus, these will surely put weight on, remember I have no idea what an IR horse can or cannot have, so make sure the vet approves anything.

omegahorseshine. buy it from tractor supply. lasts a long time. Puts weight on. I use it for hooves but have to limit it because of weight gain. Ask Fingerskeepers how well it worked on her old mare.

Buckeye ultimate finish. just a little a day puts a lot of weight on.

Rice bran, the kind from seminole, ultrabloom but any other kind will do. Just a little a day will put weight on.

Flax, get the ground seed, by the 50 pound sack. The whole seed will go thru him.

And Cloudy will be happy to donate some of his fat to Gus, so Cloudy can eat more than his little amt of grain. Liposuction and implants. :lol:

[appychik]

Thanks guys. I'm looking forward to the vet visit to be sure everything is fine. My farrier just loves his weight, but about 10 weeks ago was saying he was too skinny (the photos are from that time frame). But by the videos (taken over the last couple weeks) he looks the same and she commented last time that she loved his weight. :confused: Uggh.

Definitely will look into another fat source if we decide that's the way to go. If that's the case, I'll probably try Cool Calories 100 again. Loved that stuff last time when Gus dropped a lot of weight.

[appychik]

And Cloudy will be happy to donate some of his fat to Gus, so Cloudy can eat more than his little amt of grain. Liposuction and implants. :lol:

:lol: :lol: Normally Gus wouldn't have a problem with fat, but over the last couple years he's just not keeping the weight on like he used to... stupid IR.

[Jennifer Alcott]

Gus looks like a LOVELY horse!

Is that you riding him, or someone else? Whoever it is appears to be a very soft, tactful rider.

To me, he appears to be a bit underweight, not just "soft" from loss of muscle. Not dramatically underweight, but enough that I would want to put a little more weight on him.

When was he de-wormed last? Before that? Are you rotating de-wormers? Have you had a fecal done on him recently? If not, you might want to have the vet do that when he/she is out next to make sure that you're targeting your de-worming to meet Gus's needs.

If he is cleaning up all of his hay, my inclination would be to increase the hay, if his turnout situation is set up so that you can ensure that he's getting it all.

Does Gus's pasture have plenty of grass? Depending on what the weather has been where you are (sorry, I didn't look at your location before I started typing this), this is the time of year when the pasture is starting to thin out, so it could be that the quantity of hay that was sufficient a couple of months ago is not enough now.

There are a gazillion fat supplements that you can use to put weight on a horse, but I would start with the basics--try to get more good-quality hay into him instead of pumping him with more grain and/or more supplements, particularly if he is not in hard work.

If after a month of increasing his hay, and after ensuring that your de-worming schedule and rotation is hitting the parasites, then I'd consider putting him on a fat supplement. You can use something as simple as corn oil, or some of the other suggestions above, or something like Cool Calories 100--with your vet's concurrence, since he is IR.

This is what I would do if Gus were my horse. Other people's opinions may vary, and those methods could work just as well. But since hay/forage is the foundation of a good feeding program, I always adjust the hay first, if it will work logistically and the horse is cleaning up what they're currently getting. If not, then adding a fat supplement might be a btter first step.

Or you could just send him to me. I'd make sure he had a good home, and I have a knack for putting weight on critters (myself included!). ;)

[SSS4]

He looks perfect! No ribs, good muscle. I would not put any more fat on him! More hay/pasture wouldn't hurt but he is certainly not underweight!!

[JB]

Not skinny in terms of lacking sufficient calories.

But he IS "skinny" in terms of lacking muscle. He really needs more cover around his spine and withers. That's not necessarily a job for more calories.

It's a job for more (correct) work, and, likely, more *quality* calories, ie amino acids.

he just looks like a horse who doesn't have enough nutrition.

[LoveLongManes]

I think Gus looks lovely. I think he could use a little extra muscle over his topline but other than that looks great! :)

[Tamara in TN]

FYI: Gus is IR too... and I'm doing the best I can by him, but really want his weight up a bit before the harsh MN winter sets in... and this will be his first winter "wintering" out since I've owned him (9 years).



for your intended goal I think he is far too skinny at this exact moment in time...
think of it as "If winter hit tomorrow" and look at him with that filter

best

[Across Sicily]

To me he appears a bit thin. Having wintered a number of horses in MN you will certainly wish to have his weight up. Winters can be hard on them. Mine did pretty well but they were all air ferns :) Still, their hay consumption increased twofold, and their work decreased about 80%.

Even without winter round the corner he looks a touch thin to me. I am not altogether familiar with IR horses (or at all, really) so I do not know the ideal weight for them. But I would be worried about how he'll fare in winter with the body he has now.

[kookicat]

Not skinny in terms of lacking sufficient calories.

But he IS "skinny" in terms of lacking muscle. He really needs more cover around his spine and withers. That's not necessarily a job for more calories.

It's a job for more (correct) work, and, likely, more *quality* calories, ie amino acids.

he just looks like a horse who doesn't have enough nutrition.

I agree with this. :)

[shakeytails]

I think he looks good. He does have a funky topline that from a couple of the pictures makes him appear a bit skinny, but to me it looks more like the lack of muscle found in a pasture puff than lack of weight.

[avezan]

I agree that he doesn't look skinny, but appears to be lacking muscle along the topline. But, while he looks great for coming out of winter, he is not great for going into a hard winter, especially if he tends to lose weight in the cold. I would up his hay and switch his grain to a regular TC formula, rather than the light. He may have needed the light when he was keeping weight on better, but now he looks like he could use the calories. You will need to up the amount to get the same amount of nutrients as he was getting from the light.

[cutemudhorse]

I have an older TB who gets like that when not worked consistently. The vet thinks it is lack of muscling/working (and age) through the topline as it does improve. Age seems to lose the muscling faster.

And, sad to say, my smaller TB mare was like that until I stepped up her work too but she also needed a better fitting saddle. I had been using one that was slightly too wide and padding it up conservatively. Her topline improved steadily with more work in a better fitted saddle.

So, keep up the groceries but consider other factors. And YOUR vet's opinion.

I definately agree with other posters; try to get 'em as 'fat' as you can, esp in the fall, but I will say that my TBs will get hay bellies instead of topline if they are not worked consistently. (I feed LOTS of good grass hay, free choice until they walk on it, and Legends Performance horse feed. Senior feed too for the 17 year old. Have done beet pulp for him but the new formula of the current feed allowed me to get the same results w/o it.) I am considering alfalfa though for just the TBs for that reason. Any thoughts?

[Tamara in TN]

I am considering alfalfa though for just the TBs for that reason. Any thoughts?

good alfalfa thru the winter comes closest to replacing the last green grass


best

[appychik]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions thus far, please do keep them coming. :yes:

For the poster who asked, deworming has been by the previous barn for YEARS. Always a generic liquid ivermectin... not sure if it was a standard 1000lb dosage or 1200lb dosage, couldn't tell you. Since moving to the new barn, I'm basically in charge of everything for Gus. He's been dewormed religiously since May 1st. Just dewormed on Sunday with a double dose of Equimax. Will follow up in two weeks with another double dose of plain ivermectin. I plan on doing a Power Pak this fall too, as neither horse has every been PP. I forget what I dewormed him with during previous dewormings... it's on my home computer (and I'm at work :winkgrin:).

As for more amino acids, JB, should I try (again) Uckele's Tri Amino when I run out of my regular Pure Lysine (I'm using Vita Flex brand right now, 10g daily)? Gus has been on the lysine for probably a month now, maybe just over a month. It did help tremendously in the past for getting that topline back.

As for "correct" work. It's kinda hard to do that when he's recovering and still rehabbing from a torn CCL from Spring '08. It was a very bad tear... thought we'd be putting him down, but thankfully he pulled thru (he was nearly completely non-weight bearing on his right hind for weeks). And up until recently (June or so) he had been still "off". He seems to be doing wonderfully being out 24/7... we'll see what the vet says come next month when he reevaluates Gus.

As for more hay, well Gringo is the "boss" out there and unfortunately he does keep Gus moving off the hay. BUT, it's placed in about 5-6 piles so he probably does get about half the hay. I'll try to feed Gus a flake or two by himself when I'm out at the barn, just to be sure. Things have settled down quite a bit though since both boys moved... so they will eat side by side in the run-in, but won't eat from the same pile (does that make sense?).

I'm not going to start this paragraph with "As for..." :eek: :D. Changing grains though isn't an option, I don't think. Gus can't have high NSC feeds and the TC Lite is 9.3% (if I remember right, otherwise it's 9.8%) NSC. Gus was previously on a nearly 20% NSC grain (Patriot's Feed Easy) and looked way worse for wear. Definitely want the lowest NSC possible. The beet pulp isn't a pain to do, I make it up at home and freeze. Then all I have to do is unthaw either in the car during the day (usually still quite frozen when I get to the barn) or unthaw in the fridge for a couple days. I've not talked to my future MIL to see if her feeding the BP daily would be an option, but I know she likes things simple...

Anyways, I'm glad to know he's not "skinny" but yet if winter hits tomorrow he is too skinny. And winter had better not hit tomorrow ;)! Any suggestions how to do "correct" work under saddle, without stressing his stifles? We typically do about 25-40 minutes of w/t and a little canter thrown in (like 1 full circuit of a standard dressage arena, both leads). I try to get him to do more "long and low" work, pushing off his hind end and containing in the front, but unfortunately after having over a year off from really dressage work, he's back to either plowing on his forehand or pulling :no:. He's retired from the competition, but I do want him in better shape physically for winter.

FWIW, he's lived in MN (or least the upper MidWest) for 16 of his 19 years (three years in GA while I was in college). He can handle the winters... but since I've owned him he's been blanketed and boarded inside at night. He'll still be blanketed this winter, but boarding outside (access to run-in and if absolutely needed, a stall). But... MN winters are brutal and many horses, unfortuately, do lose weight after one of our winters. He'll definitely be getting more hay come then, but should I maybe think about adding in some hay pellets too? Definitely could get BO to feed them with daily grain...

[appychik]

Also, yep it's me riding. I try to be tactful, but well I'm not always the most effective rider. Doesn't help that Gus is literally the laziest horse in the world, unless you put some cows next to him, then he's off like a rocket :eek: :winkgrin:. So, I do get some funky leg and arm movements :winkgrin: to get more response from him... probably should dig out my spurs again :lol:.

[Tif_Ann]

I'm in South Dakota - and right now if he were one of ours or where we board he'd be on a weight building program. This is the time of year they need to bulk up and gain weight for the winter - they tend to lose a lot of weight in the winter. If it was spring - April, May - I'd say he looks great, but since it's August he should be heaver in my opinion. June-July-August are when they gain weight the easiest because the pastures are lush. They start to fail now and will mostly maintain going into winter. I would be very concerned if he was mine and going into winter at his weight. He's not severe, but I would worry about how he'd winter. If you lived elsewhere I'd say he just needs a little more and muscle.

He's beautiful, though, and you are obviously a great owner :) And listen to your vet over all others!

[LKF]

Your horse isn't skinny, but could use more weight.
He doesn't appear to have much muscle definition and lacks a topline. You can build up his muscles simply by hacking out and riding hills at a walk.
Remember that as you increase his workload, you need to increase his feed intake. A good alfalfa mix (heavy on the alfalfa and at least 2nd cutting) is going to help get the weight on along with feed that is high in fat.

[kookicat]

Could you add oil to his feed every day?

[appychik]

I'm not sure how safe alfalfa is for IR horses. Gus has never (least in my knowledge) had alfalfa... and I know it can be a laminitis trigger.

Oil, yep, could definitely give that a go... but, it makes things rancid, fast! I'd rather go back to the Cool Calories 100, which is a powdered fat supp then use oil.

Would love to do hills, sadly no access to them. Just nice, flat pastures to ride in.

[Einstein]

I also would like to see a little more weight on your horse.:D

[matryoshka]

Have you checked out www.safergrass.org? Katy Watts has done a lot of research on forage and presents her findings on that site. You may find it helpful when choosing your hay.

[JB]

Oil and alfalfa have been implicated in causing problems with IR horses. Others use sources of fat and alf without trouble. But, they probably aren't something *I* would use for an obviously IR horse. JMHO :)

Beet pulp OTOH could be used.

[cdalt]

While I agree that his weight looks good now, he probably does need to be gaining some before winter sets in. I would try to up his hay some (although I know this is difficult as he is in with another horse who is dominant). I feed my IR large pony (14.2 hand mustang) 18 lbs of bermuda hay (low NSC) a day along with various supplements to balance it (I purchased my own hay coring tool and have each large load of hay analyzed so I know exactly what he needs in the way of minerals). I have been surprised at how different the results can be for different cuttings from the same hay grower. I have found the Equine Cushings group on yahoo to be a helpful source of information for dealing with an IR horse (and yes, I hate the darned IR too since my poor pone has to be kept off grass most of the day). You may want to add about 2000 mg of vitamin E to his diet (5 400 mg capsules tossed into his feed are usually gobbled right down while the 1,000 mg capsules get spit out!) This won't add weight but is usually recommended for an IR horse.

[AnotherRound]

I don't think he's skinny. Definitly out of condition. He needs a topline and hill work. His haunches don't have muscle, his neck and shoulders don't have muscle, his back looks stiff and no topline. He needs dressage work to use himself correctly. Step under himself more and all. Hill work at a trot up and down, make him reach under himself. Whatever the trainer says. I don't believe in fat horses, and adding fat isn't going to be helpful for him.

[appychik]

Thanks again to everyone for their input.

Again... I don't think I really want to add oil or alfalfa because he is IR and it's been said it's not great for IR horses. Though some tolerate it just fine, Gus has never been on alfalfa, so I really don't want to add something new into the mix.

With work, again, he's rehabbing from a torn CCL. As it stands, we really haven't been cleared to "work hard" again. So, we basically just w/t around the hay fields with some canter thrown in. I do try to get him rocked back onto his haunches and actually carry himself more, but it's hard because he's been outta work for a good year and a half now (well, good consistant work - he was schooling First/Second back in '07- early '08).

I do need to test the hay to see what the NSC is at, but unfortunately, I'll be stuck using it regardless. My fiance cuts and bales the hay for his mom (my BO) and that's the hay we use. The boys love it... but who knows the NSC of it.

I've been on the Equine Cushings group... and they tend to be a bit rude when you don't follow their instruction to a "t". Until I've got my own place, I have to make do with what I can.

I guess I'll see if I push more beet pulp at Gus... and try to work him more correctly, though that is easier said then done.

I do appreciate all the responses. Never realized how much muscle a horse can lose from just lack of work. Makes me wonder if there's more going on then just the obvious (like other IR/metabolic issues at play). Hmm... more questions to ask the vet next month, I guess.

[matryoshka]

Have you checked him for ulcers? Just a thought.

[FatDinah]

I think he looks in good weight. His rear is "skinnier" because he lacks muscle. But not in any horrible way if he has been off from real work as you say, pretty much what you'd have to expect.
I have an old mare who now loses weight in winter, even milder ones here in TN. Things I find helpful are keeping her blanketed or in a rug or even a rain sheet even though she is out 24/7 if it is below 40 or windy. Keeping the core warm really helps save her from burning calories.
She does best on a Senior Feed but I won't advise you since it seems your guy has some special nutirition issues.
The other very helpful thing for keeping her weight up in winter is feeding her as often as possible, 3, even 4 times a day.
I also pay attention to the quality of her coat, even more than her body mass. It seems to act like an early warning that she is starting to struggle.
Good luck. I think Gus looks great, happy and healthy.

[appychik]

So, Gus is still skinny. Had vet out on Wednesday to do fall exam, bloodwork (recheck IR) and floats, if needed. Well, Gus DEFINITELY needed that float. He was done in April, but had already developed some severe sharp points and actually had an ulcer in the mouth brewing. Vet said that could definitely contribute to the lack of weight gain...

But, I've got two months to put on approximately 100lbs. Vet agrees that he is just a tad too skinny coming into fall/winter in MN.

I did up his TC Lite on Tuesday (so day before vet came) to 2.5lbs daily and we are starting to add a little alfalfa pellets to his daily ration too (and by little, I'm talking about maybe 1 to 1.5 cups).

Any other suggestions? I know that adding fat is the wrong way to go about this, but I really would like some more weight on Gus.

He is getting powerpak'd in November (around the beginning)... FWIW.

[Tif_Ann]

Sounds like you are a great horse owner :) I'd keep doing what you are doing, add alf to his food, make sure he gets as much as he wants right now ... and do some alternative thinking. If you don't have them already (I'm sure you do in Minnesota!) ... get blankets, and think layering. They shiver off lots of calories trying to stay warm, so if you help them through blankets he will maintain his weight more. Last winter my TB was very, very sick, and lost a ton of weight (we ended up losing him in March) but we did manage to put weight back on through aggressive feeding and blanketing. On the coldest days (windchills of -60 to -80) he'd have three blankets on - a light liner, a mid weight and on top a heavy weight. It was more work having to maintain his blankets and make sure he had the right amount but it truly helped.

[appychik]

Thanks Tif_Ann. Yep, Gus has an arsenal of blankets (and liners), so that I'm not worried as much about. This will be the first year that he's wintering outside though in the 9 years I've owned him.

And, unfortunately with having insulin resistance, I worry about feeding too much alfalfa and triggering laminitis. He's not every had that before but he's not been fed alfalfa much before either.

But thanks for the compliments. I do try to do my best by Gus (and Gringo). Uggh, and I'm so dreading the bitter cold again (and we had plenty of -50 windchills this past winter).

[Tamara in TN]

[QUOTE=appychik;4400586]

I did up his TC Lite on Tuesday (so day before vet came) to 2.5lbs daily and we are starting to add a little alfalfa pellets to his daily ration too (and by little, I'm talking about maybe 1 to 1.5 cups).

Any other suggestions?

hi there

I don't fiddle around with Triple Crown feeds so I had to look that one up...if you mean Triple Crown Lite this was the first hit google gave me

Triple Crown Lite weight management formula is designed to be a palatable feed for horses that will provide a desired intake level of supplemental minerals and vitamins without encouraging excessive weight gains. Triple Crown Lite should be fed to horses that have a tendency to become overweight or are receiving less than 4 pounds of grain per day. Triple Crown Lite should be fed in combination with hay and/or pasture, salt, and fresh clean water. If your horses is being fed more than 5 pounds of grain per day in order to maintain desired body condition, Triple Crown Lite is not recommended. Instead, use another Triple Crown product as indicated below for these horses.

soooo what that tells me is that you are wasting money feeding that stuff...and he gets nothing from it, other than some vitamins and minerals...so erasing that from the program, you are left with home baled grass hay and some alfalfa pellets and grass pasture ?


I know you are afraid to founder him with alfalfa but you honestly could not keep a meat goat fat with as little as you are feeding him...I recall a full sized coffee can only being 3 lbs worth...maybe TC has a feed meant to fatten horses ?? can you ask them?

best

[appychik]

Thanks Tamara for your input. The TC Lite is the best "grain" I've found around here for horses with metabolic issues. I previously used Progressive's ProAdvantage Grass formula for my "fatty" with good results, but I didn't like the fact that it wasn't a fixed formula, hence the change to TC Lite.

I am worried about founder/laminitis in Gus... anything negative that could possibly happen tends to happen to him. This boy has been thru h*ll and back with so many different issues, so yes I do worry... even if I shouldn't, I do.

His old grain was so high in NSC... I think around 20%, that it just made everything worse.

Vet didn't say he looked horrible, but agreed that he did need to put on some more weight.

Anyways, I did send an email off to TC and one of their reps got back to me. So... we'll see how the next two-three weeks go, and if Gus still isn't putting the weight on, I do think I'll try the TC Senior. It's higher NSC, but still better then what he was on.

[Elys]

You want Triple Crown Low Starch, not Lite. Lite is meant for horses that become overweight on "standard" amounts of grain. It gives them the nutrition they need with much, much fewer calories. I have always considered the Lite to be comparable to a Weight Watchers diet. It is what I feed my IR girl since she does not need any extra calories at all. (I am still waiting for the negative calorie feed that eats other calories, like Pacman)

And actually, according to Southern States, the Lite has 15.9% NSC, not 9%.
http://www.southernstates.com/docs/eq/0405_mp_carbtables.pdf (http://www.southernstates.com/docs/eq/0405_mp_carbtables.pdf)(scroll to the bottom)

The Low Starch is for horses that need calories, but still need lower NSCs (15% according to the page I posted above). Here is a link
http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/lowstarch.php I think I also remember hearing of a couple of other brands of grain that are lower in starches but may offer more calories too. There was a post on COTH listing quite a few of them once.

If you are REALLY needing to put weight on (say mid-winter he starts dropping weight), the Triple Crown Senior has 10% fat, with only 15% NSC. BUT they use alfalfa meal as their primary ingredient, so that may or may not work.

[Elys]

I just looked at the ingredients for the TC Lite and they actually have alalfa meal as the thrid ingredient as well as cane molasses hanging out a little farther down. So the Low Starch looks to be the best bet for you if you are wanting to stick with the Triple Crown products as I don't see either of those in the ingredients there.

[appychik]

Elys -

Thanks for your input. But, according to Triple Crown's website the NSC for TC Lite is just 9.3% versus the 13.5% for the Low Starch. [see: http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/news-soluble-carbohydrate-levels.php] I trust TC's website more then I do Southern States.

The reasons why I went with the Lite was that my feed store carries it... they don't carry the Low Starch. I could certainly try asking, again, to see if they'll carry the Low Starch, but I highly doubt it as I only go through 100 lbs of feed a month as it is.

The TC Senior is only 11.7% NSC (again, according to TC's website)... and though it does have alfalfa and molasses in it, it's isn't a whole heck of a lot.

I did hear back from the TC rep about some suggestions...
1. add a few ounces of TC Rice Bran Oil Plus, Ground Flaxseed or TC Fish Oil Powder to get more calories in
2. switch to either Low Starch or Senior to get more fat and calories in
3. add TC Safe Starch Forage

We'll see what upping the TC Lite from 2 lbs to 2.5 lbs does along with adding in that little bit of alfalfa. If I need to change things I will, but I like have both boys on the same 'grain' if at all possible... but who knows?

[Elys]

Southern States owns Triple Crown so I would think their info would be accurate too. http://www.southernstates.com/products/horsefeed/index.aspx
Hmm....I did some checking, according to the new Southern States manual you're info is correct. I must have found an old link or something. Here's the new manual if you wanted to check out any of their other feeds(NSC info on page 6) http://www.southernstates.com/docs/eq/0908_horsefeedreferencemanual.pdf

To be honest I can't imagine that 1/2 lb extra is going to put any weight on him at all, especially of the Lite. I have 3 different horses on 3 different feeds myself (one oldie, one IR, and one young and in work), I just have 3 trash cans. They hold 100-150lbs of grain depending on what size you get (or you can also use those storage containers at Target, they hold about 1 bag of grain). I haven't noticed any more hassle having multiple different feeds myself, and I am ususally pretty quick to cut out anything that is an inconvenience. :)
Just a thought, good luck with your boy!

[myhorsefaith]

hmm hard to recommend without knowing the nsc of your hay..but can you try giving him more than 18 lbs?

also, many areas have low-carb hay pellets- which are quite easy to add in to a ration/mush. some even have a balancer pack of minerals you can feed.

[appychik]

Southern States owns Triple Crown so I would think their info would be accurate too. http://www.southernstates.com/products/horsefeed/index.aspx
Hmm....I did some checking, according to the new Southern States manual you're info is correct. I must have found an old link or something. Here's the new manual if you wanted to check out any of their other feeds(NSC info on page 6) http://www.southernstates.com/docs/eq/0908_horsefeedreferencemanual.pdf

To be honest I can't imagine that 1/2 lb extra is going to put any weight on him at all, especially of the Lite. I have 3 different horses on 3 different feeds myself (one oldie, one IR, and one young and in work), I just have 3 trash cans. They hold 100-150lbs of grain depending on what size you get (or you can also use those storage containers at Target, they hold about 1 bag of grain). I haven't noticed any more hassle having multiple different feeds myself, and I am ususally pretty quick to cut out anything that is an inconvenience. :)
Just a thought, good luck with your boy!

I'd forgotten that SS owned TC, seeing as I live in the Midwest and all :winkgrin:.

Anyways, anything is probably possible, but I board out and things are always more difficult when that's the case. I'm hoping that the float Gus had on Wednesday will make a difference. Vet said he teeth were BAD :eek:, and they were just done in April. :confused:

I'm a very proactive (if not a little too much) owner so I tend to stay on top of things. Gus has always been an easy keeper until the spring/summer '07... and he did okay over last winter, but he was being fed pretty crappy stuff and that's probably what eventually triggered his IR diagnosis this past spring.

So, thanks again for the help and suggestions.

[Liberty]

You might want to try Blue Seal's Carb Guard pelleted feed (great for IR horses), along with Omegafield's Horseshine ground, stabilized flax as a good, safe source of fat.

[spmoonie]

I wouldnt call him skinny, but he could maybe use a little more weight; especially with winter coming on. He looks like a lovely guy though! :)