[Meredith Clark]

I've never been one to believe in weight gain supplements that come in little scoops but I'm looking for anything that will help Juice put on weight!

Right now he's getting Purina Strategy (2 scoops 2x a day) and a solo cup of Amplify 2x a day. He has a round bale during the day and 2 flakes of good alfalfa during the night. I can't really change that all that much, he's at a boarding barn.

He's doing better now that he's got his round bale but I was thinking of adding something to help with his digestion. I used Succeed on my other horse and had pretty good success but it's SO expensive! I was looking at the Smart Gain and Smart Digest and was wondering if anyone had used them before?

Thanks!
mere

[deltawave]

Is he not digesting properly, or just not gaining fast enough for you? Colic? Diarrhea? Passing undigested matter in the stools? Bloaty? Gassy?

If he's just gaining slowly, I very much doubt his digestive process needs amending . . . he just needs more calories. There are a bazillion ways to add calories without a lot of expensive little scoops of things: rice bran, oil, alfalfa pellets, etc. etc. Or just increase the Amplify.

[GoForAGallop]

Is he not digesting properly, or just not gaining fast enough for you? Colic? Diarrhea? Passing undigested matter in the stools? Bloaty? Gassy?

If he's just gaining slowly, I very much doubt his digestive process needs amending . . . he just needs more calories. There are a bazillion ways to add calories without a lot of expensive little scoops of things: rice bran, oil, alfalfa pellets, etc. etc. Or just increase the Amplify.

Ditto this. I had good results with alfalfa pellets (probably because the horse I was feeding had ulcers) but I have had FANTASTIC results with rice bran...I'm talking a visible difference in a week. One cup twice a day is what I used when I was really trying to get weight on...one cup once a day maintained the hard keeper once he was up to spec.

The 40lb bag of powder costs $25 at my feed store. At one cup per day it lasts over two months.

[HowDoILook]

I have used both SmartDigest and Succeed for my horse who lost a ton of weight and then was having a tough time putting any weight back on.

As you said, the Succeed was fabulous! But pricey, did that for him for a month to help him on his trailer ride to school (14 hours).

Then I switched him over to SmartDigest which worked pretty good. Not as great as the Succeed but there was definitely improvement. The ingredients are similar, but Succeed has one more ingredient which I cant think of off the top of my head. I think it way be a yeast for of some kind but not 100% sure.

Then our barn recieved a ton of a supplement called LifeForce, made by Alltech. We got it for a few horses as a trial and we put my horse into the little "expiriment" we started. It is FABULOUS! I have seen just as much improvement as we did with the Succeed. Not as pricey as the Succeed but costs more than the SmartDigest. I think it runds around $50 for the month. Right now I belive you can only get it straight through AllTech, or atleast that is where I buy it from. I havent found anyone else that carries it. It might definitely be something you wat to try.

http://www.lifeforcehorse.com/

[KrazyTBMare]

I put Layla on SmartOmega 3 for weight and digestion. It has omega 3, 6, 9 from flax and fish oil. Also has pre and pro biotics to help with digestion. Ever since I put her on it, her weight has been AMAZING and steady.

Before SmartOmega 3

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...6_172887_n.jpg


3.5 months on SmartOmega 3

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._7288251_n.jpg

Same feed and hay. Of course the shine is different as the first pic was in the beginning of Dec and the 2nd was the beginning of March but Im speaking more of the weight itself and not so much the coat condition.

I need to get a pic of her right now.... I was looking at her tonight and thinking MAN shes fat - but in a good way for a hard keeping TB! LOL

She gets 4lbs of Show n Sport by Seminole which is within the recommended amount for her pasture/hay/work load. The SmartOmega 3, joint supplement, mag, paprika, etc. Hay wise she gets 2 big flakes that are probably 12-15lbs each of really decent O/A once at night and during the winter shes getting probably 10 lbs of coastal in the AM, lunch, and during turnout for the night. During the summer, she has bahia pasture and comes in for a few hours when its really hot and eats coastal from a small holed hay net - really just busy hay.

The majority of her calories comes from her feed, O/A, and Smart Omega 3.

[HUSGal]

I use smartgain and Smartdigest, plus Amplify and that combo keeps weight on my appendix very well.

[baylady7]

senior feed for older horses, cocasoya oil for fat, and Platinum Performance for maximizing digestion.

[Meredith Clark]

Thanks guys, all very helpful!

[Discobold]

One of my horse tends to drop weight over the winter. Two years ago, I tried Cocasoya Oil. It worked well, but was messy and froze on really cold days. Last year, after doing a bunch of research, I started using Gain & Gleam Supreme 60. I'd never heard of it before, just found it by chance through Smartpak. My horse is now so "fat" and shiny (on 1/2 the grain she was getting before) that my trainer has recommended it to several other clients.

There are other products that also put on weight. What you want is something that's very high in fat calories.

[deltawave]

If you love Cocosoya but want a non-liquid, one of my favorite products is Uckele's Equi-Omega. It's a crumbly, moist powder and horses (and dogs and cats and even chickens!) seem to love it.

[baylady7]

There are non-liquid fat additives that provide similar benefit to Cocasoya. I purchased one from TCFE in Marshall, VA when my horse was at a barn w/o a heated feedroom. Fortunately, his feedroom is now heated, we use a pump on the bottle and his feed pan is cleaned daily, so mess is not an issue.

The product was called Ultimate Finish bu Buckeye:

http://www.buckeyenutrition.com/supp...inish-100.aspx

[deltawave]

I think Ultimate Finish and Amplify (which the OP is already using) are pretty similar.

[Meadow36]

I would suggest another two flakes of alfalfa with the morning meal ... it helps to buffer stomach acid and can be just as effective as any supplement. Easy to do, and your boarding barn already has it. The extra calories are an added bonus.

I agree with rice bran if you are looking to supplement the feed ration with calories. Hands down this is always my go-to feedstuff for general weight gain. Works the best IMHO. Has the added benefit of making the haircoat gleam.

I did try the Smart Gain and saw absolutely no results. It was a free 30 day supply. I think that money is better spent on rice bran or extra alfalfa hay.