Question
My eight-year-old gelding fills out nicely and maintains a shiny coat when turned out by himself. When he is pastured with the herd, which consists of nine mares, he becomes thin and his coat deteriorates. Because he’s been pastured with the mares, his body condition has suffered. He’s pretty skinny right now, probably a body condition score (BCS) of 3. He’s fed 3 lb (1.4 kg) of 14% pellets, divided into two feedings, and 1 cup (8 oz; 240 ml) of canola oil at each feeding. What can I do to increase his body condition?
Answer
I hope to provide some simple and convenient options that can help your gelding gain and maintain weight.
You didn’t mention in your notes his main source of forage now that he has been removed from the pasture. Ideally, you should offer this gelding free-choice hay to promote constant gut motility and maximize caloric intake. Whether you choose a grass or legume hay is entirely up to you, though a good-quality mix will bump up calorie consumption a bit more than a straight grass hay. Because it is easy for your gelding to gain weight once he’s separated from the mares, I don’t get the impression that he’s a hard keeper, so a pure legume forage is likely not needed. If you’d like to add a couple pounds of alfalfa (lucerne) cubes or pellets as an additional forage source, at least until his weight rebounds, this would be acceptable.
Without knowing the brand name of the product your gelding is offered, it is impossible to know the amount recommended by the manufacturer to meet vitamin and mineral requirements. Most 14% protein feeds are designed to be fed at a minimum of 5 lb (2.3 kg) a day for an 1,100-lb (500-kg) horse. I recommend increasing the amount of feed he gets daily to 6-8 lb (2.7-3.6 kg) per day split into two feedings. The additional feed will provide more calories and energy along with necessary vitamins and minerals.
You can continue to add the canola oil to boost the caloric content. Instead of oil, however, you might consider stabilized rice bran, which will add both calories and digestible fiber to the diet. From an energy perspective, about one pound (500 g) of stabilized rice bran equals one cup of oil. Be sure to choose a rice bran that is stabilized, as this is a denotation of quality and prolonged shelf life.
Increasing this gelding’s calories and keeping him segregated from the mares will take care of the weight problem, as you alluded to in your query; however, the larger question still remains: what can you do about the pasture situation?
Did he become thin just over winter? If so, is it possible the dominant mares pushed your gelding away from the forage and feed sources throughout winter, leading to decreased calorie consumption and weight loss. This is not an uncommon scenario.
Herd dynamics are truly fascinating to those that have an interest in behavior, the study of which is known as ethology. If the manager of this herd truly understands the social hierarchy, she will know exactly how many piles of hay or feed to deliver to the field during each meal to avoid squabbles. If the herdmates are extremely close-knit, this might be just three or four piles; if the herd is composed of more loners than pals, it might mean as many piles as horses.
In field-feeding situations, standard practice dictates that at least one more feeder or pile should be provided than horses in the field. For a field occupied by 10 horses, 11 well-spaced feeders (at least 30 feet apart) should be used, allowing every horse to have an accessible feeding dock. Continued observation of the herd will ultimately reveal behavioral trends, such as which mares are dominant, which mares tend to stick together, and which are more independent than others.
In the spring, summer, and fall, if the pasture is flush with forage and it is large enough to house and nourish 10 horses (so at least 16-20 acres), your gelding might be able to be turned out with the mares again, as competition for feed should be far less intense. Horses are generally more easy-going when they have no reason to covet forage or feed! You may still have to separate him from the mares if concentrates are fed.
