Supplements
Horse supplements available in the market are packed with amino acids, omega-3, and all the essential nutrients and vitamins your horse needs. These supplements are excellent for gaining muscle and fat. The supplements can be pricy but they can be really effective at maintaining healthy horse weight.
Fat-Rich Food
The forage your horse consumes is basically low-calorie food and to fatten up the horse, you need to feed the horse some calorie-dense foods. Different types of oils such as peanut oil, corn oil, or canola oil when added to the horse’s ration can help the horse accumulate fat slowly. Add a quarter cup of oil to the horse’s ration and see how the horse reacts. If your horse begins to like the oil, you can also increase its oil intake to up to 2 cups a day.
Increase Forage
Do not limit the hay you feed your horse and find the best quality hay for the horse. Your thin horse needs leafy green hay that has more nutritional value. Avoid feeding mature seed heads and brown stalks to the horse. Adding some alfalfa stalks to the regular hay can also increase the protein and calcium intake of the horse which will make the horse healthier. Alfalfa is one of the best animal food sources because of the high protein fiber content that fattens up livestock.
Glucose
The sweet food items can turn into glucose in the horse’s body and deposit fat layers. To provide a balanced diet to the horse, give more sugar and starch-based concentrates to the horse. Many horse owners feed their horses sugar cubes as a treat. A sugar cube is around 4 grams in weight and fed to horses once or twice a day to cheer them up and simultaneously gain weight.
Signs of an Illness
The most common reason for an underweight horse is an underlying illness. Common illnesses such as fever or diarrhea can make the horse weak and lethargic. However, if your horse has none of these and eats well, then you need to arrange a check-up with a vet. The horse may have dental issues or a parasite in its intestine which is slowly making the horse weak and thin. Whatever the reason is, a thorough medical examination can find out.
