How To Make a Horse Gain Weight

Horses generally digest food and absorb nutrients efficiently—but not all the time. Some have trouble maintaining an appropriate body condition score. These are known as “hard keepers.”

Other horses may need to gain weight after an illness or after being acquired from an environment that didn't supply adequate nutrition. Here, learn how to recognize a skinny horse, understand reasons horses may have a lower body condition, and stock the best foods for rapid but safe weight gain.

How To Assess Need for Weight Gain

The Body Condition Score (BCS) is an important and objective scoring system that determines if your horse has adequate fat and muscling condition. As horses lose weight, they will first use carbohydrate reserves (glycogen), which are quickly depleted. Fat stores are mobilized next, 

followed by the breakdown of muscle into protein. Most BCS scoring is done on a nine-point scale. There are some differences between breed and discipline regarding ideal body condition, but generally a score of 4-5 is ideal. These horses will have symmetric muscling; a slight outline of the

 ribs may be seen but isn't easily discernible; and there will be a small fat 

pad over the tail. The neck and withers blend seamlessly togetherIt is extremely dangerous to try and rapidly increase body weight in an emaciated horse (BCS of 1-2.5). Likewise, very obese horses (BCS 8-9) are also prone to significant health problems if rapid weight loss is attempted. Neither should be attempted without close veterinary supervision.

Health Reasons for Poor Body Condition in a Horse

The first thing to do in assessing skinny horses is to recognize health issues that may cause them to become inappetent. Healthy horses should be bright and alert, interested in food, and have shiny coats of appropriate length for the season. No nasal discharge should be seen. Their manure should be soft-formed fecal balls. When eating, horses should be able to easily draw food into their mouths using their lips, chew without dropping feed, and swallow normally without coughing