How to help my rescued, wild 3-year-old stallion gain weight?

Hello. Your horse is severely underweight. It is important to go slow trying to put weight back on her. She should have access to pasture & a good prairie grass hay all day. If you did not worm her using ivermectin, that is what I would recommend ( Ivermectin Gold so you also get tapeworms ). I would normally recommend the Panacur Power Pack, but she may be too debilitated to use this now. Maybe in a couple of months come back with this. There is no one way to prevent colic or laminitis. Access to hay, controlling parasites, controlled access to concentrates ( grain, especially the sweet feeds ), and limited access to high energy feeds like corn & alfalfa should keep her healthy, but horses are horses & you cannot control everything. And do have a veterinarian come out & check her vitals, teeth, pull blood for a Coggins & update all necessary vaccinations. Thanks for rescuing her & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

First you need to make sure his teeth are OK. If they haven't been checked or floated in a while that is the first place I would start. You can feed him anything you want but if he can't chew properly he won't be able to break it down and digest it. Next you should make sure he has been properly dewormed. After that, your best bet to help him gain weight is to feed him a senior diet (like Equine Senior) and add some corn oil and rice bran too. Be sure he has good quality timothy hay to eat too. This link may also help you. ( https://www.purinamills.com/horse-feed/education/detail/feeding-horses-for-weight-gain )

Hi again. Your main source of calories should come from good forage but if that is unavailable, you will need to add more fat to the diet. You can do this with vegetable oils, especially doybrsn oil rather than corn oil. Start with 2 ounces of oil twice daily & gradually build up to 8 ounces twice daily. Another source of fat is stabilized rice bran, which is about 20% fat & is palatable to horses. This is also less messy than an oil. You would feed the same increasing amount as the oil. Watch the manure for any signs of diarrhea or loose stool & back off the fats as necessary. Hope this helps & thanks againfor using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

You should treat him for intestinal worms to start with as this condition can prevent him from gaining any weight, if this doesn't help try feeding him 3 times a day with a high quality food such as Acana for example.

Hello. If it has been quite some time since the surgery, then the alfalfa pellets are fine to feed. To get his weight up, you can try feeding him an extra meal during the day. This should help. But some horses that undergo colic surgery always seem to remain a little thin ( while others seem to put on too much weight). Adding an extra meal would be a good place to start as well as plenty of good quality grass hay. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! My first worry with older horses is their dentition (teeth). If you have never had your horse's teeth floated, it may be time for that. Lost teeth, impactions of feed, uneven wear, etc can all affect how much and how comfortably your mare eats. Your vet can perform this, after an initial exam. Best pulp can be good to put some weight on them, if it's a simple caloric factor. Last but not least, if you haven't dewormed in a while-consider taking in a fecal sample to your veterinarian to be checked. These simple things I try to take care of first, I hope this helps you!

Well done on making such progress! Be sure to keep him dewormed monthly for at least 3 months and feed him up gradually, I would tend to feed at the feeding guideline for his actual weight plus 15-20%, reassessed every 14days in order to encourage gradual weight gain and strength whilst allowing his system to adjust. A probiotic/fiber supplement such as fortiflora can be helpful to promote healthy digestive balance also