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What supplements help a boarded horse gain weight without extra meals?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Farm Animal | Horse | Male | neutered | 8 years and 1 month old

Hi i board my horse so I can’t give him an extra meal to help him gain weight. Are there any supplements I should try? Since we love in upstate NY it’s hard to get good hay and grass. Any other tips for weight gain would be great!

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Linda G,  MS, DVM

Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 27th, 2019

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.
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