Conference noted::equitation

    How about adding molasses to his feed.  Sounds like he likes the sweet
    feed which has molasses in it.  By adding the molasses you could feed
    more pellets (maybe).  Good luck.
    
    Caryl

    You could try buying some alfalfa and mixing it with his hay. 
    I wouldn't think this would make him as hot as molasses might. 
    
    Sharon

  Some of the horses at a barn I used to work at were allergic to dust and 
  were fed hay cubes (alfalfa) - you might want to try these - he might like 
  the taste better than plain hay.  I think the cubes might be kind of expensive,
  but maybe you could try feeding him hay in 1/2 cube form and 1/2 regular hay.

  Also, that same barn fed beet pulp to the thoroughbred I was riding because 
  she tended to drop weight in the winter ( she was @ 17years old).  The
  beet pulp doesn't taste great, but you could mix it with some sweet feed and
  apples and other goodies.  With beet pulp though, most everyone I know that
  uses it soaks it for @ 1hr in warm/hot water because it expands two or three-
  fold.  This worked well for the mare, who was kind of a picky eater too.  I
  think the beet pulp was fed at breakfast or lunchtime.

  It sounds like your horse is healthy (ie: good shiny coat) and in most cases
  it's probably healthier to be a little on the ribby side rather than obese.

  Good luck.

   Simone

    It sounds as though you are in close contact with your Vet about your
    horses eating habits but have you had anyone take a look at his teeth?
    They may need to be floated.  Another thing to try is feed warmer
    grain.  Some do not like the coldness that grain has in this weather.
    I know one person that keeps some grain in her home for one horse and
    just brings it out when it's time to feed.
    
    Best of Luck,

    Hi JoAnne!
    
    The other thing you didn't mention was how his teeth are.  Have you had
    his teeth checked to see if that might be the problem for his not
    eating well?
    
    Pat
    

    Hi, Joanne.  I just read your note, and it sounds to me like you have
    a depressed animal on your hands.  I have seen many thoroughbreds drop
    hundreds of pounds of weight (which is easy for a thoroughbred to do)
    because they were lonely!  If your horse likes to play with his
    brother, let him.  I only have one horse myself, a 3-year old Appaloosa
    Thoroughbred cross, and I have gotten him 2 goats to play with.  Even
    when I don't have the time to exercise or play with him, he has his
    goats to hang around with...and that keeps him more than happy and 
    healthy and very FAT!!!  I feed 1/2 pound of sweet feed (Blue Seal)
    2 times per day, and free choice of hay...and that's that!  They have
    a walk-in/walk-out barn, which is the best thing in the world for
    animals.  I supplement with Clovite and Source once per day, and feed
    lots of carrots and apples with his feed....  Beowolf hasn't dropped 
    one ounce this year, and I have only one blanket on him.  I think that
    perhaps 4 blankets is a little too much weight on your horse all of the
    time.  It must get awfully hot in there!  Perhaps he's sweating off the
    weight that you want him to keep?  Who knows...  It could be a
    combination of depression, lonliness, cold, heat....  If only they
    could talk, huh?  
    
    Best of luck in finding the answer to your riddle!  
    Happy New Year!  Laurel.
    

    Make sure that your horse is getting enough water.  Water is what make
    up most of us.  Some horses don't really like to drink cold water, so
    they won't the result is dehydration.  If you have to drag hot water to
    the barn for a least one good bucketful, than that may solve your
    problem.  I had a mare that would only drink room temperature water in
    the winter.  I kept a bucket in the basement, and exchanged it for the
    one in the barn with each feeding.  That with free choice hay of good
    quality kept the pipes from clogging and the weight on.
    
    Good luck
    
    stephanie

    Will your horse eat race horse oats?  
    
    L-

    I was just reading through some of the older notes and I noticed
    a lot of good idea's on weight gain in NOTE 138.  Most people in 
    that note highly recommed SOURCE.
    
    Let me know how you make out.  Mine looses weight in the spring.
    

    
    i dont recommend source i think its a waste of money..
    
    the minerals are the same as if you bought mineral salt..
    look at the ingredients..
    (i founbd this out from a vet (high school friend out west)
    		wendy o'
    
    

    RE: last 
    
    Source is not intended as a mineral supplement.  IN fact, in their
    nutritional information mailer they specifically state that using
    source will not affect any vitamin or mineral supplement programs (such
    as vit. E/selenium) that your horse is on.
    
    Mary

    I have a 7/8 Irish thoroughbred who is hard to keep weight on ( but
    then who sees many fat racehorses) anyway I like weight on him during
    the winter for hunting and x-country and I find either boiled or rolled
    Barley will put on weight very quickly.
    
    
    		Good luck in your quest
    
    		Gareth 

    re. 11
    
    i guess what i was saying is that the ingredient (if you read the list)
    i compared this myself.. the same ingredients (trace minerals etc.. are
    also found in mineral salt..* NOT THE block but the loose* mineral
    salts...
    
    i dunno I dont really beleieve in supplements anyway.. unless the horse
    is lacking... (which i dont think is the case)
    also my horse was very thorbredish until she was 8 years and she
    started stocking up... from 2-6 i used to literally pump grain down
    her.. it was her motabilizism (sp?)
    the vet said she was fine. i ran tests anyway.. found nothing..
    i just come from out west and we have fat* horses.. compared to out
    east (here)
    
    well good luck.. i know it used to drive me crazy!!!
    
    wendy o'
    
    

    re: last
    
    Source contains very small amounts of some the minerals found in mineral
    salts, but not enough to relieve mineral deficiencies.  
    
    Mineral supplements can be very helpful to horses that are fed local
    hay.  Massachusetts soil, in particular, is deficient in selenium. 
    Different areas have different mineral deficiencies which, for some
    horses, can cause problems.  I expect that nutritional deficiencies
    in all food products will increase, due to modern farming methods.
    

    ************* Slim Jim Update ****************
    
    First of all, thank you all for your great ideas !!!
    
    I have been feeding my mighty steed the following, with noticable results
    in only three weeks:
    
    	AM:  ~7:00am
     	        2 small coffee cans of Pacer
    		1/2 can of bran
    		2 small coffee cans of trotter
    
    		I throw out 1 bale of hay (~50 lbs) sprayed LIBERALLY with
    		watered down molasses.
    
    	PM:
    	    meal 1: ~6:00pm
    		2 cans Pacer
    		4 cans Trotter
    		3 flakes of alfalfa
    
    	    meal 2:  ~9:00pm
    		2 cans Pacer
    		4 cans Trotter
                    or
    		Bran mash (~3 times/week when it is cold)
    		  w/ 2 cans Pacer
    		     1.5 cans bran
    		     1 cup apple cider
    		     1 apple, 1 carrot, 1 ladle of molasses, HOT water
    		     2 cans Trotter on top (or bottom when you dump it :-))
    		More Hay
    
    	I discovered that if I fed a big meal in the morning, and I didn't
        have time to let him finish in peace, his brother would chase him
        out of his stall and eat it for him (he's a TB/QH w/ the metabolism
        of a QH, so he is QUITE plump).
    
    	Now I give him enough in the morning to keep him happy, then when
    	I let him in during the PM he eats (undisturbed) almost ALL NIGHT 
        (yeah).
    
    	He has turned into a hay eater now that his hay has a little extra
    	flavor.
    
    	He is filling out and looking much better than he did at the end
    	of December. I'll put in an update in another month to let you
        know how it is going.
    
    	Thanks Again Everyone :->
    
    		JoAnne & Neo