I have two Appendix QH mares, and, despite worming and yearly teeth floating, they are hard to keep weight on in the winter. I am looking for a grain that will keep the weight on nicely, and I will add in corn oil or supplements if they do start to loose the weight. There is only one issue, one of my girls is an ex-race horse and she gets hot pretty easy. We don't have the best of property, and it gets so muddy that I stall them at least every night, and sometimes they're in all day as well due to our suckish weather. I need a grain that won't cause my mare to get hot or pacey or wired. If you have any suggestions, I would really appreciate them! Thanks in advance.

And, just for fun, what breed of horse do you have or ride?

Try Strategy by Purina! It’s a good, quality pellet feed created for horses of all ages and lifestyles. It has Nutritionally Balanced which eliminates the need for expensive supplements and time-consuming mixing. It won’t make your horses hot, but gives any horse the energy they need for growing and performance. It helps to make your horses coats and hoofs shiner, healthier, but also helps to keep your horse at a good weight. It also helps to promote a better more level temperament. I’ve been using it for almost a month now and I can already see improvement in both of my horses especial my quarter horse that is almost totally blind. They love the pellets and they don’t waste any of their feed like before with a different feed. Here is the website for Strategy by Purina - http://www.horse.purinamills.com/product…

pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

There’s also many other feeds by Purina (to the left of the page) that you might find to be better for your two horses as you know more about them and their life then I do. I picked Strategy because I can feed only one type of feed to any type of horse and they get everything they need. Also if you do chose to feed Purina sign up for the “Purina Difference Reward Program” and you will receive for free in the mail coupons off on all the different horse feed and other feeds carried by Purina. Something else to think about is Purina feeds are also now good for the economy as they use polypropylene bags on all their feeds and some of the feed bags are pink for the “Pink 50 Campaign” to raise awareness and support breast cancer.

Hoped this helped and good luck! Tori :)

Edit – I forgot to add my horse breeds lol. I own two registered quarter horses a gelding named, Scooter and a mare named, Molly!

You don't say how much hay you are giving them. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

Good quality hay will always trounce grain.

My 17.1H TB gelding is predisposed to being tall and skinny. He is the HARDEST horse to keep weight on and I tried every grain imagineable. I did beet pulp. I did corn oil. Unfortunately at the time I had him at a barn that only gave hay twice a day and I couldn't afford to move him. When I could, it was to a barn that gave high quality orchard grass hay four (yes, four) times a day with the fifth time being optional. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, once in the evening, once at night check. I believe that is the minimum amount a healthy horse should have; horses are trickle feeders which means their entire system is designed to eat smaller amounts over longer periods of time.

Long story short, feed more hay before you start jumping on the over graining bandwagon.

I recommend Purina Equine Senior. I've used it for years myself on a hard keeper Arab, and know many people with hard keepers like skinny thoroughbreds who also successfully maintain weight and condition with it. It is a low glycemic index feed, which means it doesn't cause "hot" behavior since it won't disrupt the balance of hind gut bacterial flora and it won't produce hormone fluctuations.

pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

It is also recommended for horses prone to colic or laminitis, and horses with arthritic conditions or other metabolic disorders like glycogen storage disease. It can be fed alone, or along with hay. I recommend feeding a good quality grass hay mix free choice if possible, which maintains optimum digestion, and over winter the fermenting of hay in the hind gut acts as an internal furnace to provide warmth. I'd avoid legume hays like alfalfa to keep your mare sane and sensible.
You can add corn oil to this feed for added fat and still maintain well balanced nutrition. It can be made into a mash if your horse doesn't drink enough in winter, or has dental issues. My own vet who is also an equine nutritionist highly recommends this feed for adult horses of any age. My own experience with it is all good.