My gelding has an obsession with salt blocks and appears to be overloading on sodium. He has gone through two large white salt blocks in about 40 days. He is on sparse pasture, has access to a round bale, and gets alfalfa hay along with a low-starch feed twice a day. He drinks a lot of water and because of this urinates a ton. He is becoming more and more picky about eating his feed and is stocking up in all four legs. What can I do to correct this?

My 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, Caboose, is thin, actually thinner than he was when he came off the track a year ago (ribs on full display). He’s turned out for 14-18 hours a day and receives the following ration: 5 flakes of grass hay, 7 lb (3.2 kg) high-fat grain, 3 cups corn oil, 1 lb (0.45 kg) balancer pellet, 1.5 lb (0.7 kg) of a flax/rice bran supplement, and other supplements (biotin, digestive support, and devil’s claw). He’s in minimal work. We’ve investigated dental problems and gastric ulcer issues. Any suggestions?

I own a 10-year-old, 16.2-hand Warmblood gelding. He’s fed five flakes of hay a day, a sport-horse feed, one-half cup of beet pulp, and biotin daily. Frankly, I don’t know why he’s on the beet pulp, but it was part of his diet when I acquired him. He has shown a loss of muscle tone in his hindquarters over the last several months. We moved him to Florida about eight months ago when I purchased him, so he has nearly no pasture to graze. His coat is dull. Any thoughts?

I’m unhappy with my 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding’s weight. Shuster is 16.3 hands (170 cm) and ribby. In the year that I’ve owned him, he’s gained a lot of weight, but he’s still not close to where I need him to be, even though he’s consuming this daily: 8 lb (3.6 kg) grass hay, 3 lb (1.4 kg) alfalfa-timothy hay pellets, 5 lb (2.3 kg) all-purpose commercial grain, 4 lb (1.8 kg) ration balancer, 1.5 lb (0.7 kg) rice bran, 1 cup safflower oil, 1 cup aloe juice, 6 oz flax, and multiple supplements (electrolytes, amino acids, psyllium, and probiotics). No grass is available to graze where I live, so he is turned out daily but meal-fed. I ride him four or five days a week, low- to –medium intensity work (low-level dressage). I’m just not sure why he hasn’t gained weight more quickly, and I feel like we are missing something crucial in his diet. I don’t like all the extra grain and would prefer to keep his diet mostly hay with supplemental pellets, oil, topline builder, and a multivitamin. My thoughts include gastric ulcers, hindgut disturbances, and PSSM. Should I involve a vet? Any ideas?

I have a four-year-old Warmblood gelding with PSSM that is exercise intolerant, lethargic, and grumpy. I want to switch to a low-starch feed from his current balancer pellet (1 lb or 0.45 kg/day) to see if that helps. I also question what type of hay he needs. Should I switch to alfalfa? I would call him a 6 on the body condition scorecard, and I am happy with his weight as a Warmblood performance horse. However, he has fat deposits on his crest and tailhead, and becomes bloated at times. He is out at night on short grass and spends time in a small pasture during the day with a little grass hay. His current diet also includes 0.5 lb (0.23 kg) of rice bran, a flax supplement, and acetyl l-carnitine. Should I increase fat in the diet?

My Arabian mare had twins. Because of health problems with the mare, I had to wean the foals at 12 weeks of age. Both seem to be in normal weight, though the smaller of the two might be a little thinner than ideal. They are fed free-choice alfalfa hay, 2 lb (0.9 kg) of growth feed, and 4 oz of rice bran daily. Is this a sufficient diet for them?

My nine-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Heyheyhey has been cribbing since he left the track. I treated him for ulcers. He improved considerably, but he has reverted back to cribbing after treatment ended and may even be worse than before treatment. Could a selenium deficiency be causing this? He consumes 4 quarts of a low-starch feed, 2 quarts of unmolassed, soaked beet pulp, and a quart of soaked alfalfa cubes each day (split into two meals) with as much mid-quality forage as he chooses to eat. He is thin with a rough coat and poor hooves, and he gets worked up under tack. Can you provide any insight?

We have two gaited horses and a pony, all of which are a bit chubby. We only have about two acres of pasture, which turned out not to be enough, so we have been supplementing with hay this summer. We bought 90 bales of hay originally and then another 50 recently. After purchasing the second batch, we realized the first batch was yellowish, while the second batch was greener. Should we throw away the yellow hay, or can we blend it with the green? Is this even an issue? In addition to the hay, they get a cup of grain each evening. I know this isn’t adding many calories to the diet, but it serves as a treat, so they come to the barn readily. We are new to owning horses, with some experienced horsemen as friends, but we would like to do the right thing for them.

Pisa is my 17-hand OTTB that weighs about 1,200 lb (545 kg). He’s moderately thin, with a condition score of about 4, so he needs to gain weight. He consumes about 20 lb (9 kg) of hay and 4 lb (1.8 kg) of performance feed with EO-3 (fish oil) supplemented. In addition to being too skinny, his coat and hoof quality are mediocre, though have improved since I began the fish oil. He struggles with arthritis from his years on the racetrack, so that’s a concern, too. I just want to be sure I am doing all I can for Pisa, and I am especially concerned about his intake of vitamins and minerals.

Hurricane Hetta is my 10-year-old Quarter Horse mare. She weighs about 1,100 lb (500 kg), stands 15.2 hands, and maintains a body condition score of 5. I use her for barrel racing and trail riding. I feed her mixed-grass forage twice a day as well as 2 lb (0.9 kg) of ration balancer once a day. She has access to a salt block. She is turned out 24/7 on low-quality pasture. I’m considering adding a magnesium supplement to her diet. Do you think that is OK?