Alda is my nine-year-old Warmblood gelding (1,300 lb/590 kg, 17.2 hands). He’s in moderate body condition, a score of 5 (on the Henneke scale that spans 1 to 9), and he works as a low-level dressage horse. He spends most of his time (20 hr) in his stall but has access to a drylot for a couple hours each day. Alda is fed 30-35 lb (14-16 kg) of grass hay per day and 15-20 lb (7-9 kg) of alfalfa per day in a slow feeder. He’s given 1 lb (0.45 kg) of rice bran and several individual supplements (vitamin E, selenium, copper, zinc, etc.), making meal prep tedious. While I am happy with his weight, he is prone to foregut and hindgut ulcers. He also has bone chips in his hocks that will most likely turn arthritic. If that wasn’t enough, he gets extremely itchy in the summer and rubs to the point of baldness. Can you provide some help?

Holyfield is my show hunter. He’s 15.2 hands and weighs 940 lb (430 kg), so he’s a little light for his height. On the body condition score chart, he’d be dead-on 4 on the familiar 1-9 scale. While he gets time outside, there’s no grass in his lot, but he’s fed four flakes of grass hay, 2 lb (0.9 kg) of alfalfa cubes daily, and 2 lb (0.9 kg) of alfalfa/timothy pellets daily. Aside from the forage, he’s given 1 lb (0.45 kg) of balancer pellet. As far as supplements, Holyfield is fed vitamin E (1,000 IU), a high-quality hyaluronic acid, an all-natural gastrointestinal supplement, and sea buckthorn. He is a hard-keeper, and changing him to an all-forage diet has made weight maintenance even more challenging. He tends to run on the hotter side, so I don't want to add anything that will give him more energy. I was considering vegetable oil, but would I need to add anything to balance the omega fatty acids? As you’ve probably already guessed, gastric ulcers are a real problem for Holyfield, and a real headache for me!

Fletcher is my 16-year-old Quarter Horse gelding. He’s in moderate body condition with a weight of 1,250 lb (570 kg), so no change is necessary on that front. He’s allowed turnout for six hours each day. He consumes some pasture grass, but he always has access to alfalfa and grass hay when stalled. He eats four quarts of pelleted senior feed daily, divided into two meals, and some supplements (biotin, electrolytes, jiaogulan). As a well-used roping horse, he has his fair share of physical problems, including exercise intolerance, atrophied musculature, and general stiffness that I attribute to degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (DSLD). His hooves show some problems, including low heels and thin soles. Fletcher is often sorer when the farrier leaves than when he arrives, which is disconcerting. To boot, he’s an inveterate cribber. What else can I do for him?

I own a Missouri Fox Trotter named Ethel (20 years old, 14 hands). As far as her weight, I don’t think anyone would call her skinny, but I’d like to see her a pinch plumper. She has sparse pasture available during turnout (20 hours a day), but that’s supplemented with a round bale of coastal Bermudagrass hay. I swap feed every now and then, and right now she’s on a 13% all-livestock feed. Ethel never skips a trip to the trough, so appetite isn’t an issue. I am riding her more than ever, several times a week, even though the actual work isn’t that taxing—mostly walking and shuffling along in gait on some flat trails. It’s been very hot here, too, so she’s battling an upturn in workload and some weather-related, low-level stress. I understand that she might need a different diet to add weight now and to shore up her health as she ages. I am happy to make those changes if I know what they are. Ethel and I have been a team for nearly as long as she’s been alive, so I want to make her as comfortable as possible.

Opie is my three-year-old Warmblood gelding (17 hands, 1,300 lb or 600 kg). He’s in moderate body condition now, and he’s a relatively easy keeper. He is outside much of the day, about 18 hours. Because Opie’s pasture is sparse, he’s fed coastal Bermudagrass hay and grass hay pellets. He doesn’t get any grain or concentrate. He’s also given a vitamin/mineral supplement, ground flax, probiotics, magnesium, salt, and hyaluronic acid. My concerns center around his hooves. Opie has “event rings” in his hooves, his hooves lack the normal shine, and he is sometimes sensitive after a trim. Does Opie’s current ration support normal hoof growth and strength?

I own a show horse in moderate body condition. He has access to sparse pasture 24/7, and is fed a mixed hay, a vitamin/mineral supplement, and a calming supplement (magnesium, thiamine, tryptophan). I would like for him to gain more muscle and be less nervous and spooky. Any insight?

I have a hard-keeping event mare that is recovering from EPM, which has only made keeping her topline more problematic. Despite a ton of forage and feed, she continues to drop weight. Would an oil be the best way to add more calories? Other than the EPM and low weight, she’s healthy. Here are the specifics of her diet: nine quarts of an oat-based feed divided into two meals, grass hay fed in two meals, and turnout 16 hours a day (grass seasonably available). She is also fed Total Wellness, a supplement that addresses antioxidant, joint, and hoof and coat support. 

My 14-year-old Icelandic gelding (13.2 hands, 715 lb or 325 kg) is moderately thin, a body condition score of 4. He currently has 24-hour access to round-baled hay that he shares with herdmates. He also receives 1 lb (0.45 kg) of balancer pellet, 2-3 cups of soaked beet pulp, a selenium supplement, and 2,000 IU of Nano-E (a natural-source nanodispersed vitamin E). He’s a hard keeper for his breed with a history of dropping weight in the spring. His vitamin E levels are consistently in the adequate, but not normal, range, regardless of what supplement I use. I’d like to see a sustained rise in his vitamin E levels as well as consistent weight year-round and a fuller topline. Otherwise, the horse is sound and healthy.

I have an idle mature mare (1,250 lb or 570 kg) that would be considered moderately fleshy. She is in a drylot during the growing season and in a pasture during winter. In the drylot and during winter, I place one bale of grass-alfalfa hay into a haynet with half-inch holes, and this lasts two horses two to three days. The bales weigh about 60 lb (27 kg). In addition, I give her two flakes of hay in a haynet at nighttime; she doesn’t have to share this, as she’s kept by herself then. She’s also fed 1 lb (0.45 kg) of a low-calorie feed daily. She’s given fatty acid and hoof supplements, too. In addition to her weight, she has a dry, itchy mane during the winter months and hoof soreness yearlong during wet or cold weather. She is shod in front. I want to do whatever is best for my horse, most importantly weight loss. 

Could the protein in a balancer pellet cause my yearling filly to be flighty and oversensitive? I am specifically worried about soy consumption.