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Ruby is my 24-year-old Quarter Horse mare. She weighs about 1,000 lb (450 kg), and she’s in moderate body condition. She has insulin dysregulation and Cushing’s disease. She’s rehabbing from an injury, so she’s in her stall all but six or seven hours a week. She consumes about 16 lb (7 kg) of hay per…

I own an 18-month-old Quarter Horse yearling with a body condition score of 2 or 3. She has lost an incredible amount of weight for her size (13 hands). Five months ago, she required surgery for a severed tendon in her pastern. Along with stall rest, she was given antibiotics. Once stall rest was over,…

I have a five-month-old Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse filly that weighs about 600 lb (275 kg). She is still nursing her mother, and they share a five-acre pasture with poor-quality, drought-stricken grass. The pair has unlimited access to grass hay, and they share 1 lb (0.45 kg) of a broodmare feed twice daily with one-third quart beet…

I have a three-year-old Quarter Horse that tested positive for polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM). I have been feeding Re-Leve Concentrate since May. His current diet includes 2 lb (0.9 kg) Re-Leve Concentrate, 4 oz canola oil, and 1 oz of salt in the morning and evening. He grazes Bermudagrass as he chooses. He has not…

Tuck is my 18.1-hand (185 cm), 2,400-lb (1,100-kg) Belgian gelding that I compete in pulling competitions. He gets several hours of exercise 5-6 days a week, including both aerobic and anaerobic work. Tuck’s current ration includes free-range hay, and I would guess he’s eating a small bale of hay each day. I feed him an…

I own a 26-year-old gelding that was diagnosed with insulin resistance many years ago and Cushing’s disease four years ago. He is on 3 mg of pergolide mesylate, based on testing of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations. I have had no laminitis issues with him, fortunately. He is in moderate body condition and weighs about 1,300…

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…

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…

Sky is my 13-year-old Morgan gelding; he stands 14.3 hands and weighs 780 lb (355 kg). He is moderately thin now with visible ribs and a loss of topline. He spends 22 hours each day in his stall and a couple hours with me engaged in grooming, hand walking, and some low-level exercise (longeing, driving,…

Even though my 23-year-old Paint mare Dot is in moderate body condition now, I would like her to gain some more weight, especially on her topline. The winters in this area are tough, and I want her well conditioned for the extreme cold. I blanket her in the winter, but sometimes that is not enough,…

I have a Quarter Horse gelding (11 years old, 16.3 hands) that is in light work a few days a week. I also show him occasionally in the warmer seasons. He is moderately thin with visible ribs. He spends 18 hours in a drylot with little to no pasture forage and 6 hours in a…

My nine-year-old Thoroughbred gelding needs more weight. He is hacked, schooled, or jumped six days a week, often competing on one of those days. Because he tends to stall-walk, he lives outside. He is fed 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) of a high-fiber, alfalfa-based (lucerne) product, 6.6 lb (3 kg) of a high-fat, high-fiber conditioning feed,…

My 20-year-old Arabian mare is moderately thin with a weak topline. She has a history of insulin resistance and mild laminitis. The insulin resistance is kept in check by diet, exercise, and metformin. I ride her three days a week, just light work, but hand-walk her one to two miles a day when I don’t…

I have an eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding in moderate body condition. Right now, he is doing lower-level dressage work five days a week, about an hour each day. He’s stalled 16 hours a day. His current ration consists of 2 lb (0.9 kg) soaked alfalfa pellets (weighed dry), 3/4 lb (0.35 kg) of concentrate per day,…

I have a five-year-old Thoroughbred mare that stands about 16.2 hands (168 cm) and weighs in at 975 lb (442 kg). She is recently retired from racing. Her body condition score is about 4, so she’s moderately thin, especially for her frame. Her current feeding program includes 12 lb (5.4 kg) orchard grass hay, 2.5…