What to feed a 9yo Arabian gelding.

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edgecomb48

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Hello! I'm going to be a first time horse owner soon. I'm going to board him at the place I work at on the weekends and currently he is in an open field with access to grass and he is basically just a pasture horse. The place I will be boarding him doesn't have that kind of access so he will rely solely on what I provide for him, and I will be working him more as in riding him and working him in the round pin. I want to put a little more weight on him, as he is pretty small at the moment. The boarding facility feeds once in the morning and once in the afternoon. What are some recommendations on hay/grain combo's to help me get him a little fatter as well as build some muscle? Thanks in advance! ;)
 
Hi :)

From your terminology I take it you are in North America :)

Arabs generally come in two sorts basically, hard and easy keepers.

If he is an easy keeper and has access to free choice hay then he should be fine with just a token amount of sweet feed, if he is a hard keeper then he will need extra feed, best to speak to your Barn owner/manager and hope that they know their stuff. Each feed company has a help line that will advise, but be ware that they are trying to sell you their feed at the same time ;) I feed my hard to keep horse soaked beet, flax and 12% ration, she is in regular work (5 times a week, 2-3 hours a time, fast work)

Feeding requires common sense, lots of forage (and 2 flakes from a small bale, twice a day in winter is NOT enough for most horses, I don't care what any barn owner says) and knowledge of your own horse. I feed by hand and eye, and never trust a winter coat, get your hands on the horse not 2" of fluff :)

The basic rules (consideration must also be given for age, type, condition, climate, your facilities etc, etc) is to feed for work DONE, and to have access to a reasonable, if not free choice, amount of good quality hay.

The general rule of thumb is :

If it is thin, ad-lib hay and feed more
If it is fat, work more, feed less, of everything
If it is fine, then don't change anything :)

Putting on muscle takes work, and time. It will take longer to get muscle built in an arena or round pen (boring, arabs like variety) than it will to ride correctly on the trails, preferably up and down hills. Gadgets may develop a topline, but that is only built up muscle in certain areas, not all over condition. :)

Whereabouts are you?
 
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