How do I create a good feeding plan for my skinny horse? Step-by-step guide toward a suitable ration

A horse loses weight for a reason. Feeding more before finding that reason is one of the most common mistakes owners make. This guide builds a ration from the ground up: what forage to use, when concentrates are actually warranted, and how to adjust for the conditions that most commonly drive weight loss in horses.

Why forage is the foundation of every ration

Horses evolved as continuous grazers. Their digestive system expects a near-constant flow of fibrous material, and when that flow slows or stops, several things go wrong at once.

Chewing produces saliva, which buffers stomach acid. Fiber feeds the gut microbiome, which drives nutrient absorption. Long-stem roughage keeps intestinal motility going and gives a species that would naturally graze 18 hours a day something meaningful to do. A skinny horse needs more energy, but the answer is almost never to cut forage and replace it with concentrate. It is to make the forage better, and build around it.

The minimum target is 1.5–2% of body weight in dry matter per day [1]. For a 500 kg horse that means at least 7.5 kg of dry matter. Hay is roughly 83–85% dry matter, so that works out to about 9 kg of hay per day before any supplements or concentrates are added.

The main forage types compared

When does a skinny horse need concentrates?

Concentrates are a tool, not a default. They make sense when a horse's energy demands genuinely exceed what good forage alone can deliver: a sport horse in heavy work, a horse recovering from illness, or one whose gut can no longer extract enough from roughage. For most underweight horses, the first question should be whether the forage is actually good enough. Not whether to add pellets on top of poor hay.

When concentrates are needed, read the label for starch and sugar content. If the goal is energy, a well-chosen concentrate helps. If the goal is muscle rebuilding, protein-rich forage combined with a targeted amino acid supplement is often more effective than extra grain. Body & Build from Curafyt supplies essential amino acids specifically for muscle development and recovery.

The role of a balancer

A horse eating less than it should will often be short on more than calories. Vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids all take a hit when total intake drops, and a forage-only ration rarely covers everything on its own. That gap is what a balancer is designed to close.

Unlike concentrates, a balancer is not primarily an energy source. It is a concentrated source of micronutrients and amino acids in a small daily dose, typically 100–200 g per day. It adds very little to the calorie load, which makes it useful even for horses where starch needs to stay low (insulin dysregulation, PPID, laminitis risk). For a skinny horse, it ensures that the body has what it needs to actually use the protein and energy that forage and supplements provide.

ESTE Balancer from Curafyt is formulated for horses on forage-based rations and works alongside Grow & Glow and Body&Build without overlap.

Fat as an energy source

Fat is genuinely underused in equine feeding. It provides roughly 2.5 times more energy per gram than carbohydrates, it does not spike insulin, and it spares muscle glycogen. The horse burns fat first and holds its muscle energy reserves for longer. For underweight horses that need more calories without more starch, this matters.

Good sources are vegetable oils (linseed, rapeseed) and oil-rich seeds. Horses have no gallbladder and secrete bile continuously but in limited amounts, so fat must be introduced slowly and divided across meals. Build up to a maximum of 0.5–1 ml of oil per kg body weight per day, starting from as little as 20 ml/day [2].

Grow & Glow from Curafyt combines microalgae oil, linseed oil, and coconut oil with vitamin E. Dose: 50–100 ml per day for a 500 kg horse.

Beet pulp works on similar logic: a digestible, fiber-rich energy source that adds calories without much starch. Always soak it in at least five times its volume in water before feeding. Dry beet pulp swells in the throat and is a choking risk [2].

Three rules that are not negotiable

• 1.5–2% dry matter per day. Below this, gut health suffers regardless of what else you add. A 500 kg horse needs roughly 9 kg of hay just to meet this floor [1].
• Never more than 6 hours without forage. Longer gaps mean stomach acid sits on an empty lining. Slow feeders help spread intake through the night.
• Always more forage than concentrate by weight. If concentrates are approaching forage volume, the ration is inverted and the gut is under stress.

Feeding for specific conditions

Dental problems

Long stems in the manure and wads of half-chewed forage on the ground are signs that feed is not being processed properly. Have the teeth checked before changing anything in the ration. Then adjust the feeding:

• Switch to soft, fine hay or a second cut.
• Soak forage pellets (1 kg in 2–3 litres of water) or beet pulp (0.5 kg in 2 litres).
• Divide into at least four meals per day.
• Never leave soaked feed standing more than 12 hours, especially in warm weather.

Gastric ulcers

The upper portion of the horse's stomach has no protective mucus layer. When forage is scarce, acid sits against that tissue with nothing to neutralise it [3]. An underweight horse with ulcers needs feeding changes, not just medication. The feeding changes are part of the treatment.

• Keep the horse eating as continuously as possible. Saliva, produced while chewing, is the stomach's natural buffer.
• Add 0.5–1 kg of alfalfa per meal. Its high calcium content helps neutralise acid.
• Limit concentrates and choose feeds with less than 10% starch.
• Keep a fixed routine. Acid production does not follow a schedule. Eating times should.

Guts & Glory from Curafyt supports stomach lining recovery alongside dietary changes.

Chronic inflammation

Long-term inflammation in the gut, joints, airways, or skin keeps the immune system running at a cost. That cost comes partly from muscle tissue. The horse is not just thin. It is using protein to fund a chronic immune response, which makes the fix more nuanced than simply adding calories.

• High-quality, low-sugar forage as the base.
• Energy from fiber and fat rather than starch (beet pulp, forage pellets, oil).
• 50–100 ml Grow & Glow per day for omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammatory signalling.
• Extra vitamin E: 1,000–2,000 IU per day to support immune regulation.

Liver or kidney problems

When the liver or kidneys are compromised, protein processing is disrupted. Feeding excess protein to a horse with liver disease does not build muscle. It creates extra work for an already struggling organ.

• Later-cut hay (lower protein) or a hay-straw mix.
• Energy from fiber and oil, not protein-rich products like alfalfa or soybean meal.
• Regular blood testing and close coordination with your veterinarian on every ration change.

Older horses

After about 15 years of age, digestive efficiency often declines while energy needs for thermoregulation and muscle maintenance increase [2]. The same ration that held weight at 12 may no longer be enough at 18. This is not always obvious until the horse is already noticeably thinner.

Always assess individually before changing anything: body condition score, teeth, manure quality (long fibers point to poor digestion), and whether PPID or insulin dysregulation is present. Each condition changes the approach significantly.

Three practical ration examples

These are starting points for a 500 kg horse. Adjust with your veterinarian based on the individual animal's condition, bloodwork, and response over 4–6 weeks.

1. Older horse, otherwise healthy

• 8–10 kg fine, soft hay or haylage per day
• ~1 kg soaked beet pulp and 1–1.5 kg alfalfa cobs
• ESTE Balancer: 100–200 g per day
• 50–200 ml Grow & Glow per day
• Gut support: Guts & Glory

2. Older horse with significant dental problems

• 2–4 kg soft hay only if it can be chewed and swallowed safely
• 2–3 kg soaked alfalfa or grass cobs, mash consistency
• ~1 kg soaked beet pulp
• 100–150 ml Grow & Glow per day, divided across meals
• ESTE Balancer: 100–200 g per day, mixed into the mash
• Everything served wet, never dry
• Guts & Glory: fiber digestion depends on gut flora when chewing is compromised

3. Older horse with PPID and confirmed insulin dysregulation

Not every horse with PPID has insulin dysregulation. When it is confirmed, elevated insulin becomes a direct trigger for laminitis. Strict NSC control is not optional [4].

• Manage or limit pasture access, especially in spring and on cold sunny days
• 8–9 kg low-NSC hay per day (below 10–12% NSC), soaked if needed to reduce sugar further
• 0.8–1 kg soaked beet pulp without molasses
• 0.5–1 kg soaked alfalfa cobs or a low-NSC senior feed
• 100–150 ml Grow & Glow per day, divided across meals
• ESTE Balancer: 100–200 g per day
• Minimum 3–4 small meals per day to keep the insulin response more stable
• Gut support: Guts & Glory

A horse with PPID needs lifelong, all-round management — nutrition, medication, hoof and dental care, and regular vet follow-up. With consistent management, symptoms stay better controlled and the horse stays fitter for longer [2,5].

Conclusion

A feeding plan for a skinny horse is not a formula. It starts with understanding why the horse is losing weight, then building a ration that addresses that cause directly. Forage comes first and stays first.

If the horse is not responding after 4–6 weeks of consistent changes, have blood values checked and involve your veterinarian in the next step. Weight loss that continues despite a good ration usually means something else needs treatment first.