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With the original question for this article being "How do I put weight on my horse?" and since the topic title has changed twice since I originally wrote this response, I feel an update is long overdue.

Keeping a horse healthy is a matter of balance - balance between the amount of exercise your horse does, the amount of feed he requires and the quality of your stable management. In order to be a 'good' horseman or woman, you will need to take all of these into consideration in order to turn out a healthy, shiny horse - both mentally and physically able to cope with the demands you plan to put on him.

Keeping weight on your horse is a combination of feed, exercise and mental well being. Carbohydrates put on fat and protein builds muscle and bone. Smaller amounts of carbohydrate rich feeds such as maize(corn)and good quality hay will put on weight far more efficiently and quicker than bigger feeds of protein rich feeds such as oats. What and how much you feed a horse is directly dependent of the amount of energy he will be expending, a race horse, for instance, will require plenty of high energy feed with not as much bulk feed such as hay whereas a child's small pony would most likely be perfectly healthy kept on hay and grass and could become far to 'hot' for a child to handle if fed high energy feeds. Brood mares and youngstock require more bone and muscle building feed than an older horse who has finished his growing. The secret to good feeding is to know how much work your horse is doing and to feed accordingly, to feed little and often and to always provide unlimited supplies of clean drinking water.

Grooming is an integral part of keeping your horse healthy. Not only does the physical act of grooming stimulate the blood flow to the skin but it also gives the horse owner an excellent opportunity to check for any small cuts, bruises and the general well being of his horse. Grooming gives you an opportunity to bond with your horse too and it is often during grooming that an aware owner might see the first signs of impending illness. Obviously the sooner it can be dealt with, the quicker your horse will recover and the healthier he will be.

Horses that have equine company, free time to run and play outside in a safe and well fenced paddock are mentally more able to cope with the stresses that we put on them and are generally happier and quieter when they are in the stable thus not burning off energy and weight with unnecessary 'worrying' and pacing around. Horses

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