But if your measurements indicate a horse that’s losing weight during the winter months — or barely maintaining it — then stay tuned. There’s no magic weight-gain formula that works for every horse, but here’s what you can do to help your horse gain winter weight.

Schedule a Visit With Your Equine Dentist

As we discussed in Part 2 of this series, healthy teeth play a big role in proper digestion, absorption of nutrients, and weight maintenance. Horses’ teeth continue to grow throughout their lives, so while horses between ages 10 and 20 may only need annual dental work, book bi-annual teeth floating for youngsters, seniors, and horses in heavy work.

Worm Your Horse and Schedule a Fecal Exam

This is a no-brainer, but be sure you stay on top of de-worming your horses, and schedule a fecal exam every six months. Halloween and Easter are good dates for seasonal evaluations.

Rethink Your Grain Schedule

We’ve said it before, but the key to healthy digestion is small meals fed at regular intervals throughout the day. Horses need to eat constantly to maintain a healthy digestive system. Aim to feed three or four small meals per day instead of just one or two.

Provide Constant Access to Hay

Horses are hardwired to munch on small amounts of feed almost constantly. On average, a horse should ingest 1.5- to 2.5-percent of its body weight daily in forage. Not only is fiber-rich hay easily digested, it also provides additional heat during cold-weather months (and it keeps him happier in between meals).

Keep Your Horse Hydrated

Dehydration is a common cause of winter weight loss, so use a safe and effective water heater in your horse’s bucket or water trough. A cheap alternative for milder climates is to float a soccer ball or basketball in a trough to prevent icing over — but we prefer the heater. Remember that hay doesn’t have the same water content as green grass, so be sure to provide clean, ice-free water to make up for that change.

Slow Your Horse Down and Eliminate Stress at Feed Time

An empty belly will often provoke a horse to bolt its feed, but a stressful or intimidating environment will do the same. Eating too quickly gives starchy grains less time to be absorbed in the stomach and small intestine leading to poor nutrient absorption and problems in the hindgut. Avoid bolting by making sure your horse never gets too hungry, is fed in a safe environment without danger of barn mates stealing his food or causing him anxiety, and has ample time to eat. If he’s a habitual bolter, slow him down by adding chaff to his grain — the extra fiber won’t go amiss either!

Evaluate Your Horse’s Vital Stats

Is your horse older than 15? Switch to high-protein senior feed, which is more easily digested and will help him get the most nutritional benefit out of his feed.

Is your horse competing? If so, he needs many more calories than a horse that is exercised primarily during warmer months.

Is your horse outside during cold weather? Additional calories are needed to keep your horse warm — don’t let cold weather steal vital nutrients from his diet because he’s trying to stay warm.

Evaluate Your Horse’s Hay and Grain

Evaluating hay quality is as simple as requesting an analysis from your hay dealer. High-protein hay such as alfalfa or a mix of grass/timothy hay and alfalfa will provide additional calories. Each horse requires a different grain mixture, but a high-fat grain will add surplus calories, and can be supplemented with an add-in like vegetable oil, stabilized rice bran or ground flaxseed products.

Feed SUCCEED

Whether it’s a caused by bad teeth, stressful eating situations, less than ideal feeding schedules or dehydration, poor digestion is a major source of winter weight loss. When natural digestive processes are thrown out of balance by bad habits, stress or other physical factors, it’s impossible for a horse to absorb the nutrients he needs. Feeding SUCCEED® helps alleviate common issues that prevent healthy digestion, as well as helps the GI tract to effectively process what you’re feeding him.

Next Up: Start Preparing Now for Next Winter

If you’re utilizing these weight-gain tips for this winter, be sure to check out the final installment of the series to learn what you can do now to avoid playing catch up next winter.

Be sure to subscribe to the SUCCEED® blog or sign up for email notifications in the sidebar so you don’t miss Part 4: Start Preparing Now for Next Winter.

These are both good questions.

There isn’t a single weight range that’s ideal for all horses, because it varies greatly between breeds and disciplines. And very few people are lucky enough to have an equine scale on hand. But it is possible to determine what’s normal for your horse so that you know when something changes. Here are a few tactics for keeping tabs:

Do a Monthly Photo Shoot

If you’ve taken the SUCCEED Challenge, you already know how valuable photos can be in tracking your horse’s condition. Make a goal to snap a few pics of your horse from several angles each month, and then compare the photos.

Manually Feel for Changes

Of course, all of the beauty shots in the world won’t help you assess your horse’s condition if he’s covered in his winter woolies. Make sure to remove winter blankets and run a hand over your horse from ears to hoof to monitor his weight manually. Pay close attention to his back, ribs and croup (in that order), as these are the first three areas to lose weight.

Use a Weight Tape

For less than $5, you can purchase an equine weight tape at your local feed store that can help measure how much your horse weighs. (You can also use a standard tape measure to capture your horse’s heart girth and length, and then calculate heart girth X heart girth X length, divided by 300, + 50 = weight … we prefer the weight tape.) Again, a horse’s exact weight is less helpful than knowing when he fluctuates, so keep that in mind.

Determine Your Horse’s Body Condition Score

Vets use a standard body condition scoring system called the Henneke Body Condition Scoring system to tell whether or not a horse is at an appropriate weight. You can’t really determine an “average” weight, because a thoroughbred is going to look very different than a Quarter Horse broodmare — and both might be in tip-top shape. But horses usually gain (and lose!) weight in a specific order. Here’s what you should look for:

• Loin: A thin horse’s spine will stick up and he’ll have a ridge down his back. This is the first place you’ll notice weight gain or loss.
• Ribs: You should be able to feel — but not see — a healthy horse’s ribs.
• Tailhead/Croup: In a too-thin horse, the tailhead is prominent is easily seen.
• Withers: This varies between breeds, but if your horse is too thin, the shape of the withers will be very visible.
• Neck: you shouldn’t be able to see the bone structure of the neck; be sure your horse’s poll isn’t hollowed out.
• Shoulder: As a horse loses weight, you’ll see more and more definition between the shoulder and the elbow.

Check out a hands-on application of the Henneke BCS system by Holly Werner, senior associate editor of Horse Illustrated magazine with overweight, underweight, and ideal horse models:

Behavior and Performance

We talk a lot about how poor health can equal a bad attitude, and the same is true when a horse is underweight. If your horse seems lethargic, unwilling to work, or unusually grouchy when you show up, evaluate his general condition. If he’s not getting the nutrients and calories he needs to stay fit and healthy, he’s not going to be happy — and you’re not going to be happy with his performance.

Up Next: Strategies for Winter Weight Gain (or Maintenance)

Now that you know what to look for and how to identify a horse that is losing weight, we’ll talk about how to deal with wintertime weight loss in Part 3: Strategies for Winter Weight Gain (or Maintenance). Also be sure to check out Part 1: Why Horses Lose Weight in Winter for common culprits of fluctuating weight.

Be sure to subscribe to the SUCCEED blog or sign up for email notifications in the sidebar so you don’t miss Part 3: Strategies for Winter Weight Gain (or Maintenance).

There are several factors that contribute to your horse’s winter weight loss, and most can’t be fixed simply by throwing grain or hay at the problem.

In Combating Your Horse’s Winter Weight Loss Pt. 1, we’ll look at some of the common causes of wintertime weight loss. In Parts 2-4, we’ll move on to assessing your horse’s condition, strategies for weight gain or maintenance, and advice on preparing now for next winter. Be sure to subscribe to the SUCCEED blog or sign up for email notifications in the sidebar.

To get the scoop on the best practice for winter horse care, we turned to our own Frank Pellegrini DVM and trainer Bill Rodgers, as well as Scott Leibsle, deputy state veterinarian in Idaho.

Causes For Winter Weight Loss in Horses

Many things can be blamed for a shaggy, underweight equine during the wintertime months, but several of the most common include the following:

• Poor Feeding Regimen
• Not taking into account increased caloric needs
• Feeding the wrong quantity or quality of grain and hay
• Dehydration
• Parasites
• Dental issues
• Age

Of course, some of these factors are out of your control; you can’t turn back the clock for your retired eventer, but being aware of the causes can help you tweak those things you can control.

Poor Feeding Regimen

Horses need constant access to quality grass or hay, rather than one or two big hay and grain dumps morning and night. Horses are foragers that munch up to 18 hours a day, which is why you’ll notice happy, healthy horses during the summer months if they’re turned out on good pasture to graze.

Inattention to Increased Caloric Need During Winter Months

Like people, horses need to burn more calories to stay warm during winter months. Humans often use that as an excuse to indulge in a second slice of cake on a long winter’s evening, but horses legitimately need those calories in the form of forage. A healthy digestive system is an active digestive system — and digestion helps create heat, too.

Feeding the Wrong Quantity or Quality of Hay

All hay is not created equal. You probably already know that hay varies in quality, ranging from low-protein oat hay to mid-protein grass/timothy hay, to protein-heavy alfalfa. If you have any doubts about hay quality, request a professional hay analysis from your hay dealer.

Feeding the Wrong Quantity or Quality of Grain

As any owner of a hard-keeping horse will tell you, giving your horse more to eat doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll put on weight. Feeding more grain morning and night can actually cause your horse to lose weight, since processed feeds are harder for horses to digest (especially in large quantities). Undigested starch in the hindgut can cause diarrhea, ulcers, colic and plenty of other problems that cause weight loss.

Dehydration

Just as you probably don’t feel like guzzling ice-cold water when it’s snowing outside, horses are also more prone to dehydration in the wintertime — and care givers who forget to break the ice on water buckets don’t help things! Since horses need water to process their food, dehydration can lead to all sorts of problems in the hindgut, including increased acidity and toxins that can make your horse uncomfortable or lead to more serious issues like hindgut acidosis, colonic ulcers, and colic.

Parasites

Your horse is probably already on some type of worming schedule, but remember that while worms go dormant in the winter, they don’t die off completely. Be sure to stay up-to-date on fecal exams (Halloween and Easter are good target dates).

Dental Issues

Poorly tended teeth are a common cause of winter (and summer!) weight loss. If a horse can’t chew, he can’t eat. Chewing also produces saliva, which buffers the continual production of acids in the horse’s stomach – offering a natural protection against gastric ulcers. Also, these starches and sugars can reach the hindgut when the horse is unable to chew properly and consumes grain meals too quickly. Undigested starch in the hindgut creates lactic acid which causes the horse discomfort, and can also lead to colic and laminitis.

Age

A horse’s age plays a major role in his ability to maintain winter weight, as the fingerlike projections that absorb nutrients in a horse’s digestive tract don’t work as well as the horse ages. Like humans, older horses’ teeth as well as kidneys and liver, also deteriorate over time, which is why it’s imperative to keep your horse’s digestive system as healthy as possible through good feeding habits and attention to overall health.

Next Up: How To Assess Your Horse’s Body Condition

Common problems identified, we’ll talk about how to evaluate your horse’s weight and condition in the next post so you can target winter weight loss problems early on — or before they begin.

Be sure to subscribe to the SUCCEED blog or sign up for email notifications in the sidebar so you don’t miss Part 2: Assessing your horse’s condition.

Their grand prize is a 60-day supply of SUCCEED®, 10-pack starter kit, and access to the Challenge’s online diary to track their progress.

Rachel and Mystic are officially competing in their first 25-mile endurance race in May and are looking forward to letting SUCCEED® help get Mystic in tip-top shape. Here is the New Year’s resolution Rachel and Mystic submitted for the contest:

Get my horse as comfortable as possible inside and out…then do our first 25 mile endurace ride! We have the tack…and almost have the inside worked out. He’s a very sensitive guy and is also stoic. It’s sometimes really hard to tell what’s going on with him. He have a huge heart and would do anything for me. Can’t ask for a better horse.

We wish both Rachel and Mystic and all the contest participants our very best for a healthy and successful 2012!

Take the Challenge

Didn’t win the contest but still interested in trying SUCCEED®? You can sign-up for the SUCCEED Challenge right now and try it for your horse’s healthier 2012. With the purchase of a 60-day supply, you will receive a FREE 10-pack starter kit, FREE shipping, and a money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied with the results.

Your horse wants to be healthier in 2012. Resolve to make it happen. And you could win a free registration to the SUCCEED® Challenge.

If your horse had to make a New Year’s Resolution, what would it be?

Something tells us your horse’s goals for 2012 probably wouldn’t include mastering a flying change or improving a competition score. Maybe your mare has always been jealous of her stall mate’s muscled topline and dappled coat – and wants this to be the year she gets one of her own. Or perhaps your gelding is tired of feeling slightly under the weather and wants to commit to a healthier 2012.

Whether it’s getting that bit of extra bloom, finally kicking a health issue once and for all, or taking it to the next level under saddle – your horse’s healthy 2012 begins inside where wellness finds its roots in the equine digestive tract.

This month, your horse could win a free 60-day supply of SUCCEED® Digestive Conditioning Program® to jumpstart him on the path to a healthier, more successful 2012.

Win a FREE SUCCEED Challenge Registration with 60-Day Supply

By entering your horse in the New Year, New Horse Contest, you are eligible to win a free registration to the SUCCEED® Challenge – a $179.95 value. You will receive:

• 60-day supply of SUCCEED® Digestive Conditioning Program®
• Free 10-pack starter kit of SUCCEED® oral paste (for the initial loading dose)
• Free shipping
• Access to a simple online diary for tracking your horse’s progress

No strings attached.

How To Enter the New Year, New Horse Contest

Visit the New Year, New Horse Contest entry page to submit your official entry by January 31, 2012.

You must include:

• a photo of your horse
• a short (100 words or less) paragraph written from your horse’s perspective telling us about his/her 2012 New Year’s Resolution

And that’s it!

A winner will be drawn randomly and announced in early February.

One submission per person. However, you CAN earn two additional drawing entries by sharing the contest with your friends on Twitter or Facebook. (Total of three entries for the drawing.) Facebook and Twitter entries are not valid without an official contest entry.

• Facebook entry, “Like” our page, and tag SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program in your wall post.
• Twitter entry, “Follow” SUCCEEDEquine and be sure to tag @SUCCEEDEquine in your Tweet.

Read the complete New Year, New Horse Contest terms here. Open to US residents only.

About SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program

SUCCEED® is an all-natural feed supplement designed to improve the overall health and function of the equine digestive tract – all the way from mouth to tail. Its specially-processed ingredients work holistically to improve nutrient absorption, remove harmful pathogens, and strengthen the structure and function of the equine digestive tract – promoting general wellness and helping avoid serious health issues.

Learn more about SUCCEED®:

• Ingredients
• Horses who need SUCCEED®
• Health benefits
• Performance benefits

You’ve probably set some New Year’s resolutions for yourself. Have you considered making one for your horse?

Perhaps you’ve already set training or show goals for 2012. It’s time to master that flying change, start showing recognized, or move those jumps a little higher. But have you considered your horse’s health in making those goals? Perhaps it’s time to kick that “manure issue” once and for all, or build up a better topline and coat, or get your horse to that ideal weight. A healthier horse goes hand in hand with meeting those training goals!

Out With the Bad, In With the Good

Your horse’s overall health begins in its digestive tract. Good nutrition, correctly utilized by your horse’s body, is the key to overall wellness and avoiding health problems. (Not to mention those costly vet bills!)

Commit to getting rid of these common detriments to your horse’s digestive health:

• Large grain meals fed twice a day. Does your horse really need all that grain for the amount of work he does? If not, cut back! If so, break it into smaller meals fed more often, or mix with chaff or use a slow feeder to increase the time it takes to eat.
• Two flakes of hay twice a day (or something similar). Your horse needs to be munching constantly all day to maintain a healthy digestive tract and get the most from his food. Feed hay free choice (he will learn to self-regulate), feed a flake more times throughout the day, or use a net or slow feeder.

And add in these beneficial feed and care practices:

• Turn your horse out as much as possible
• Feed grains/concentrates that are lower in complex sugars and starches
• Break feeds into smaller meals
• Provide constant access to quality pasture grass or hay

Accept the Challenge To Promote Total Equine Wellness

New Year’s resolutions aren’t just about what we’re removing from or adding to our lives. Eating well and working out are ultimately about getting healthy. If you are committed to having a healthier horse in 2012, now is the time to take it to the next level with SUCCEED®.

SUCCEED® Digestive Conditioning Program® is an all-natural digestive supplement that promotes the health of the entire digestive tract – and is recommended by some of the best horse men and women in the country.

Start the New Year right for you and your horse, and take the SUCCEED Challenge. You can give him the best chance for a healthier 2012, and there’s no risk. You’ll get a free 10-pack starter kit, free shipping, and a money back guarantee.. You’ll see results in 60 days, or it’s FREE.

New Year, New Horse. Take the Challenge today!

Read these SUCCEED Challenge Success Stories:

• Stephanie and Gershwin
• Heidi and Dolce
• Sharon and Don Caruso

Steffen and Chester are among eight elite riders who have been selected as as 2011 United States Equestrian Federation Equestrians of Honor for their respective disciplines. Steffen Peters is awarded the William C. Steinkraus trophy presented to an equestrian in one of the Olympic disciplines of dressage, jumping, or eventing. Chester Weber was presented with The Becky Grand Hart Trophy awarded to an international-level non-Olympic athlete.

In addition to their Equestrians of Honor awards, these eight riders are also the nominees for the 2011 Equestrian of the Year. If you are a member of the USEF, you can vote for the Equestrian of the Year on their website.

Steffen Peters 2011 in Review

Steffen had yet another outstanding year with his top horses, Ravel and Weltino’s Magic. With Weltino’s Magic, he had an undefeated season including individual and team gold at the Pan American Games and the win at CHIO in Aachen, Germany.

He also had a good year with his tried and true Olympic and WEG horse Ravel. They won 8 of 11 classes in 2011, were undefeated in the US including winning the World Dressage Masters in Palm Beach. They placed second in the Grand Prix Freestyle at CHIO Aachen.

Chester Weber 2011 in Review

With his four-in-hand team, Chester Weber won big in Florida at Sunshine State, Little Everglades, and Live Oak International before heading to Europe. There he won at CAIO Veces, CAI Altenfelden, and CAIO Riesenbeck.

Chester also served as Chef d’Equipe for the US drivers at the World Pony Team Championships and the FEI World Pair Championship.

Congratulations again to these extraordinary horsemen! Be sure to vote for your favorite by midnight on Monday, January 2.

The SUCCEED FBT is a two-part lateral flow immunoassay. Taken together, results from the two parts of the FBT can provide veterinarians with a clearer view of digestive tract pathologies, and can help localize their source. This makes the SUCCEED FBT a strongly differ¬ential diagnostic aid.

“We are very excited about the release of the new SUCCEED FBT,” said John Hall, President of Freedom Health, manufacturers of the product. “We believe the FBT is a truly revolutionary product that gives veterinarians a much clearer picture of the digestive health of their equine patients. Without it, veterinarians have to rely on scoping with a 3-meter endoscope just to see the stomach, leaving the colon a figurative ‘black box.’”

Equine ulcers are a significant concern. Significant research over the last 20 years has shown that gastric ulcers can afflict up to 90% of horses in some cases. A study published in 2005 revealed an incidence of 63% colonic ulcers in performance horses. Ulcers have also been shown to affect horse behavior and performance, and may be complicit in some colic cases.

The SUCCEED FBT utilizes antibodies to detect occult – or non-visible – components of equine blood in a fecal sample, which may result from gastric or colonic injury. Test A detects occult equine albumin, and Test H detects the presence of occult hemoglobin. A positive Test A suggests hindgut injury, such as colonic ulceration. A positive Test H result, in conjunction with a negative Test A result, suggests foregut injury, such as gastric ulceration.

The antibodies in the FBT were calibrated to detect within a specified range of sensitivity such that a positive result reflects a true pathological condition. “The sensitivity of the SUCCEED FBT antibodies has been enhanced compared to the previous version of the product,” said Franklin Pellegrini, DVM, VP – Veterinary Science at Freedom Health. “This will ensure more consistently accurate results for the veterinarians who use it.”

The new SUCCEED FBT was tested to validate its accuracy as a reliable indicator of gastric and colonic conditions. Test results were compared with visual observations of gastric and colonic tissue sample from cadavers of 178 equine subjects immediately post-necropsy. The results showed a positive predictive value of 95% for Test A, and 97% for Test H. Both had a p-value of less than 0.05. Details of this research will be available on the website at www.SucceedFBT.com.

SUCCEED® Equine Fecal Blood Test™ is produced and distributed exclusively by Freedom Health LLC of Aurora, Ohio. The company is focused on finding, perfecting and delivering superior, innovative products that address real and significant health-related issues for animals and the people who care for them. For further information on the product, visit the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test website.

The entire SUCCEED crew would like to extend a hearty congratulations to our very own Courtney Ryan for her AQHA World Championship win in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle with home-bred horse Fabulicity.

This win comes on the heels of a 2011 NSBA World Championship as well.

Fabulicity is a 3-year-old mare bred and owned by her mother’s (Nancy Sue Ryan) Show Stop Farm. Fabulicity began her career with a 5th place finish in the Master’s Hunter Under Saddle last fall and since has been competing with Courtney throughout the 2011 season. Courtney has several World Championships in Showmanship, but this is her first Hunter Under Saddle World title.

Fabulicity is a third-generation Show Stop Farm horse; her sire Fabuluke and grandsire Luke At Me were both competed by Nancy Sue.

“It’s especially nice to get to know them when they are babies and then as show horses,” Courtney says. ”I was really proud of her last night. Sometimes she has a little bit of a hard time in the holding tank, but as soon as we made it into the chute she was all business. She really let me push her around the pen and show what she is made of.”

Nancy Sue and Courtney have kept the Show Stop Farm horses, including Fabulicity, on SUCCEED® for several years.

“We do so much with the horses, it’s the least we can to do make them look good, feel good, and perform well,” says Courtney. “Horses enjoy it, like it, look great on it, ride great on it, are more comfortable on it, and are more agreeable.”

Congratulations again Courtney and Fabulicity!

Dolce Before

I have owned Dolce since March of 2010. He is a dressage horse.

I decided to try SUCCEED because I had nothing to lose and everything to gain! I had a healthy horse, but one that was nervous and high strung. He just needed more focus and over all sparkle. I am not a big believer in supplements. After being in the horse business for over 35 years I have seen so many “magic dust” supplements that people spend a fortune on hoping it will “fix” their horse.

I knew I was feeding a high quality hay/grain diet along with an exercise program and that Dolce should be filling out and muscling up. But it just wasn’t happening. Everything I read about SUCCEED stated that it would help the horse digest and use what he was being fed.

Dolce after taking the Challenge

Since Dolce’s diet was top notch, I took the SUCCEED Challenge.

Since then, Dolce is totally changed! He has not only gained weight but he has filled out and his hair coat is fabulous. I have actually cut down on his grain ration and he is still muscling up more and doing great.

The most important benefit that I have had is that Dolce is also more focused and happy in his work. He doesn’t get so “worried” about changes around him, yet he has the power to work hard.

Dolce showed in his first show this summer. He has been working well and seems so much happier and content with his job. Summer heat is a hard thing for a black horse like Dolce but he is still worked happily and kept his glow.

Want to hear more about horses and owners finding success with SUCCEED? Read about Stephanie and Gershwin and his chronic hindgut issues and Sharon and Don Caruso and the stallion’s appetite and weight issues after being imported.

Are you interested in taking the SUCCEED Challenge with your horse? Sign-up today for the 60-day program and see the results for yourself.