We can't suddenly pour on the grain and alfalfa hay for the thin horse which has been subsisting on dry grass or poor-quality hay and see an immediate change. Quite to the contrary. Such a dramatic change in a feeding program can bring on colic or laminitis. The thin horse requires a gradual change in nutrition over a period of time. For example, he explains, a 1,000 pound horse should never be fed more than 7.5 pounds of concentrate at any one feeding.
Frequent observation is the first step.
We must do more than give the horse a casual glance. It often is difficult to tell the horse's true body condition when the horse is sporting a heavy, fluffy growth of hair. We need to rub our hands over the horse's body and feel for flesh tone. If so, we need to increase the nutritional level. We need also to be cognizant of the quantity and quality of feed the horse is ingesting.