Question on feeding senior stallion
I am working with my vet on this issue, but I figured advice from those who have lived through this would be helpful too. I have a question about feeding a senior horse, in this case it's our stallion.
He's a 27 year old Arabian, and came to us a little on the thin side in July. This is his first time being outside of Florida in the colder months in over 10 years, and even though we are in Georgia it's been pretty cold lately. When the cold front hit he got a cold, which the vet said was environmental. He also decided he no longer wanted to eat his soaked alfalfa and beet pulp, but is still drinking and eating his pelleted senior feed. His feeding schedule is/was as follows: AM- 2 scoops pelleted feed, 1 scoop alfalfa cubes and 1 scoop beet pulp (both soaked and measured dry). Afternoon- 1 scoop pelleted, 2 scoops alfalfa cubes and 1 scoop beet pulp (both soaked and measured dry), PM- 2 scoops pelleted feed, 1 scoop alfalfa cubes, 1 scoop beet pulp (both soaked and measured dry). He also gets rice bran oil and Focus SR suppliments.
I just bought hay pellets and alalfa pellets since he won't eat the soaked cubes now. I have to figure out how best to add it in, but I gave him some dry in place of the soaked cubes and he ate every last bit so hopefully this will help. He has decent teeth but really only plays with hay rather than eating it, which is why the vet said originally to do cubes and beet pulp soaked. If I don't give him grain he will eventually pick at the beet pulp, so I'm taking his beet pulp down between pellet feedings but there is always at least half left when the next feeding hits lately.
He looks awful wieght wise. The vet said I'm doing everything right and we have to wait it out, but at 27 I don't want to chance it going into the coldest of the winter months with low weight. He said steriods are an option, but he wants to wait on that because he's not dangerously thin and he's still fertile. The steriods will likely knock the fertility out of him, and we will go that route when the vet says to, but he knows we really want to get him bred to our best mare in the spring since I fear we won't have him much longer and want a baby to take his place.
He's up to date on wormings, vaccinations, blood work looks fine. He's just an old man. Any other ideas on what I can add/change/do that won't make him colic but will help gain wieght? He's never had an issue with colic/founder so we are good in that regard.