Why the weight comes off in winter
Winter attacks a senior horse's condition from several directions at once. Cold, wet and wind raise the calories he burns just staying warm. Grass disappears, so his intake depends entirely on the forage you provide — and if his teeth are worn, he may be chewing that forage without extracting its full value. Meanwhile the herd's social pressure sharpens in winter: hay put out in a field is eaten fastest by the boldest horses, and an old horse who eats slowly can lose out at every pile. Weight lost in the depths of winter is the hardest to replace, so the strategy is to prevent the slide rather than chase it.
Forage first: the base of every winter ration
Before adding anything from a feed sack, secure the foundation: forage he can actually eat, available more or less around the clock. For a horse with decent teeth that means good hay or haylage in generous quantity, in the field as well as the stable, so he is never standing empty for long hours. For worn teeth, swap part or all of it for soaked, chopped and mashed fibre he can manage, and judge him by what disappears rather than what you offered. Check his droppings through winter: long, undigested fibres are the signature of forage passing through unchewed, and they tell you the forage form — not the amount — is the problem.
Adding energy his stomach can handle
When forage alone does not hold him, add energy in forms a senior gut handles kindly. Fibre-based feeds built on soaked beet pulp and chopped forage deliver calories without the starch load of heavy cereal feeds, and a measure of vegetable oil stirred through adds concentrated energy in small volume — useful for a horse whose appetite is modest. Make every change gradually over a week or more; an old digestive system objects to surprises. Split additions across several small feeds rather than one large one, and feed him separately or protected from companions so the ration you weighed is the ration he eats.
Rug, shelter and herd politics
Calories spent shivering are calories no feed can fully replace, so the management around him matters as much as the menu. Rug him for the weather he is having, check beneath the rug weekly by hand, and make sure he has shelter he will genuinely use — with access the bolder horses cannot block. At field hay, put out more piles than there are horses, spread widely, so he can always eat at a pile of his own. If he is stabled overnight, a generous evening ration of forage carries him through the coldest hours with his gut — and therefore his internal heating — working.
The weekly hands-on condition check
Rugs and winter coats lie, so condition-score him by hand every week: ribs that can be felt with light pressure but are not visible, a crest and hip covering you can compare against last week's feel. Run a weigh tape at the same time and write both figures down, because memory smooths out gradual change. Photograph him monthly from the same angle for the same reason. The trend matters more than any single reading — a slow, steady fall over a month is actionable information while it is still easy to correct, long before it becomes a visible problem.
When weight loss needs the vet, not more feed
Escalate when the slide continues despite generous suitable forage, added fibre-and-oil feeds and proper rugging — weight that falls through a genuinely full ration is a symptom, not a feeding failure. The same applies if loss arrives with diarrhoea, quidding, a dull coat, low energy or any change in his droppings' consistency. Teeth, gut function and several age-related conditions all sit behind winter weight loss, and they are the vet's territory to sort out. Logging his weekly scores and ration changes in KinsLe's Pet Passport gives your vet the timeline that distinguishes a feeding problem from a medical one — bring it to the visit.