My worry about feeding beet-pulp/bran/etc without soaking is the potential for it to expand in the stomach and intestines, leading to colic. Probably paranoia, but colic is honestly one of my biggest fears when dealing with old or thin horses.

I've had some good success putting weight and a "spark" on a few thin horses by feeding ample hay (Timothy/Alfalfa blend) along with Strategy and Omolene 300. I really like the Missing Link supplement as well as Glanzen. In the past, with more difficult cases, I've used Fat Cat and Focus SR. Smartpak makes it pretty easy to try stuff out for a little while to see if it achieves the results you are after.

Plus on the no-soaking issue - dry bran mash? Yuck, that's gotta be like eating sawdust.

Spooksandbolts wrote:
blah, blah, blah, blah and the dog ate your homework and I can smell bovine excrement