# What DO you feed?



## Field-of-Dreams (Oct 25, 2012)

Ok, after reading so many posts for a while, what DO you actually feed?

Brand:

Price:

Amount you feed:

Type hay:

How much you feed:

Price:

Just curious, what to get an idea of what most of you feed.


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## Field-of-Dreams (Oct 25, 2012)

Me:

Brand: Purina Mini & Pony, nothing added

Price: $15.75

Amount you feed: 1 scoop (yeah, that's helpful) Looks to be a 2 cup scoop. Fancy gets more, Sunny gets less.

Type hay: Coastal 3 string bale right now

How much you feed: Split one flake 2x a day between 4 minis. (BIG flake)

Price: $22.50 3 string


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## muffntuf (Oct 25, 2012)

Brand: AMD Senior Patriot, Ultra Fiber and Junior Glo

Price: $16.75 / $16.00 / $23.00 (prices were just before I bought pallets)

Amount you feed: Depends on animal - minis 3/4 lb. Senior Patriot or 2 lbs. Ultra Fiber

Type hay: orchard grass mix and alfalfa (either a mix or straight)

How much you feed: They get 1.5% of their body weight until winter and then I up it a bit to another %.

Price: This year - 3.25 a 45 lb. bale orchard grass mix. $8.50 a 70 lb. bale on the alfalfa/alfalfa grass mix.


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## disneyhorse (Oct 25, 2012)

Right now I'm feeding Timothy and orchard hay ($27 and $25 per 100 pound bale respectively).

I'm feeding the ration balancer ProAdvantage ($50 per 50# bag) and that's it. Simplicity at this time.

Feeding about 8 pounds of hay daily to my 46" Shetland (2% of his body weight roughly) and two cups of the ration balancer daily.


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## muffntuf (Oct 25, 2012)

Hey Andrea can you post a pic of the ration balancer? - was always curious about that.


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## hoofhearted (Oct 25, 2012)

Strategy (changing over from Omoline 300), $18.00, depends on who..a little less than amount on bag.

All are on pasture during the day(gelding and stud on green 10 acres, mares and foals, donkeys on weaker pasture, 3 acres) Dollar a 3 string square bale for 200 bales, and it's lovely! Next load will be $3.50 per..(I have a huge cow that eats a lot, lol.

Timothy/.fescue/orchard hay (what we can get) i flake per stall in a bag lasts several days (nights).

We add timothy/alfalfa mini-cubes to the grain, about a handful, soaked. $14.00

Donkeys also get Remission to help with their weight and issues.

One mare gets BioSponge daily (full dose, 2 scoops) because she has chronic cow pie poop. yukky..it does fix it though!


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## Renolizzie (Oct 25, 2012)

My little guy has been getting meadow hay $10 per two twine bale] that has a lot of timothy in it and a small scoop [1/2 cup maybe less] of Nutrena senior feed [$17 per bag] on the days I cart him or take him for a walk. Also, he generally gets a carrot or half an apple cut into eights for treats most days.

He seems bright eyed and healthy and the farrier says his feet look really good. The flax seed in the senior feed seems to help a lot with his dandruff.

We live in a desert and he never eats green grass of any sort. Dry lot, I think you call that.

I don't know if this is the best way to feed since everyone seems to have an opinion. I've never been big on supplements [unless an animal has an issue [like the little horse having dandruff].


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Oct 25, 2012)

My feeding list is pretty simple

Brand:Otter Co-op Ration Balancer

Price: about $22.00 for a 20lb (I think thats what it converts to might be more) bag

Amount you feed: 1 cup for the smallest ones and 1.5 to 1.75cups for the larger ones. I'd tell you the weight but I don't recall, I weighed it out when I first started using it and made sure that they were getting the recommended amounts for their body weight.

Type hay: Timothy/brome/orchard grass mix with a little red clover in it occasionally (depends on the feild)

How much you feed: 4lbs a day for the smallest ones and 6lbs a day to the larger ones - split into 2 or 3 feedings (if I am home I offer them an afternoon snack of some of the days allotment )

Price: This year $25 per 1200-1500lb bale most years $50 for the same size bale (and this is the best hay I've seen in years too




)

The only thing I add besides free choice salt is whole flax seed. They get (careful measurement here  ) 2 handfuls each with the ration balancer


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## JMS Miniatures (Oct 25, 2012)

ADM PrimeGLO

$23

.6 ounces a day

Depends on what I can get on hay, prefer straight orchard grass, right now I'm feeding alfalfa/grass mix, 50 lb bale.

4 lbs a day for each mini, one is getting 6 lbs a day.

$15 but looking into getting a pallet load (36 bales) for $13 a bale, my hay rose in price by $2 in one jump.

Also get a 100 lb MoorMan's GROSTRONG Pro-Vita-Min tub for $55, horses love it.


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## Minimor (Oct 25, 2012)

Most of our horses get just hay, no grain (other than as a treat once in awhile). A group of 10 geldings (all B sized, 34-37") gets a 1200 lb round bale of grass hay ($40) and that lasts them about 8 days. So--that is about 15 lbs of hay per day; a small amount of that is wastage but the geldings aren't too messy or wasteful. A group of 9 mares will go through that same bale in the same 8 days, but they have more wastage--dirty things! They also have a choice of mineral block or salt block. At one time they ignored the salt & devoured the mineral, now it is the other way around. Mineral blocks were sitting unused and salt blocks get devoured.

A group of 5 geldings will go through an 800 lb round bale in 12 days--those are mixed bales--cost $40 once delivery is added in to those. I just got a load of rounds from this particular supplier--price is the same, $40 delivered, but the bales are smaller than last year (which the guy forgot to mention when he told me the price wouldn't be going up from last year)--I'm very disappointed, because these bales are so much smaller. That same group of 5 geldings went through a new bale in just 6 days.

I'm buying small squares (55 lbs) of mixed hay; one hay feeds 7 horses for one feeding, so each gets approx. 7-8 lbs of hay per feed and all clean that up by next feed. Those are $3 each.

I have two young stallions and the mature Mini stallion on grain--also one weanling filly. The two young pony stallions get one litre of grain (1/2 rolled oats, 1/2 Frontrunner Phase Two pellets) twice a day. The Mini stallion gets a 500 ml scoop of rolled oats 2x a day and the weanling filly (Mini) gets 1 litre of grain (half oats, half Phase 2 pellets) once a day. The phase 2 pellets are a mare/yearling feed, 14% protein. I would have been buying the Phase one which is the foal feed, 16% protein, but the yearling pony stallion won't eat it--the Phase Two is the only thing that he will eat--it took time to get him worked up to half oats, initially he would eat the pellets ONLY.

Pellets are, I think, $16 or $17 for a 55 lb bag; rolled oats vary a bit in price, I was paying $7.70 for a 50 lb bag but I picked some up yesterday and it had jumped to $8.60 per bag.

Everyone gets mineral and salt blocks--at the moment salt blocks are the only ones being used.


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## disneyhorse (Oct 25, 2012)

muffntuf said:


> Hey Andrea can you post a pic of the ration balancer? - was always curious about that.


http://www.prognutrition.com/pagrassformula.html

This is what I'm feeding. It's $50 a bag here but only because the vendor has a monopoly and shipping is so much to the west coast down here. It's fully loaded with vitamins and protein so builds top lines easily. Progressive Nutrition is pretty helpful too with their customer service.

It helps eliminate the need to feed supplements and its really palatable. All the horses I've seen in this product look great, so I've started feeding it too and it's worth the cost.


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## muffntuf (Oct 25, 2012)

Is it a pellet though?


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## chandab (Oct 25, 2012)

Brand: Running Horse Trail Mix (extruded), Woody's Senior, beet pulp, oats

Price: 21.85/ $15.50 / $16.00/ $16.00

Amount you feed: Depends on animal - Most mares get 3/4# extruded feed, little stallion 1.25# senior, skinny mare 1# oats/1#bp (everyone else gets 1/3# beet pulp daily), and skinny gelding gets 1# beetpulp.

Type hay: grass mix, mostly crested wheatgrass and some brome (mostly homegrown in round bales)

How much you feed: They get 1.5% of their body weight until winter and then nearly free choice for all but the real fatties who get 2%.

Price: Bought 50 bales of mixed grass hay for $90/ton, comes to about $3.25/75# bale.


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## Becky (Oct 25, 2012)

Muffntuf, yes it's a pellet. I've had a yearling colt on Progressive Nutritions' Pro Advantage Grass Balancer since January this year. I was having some leg issues with him earlier caused by the variety of products I had him on. After visiting with one of the nutritionists at Progressive, his recommendation was Pro Advantage Grass Formula and grass hay. Only. Nothing else. I started that immediately, the colt's condition improved dramatically in a short period of time, I put him in show training in June and he finished the year with an AMHA World Championship and a World Top 10. Here he is pictured jsut a few weeks ago at the World Show. Conditioned entirely on Grass Balancer and Timothy hay.


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## disneyhorse (Oct 25, 2012)

It looks kind of like Purina Strategy but its not grain based and you don't feed as much of it.


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## muffntuf (Oct 25, 2012)

How big are the pellets?


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## hoofhearted (Oct 25, 2012)

We have used both salt and mineral blocks..have to read carefully, as some of the cattle ones have molasses added to get them to take more.

Our horses came from a place where they only had poor quality 'cow hay' and no salt..and a bit of sweet feed they fought over. The mares were within a few months of foaling, and we were really worried. When they came here, they would lick the dirt, and when they found the salt they went crazy. Licking turned into biting chunks. I figured they were lacking, and let them have it(within reason). Then I replaced the blocks with the rocks (don't know what they are called, but they are big rocks wrapped in plastic). The gang loves them, but at the right amount. Lick when needed, and no more. I was glad to find something that works.

If everyone looks good, and you don't sense any issues, then all is likely well. Sometimes it's worse to change things when you don't have to, and then getting back to normal can take a while.

My two boys on the grass pasture look great, and get no grain. When the weather turns cold, we'll add some to help them stay warm and happy.


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## disneyhorse (Oct 25, 2012)

Muffntuff.. The pellets are very small, like purina strategy size... Or maybe like rabbit alfalfa pellet size if I remember correctly...


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## muffntuf (Oct 25, 2012)

Thanks! I appreciate the information.


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## Jill (Oct 25, 2012)

We feed a good number of little horses.

Most of our horses eat a low starch "complete" pellet, called Pace-Maker Fat & Fiber, which is 12% protein / 6% fat / 20% fiber, to most of our adult horses. It is milled by our local Farmer's Co-op, but formulated by Kentucky Equine Research. It is available in other locations from local mills that have licensed the formula. Currently, it is about $15.25 / bag.

Some of our horses are getting a complete senior feed, called Pace-Maker Old Timers, which is 14% protein / 5% fat / 18% fiber... we give this to a few hard keepers and also to PG mares late term / nursing and growing horses. It is currently about $17.50 / bag and also milled / formulated as per above.

The hay we feed is an orchard grass mix, which may contain fescue but we have no PG mares at this time. We pay $5 / bale BUT have a special relationship with the particular farm.

What we do is feed the pellets 2x a day. Baseline is 1 mini scoop per horse, adjusted for the individual. They get hay 1x per day, except the few harder keepers who get it 2x a day along with "grain" 2x a day.

Hope this is helpful!!!


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## Kim~Crayonboxminiatures (Oct 25, 2012)

Brand: Triple Crown 30% Supplement (& soon will add Beet Pulp shreds)

Price: I'm almost used up the bag I bought in the spring, I think it's around $20-22/bag, but can't remember for sure. Beet pulp was given to me, I only feed it over winter to help prevent colic.

Amount you feed: 1/4 cup/day to 3 Miniatures (yearling, three mature mares), beet pulp around 1/4 cup soaked per horse.

I do add a ground flax seed, Remission, and a joint supplement for the senior mare.

Type hay: Grass hay, probably considerd to be orchard grass my dad bales it here. Small 2 string bales.

How much you feed: I'm using around 2 1/2-3 flakes a day for 4 Miniature Horses, will increase over winter when it gets colder and the pasture is less.

Price: I buy it from my Dad so get a super deal.


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## Leeana (Oct 26, 2012)

Brand: Kent Dynasty Junior 16% / Dynasty Secure 14% $15/bag. Beet Pulp shreds $18/bag. Alfalfa Cubes $15/bag. Cocosoya Oil $19.99 gallon and Probio's $10.00. Grass hay $4.00 60lb bale. We usually feed alfalfa/grass mix, but had to take what we could get this year.

Price: Well...listed above

Amount you feed: All together I feed 1 bag of grain per day to our herd. Our hay we feed one bale AM and PM. Everyone gets soaked alfalfa cubes AM and PM. Everyone gets Cocosya Oil on grain in the morning an everyone get Probio's ontop of grain in the AM too.

Type hay: Grass Hay $4.00 for 60lb bales. I usually feed an awesome alfalfa/grass mix for $2.75....sigh..

How much you feed: Generally everyone gets 1 flake (large or small flake depending upon the pony).

This is way more than what I usually feed during my "maintenance" season and on just keeper horses, but our hay is nothing to brag about this year and I want everyone to stay fat and healthy. This is usually more of my show horse diet (well, this and a couple other things) but this year, everyone is going to have to be on a show horse diet to keep weight where I want them. Normally hay and grain does the trick, gone are those days...


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## MajorClementine (Oct 26, 2012)

Purina Mini or Omelene 200: 1/2 cup @ $16-$18 for a 50# bag

Biotin: 1/2 scoop (mostly because I had a full bucket given to me and it makes their coats full and shiny and their hooves nice and hard)

Bermuda Grass Pellets: 2#

all of the above is given in the morning during the winter and the evening during the summer. The other feeding during the day is 2-3# grass/alf alfa hay. It's about a 70/30 mix. I paid $6.00 for 70# bales this year.


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## Shari (Oct 26, 2012)

For Maggie,

She gets Orchard Grass hay

Bales run $7.00 for about 35lb

Everything is weighed out before I feed and I put the hay in slow feed bags.

There are two Icelandic's and Two goats with her. So I can't really say the lbs or % she gets.

She gets 1 cup a day...

Triple Crown low starch pellets... $22.95 + tax

this is just for the vitamins.

Also offer both mineral and plan salt blocks.

VA is very spendy to feed both horses and humans...


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## wingnut (Oct 26, 2012)

I've tried several different ways of feeding our horses (was 6 now 4). I realized last spring that our younger horses really didn't need any grain of any stripe. So, I stopped feeding them grain...they were less than pleased!

Our hard keeper, Cha Cha, has always been fed far more in terms of quantity and calories. We learned in June that she actually had a condition that was keeping her body from absorbing nutrients/calories from her food. We have been able to reverse it for now with the use of steroids. She was nearly a 2 on the standard body score indexes by the time we finally found the answer to her issue. The steroids did their job and I also followed the advice I learned online of removing all corn based products (we were feeding her a sweet feed). She's now on 2lbs of Purina Miniature and Pony feed along with 1-1.5 lbs of Legend's rice bran pellets for additional fat/calories. This is split between two meals per day. She gets up to 12 hours per day on the pasture.

The other girls get occasional pasture time with muzzles and otherwise I feed everyone alfalfa/grass mix hay. Now that we're moving into the cold weather months, I'm putting the younger 3 on a supplement feed only (McCauley's M30) along with a dose of Metaboleeze (http://www.smartpakequine.com/metaboleeze-685p.aspx) based on a recommendation by our farrier's wife (she used to own/raise minis).

During the warmer months, I feed hay to the younger 3 based on 1-2% of their body weight. In the winter, I nearly free feed them...basing that on the weather conditions. The first winter we had them was cold and we had 3 blizzards in 2 months. Last year it was really mild all winter with only a handful of truly bitter cold days. All three horses are about 6 or 7 on the body scale scales.


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## happy appy (Oct 26, 2012)

Brand:I only feed sweet feed when I'm doing a round of sand clear. I do that every 6 weeks on the herd. I have a couple that don't tolerate even a little sand and get the runs.

Price: 18.99 but I normally throw out some because it spoils before I use it all.

Amount you feed: 1/2 cup once a day for 3 days of sand clear.

Type hay: I feed a timothy/brome/alfalfa hay mix.

How much you feed: I feed 1.5% body weight and 2.5% in the winter. I only use slow feed hay feeders and it makes the hay last much longer for grazing time.

I do have pasture and the minis are out only about 1-2 hrs a day all season.

Price: $4-6/50 lb bale That is first cut. Not often can I get second cut here.

I do have salt and mineral blocks out for the minis.


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## HGFarm (Oct 26, 2012)

I keep it simple, and my vet agrees.

I feed alfalfa hay, sometimes with a little grass IF I can find good grass, which is not often, so primarily alfalfa hay. It is desert so all dry lots here- no grass at all.

The broodmares at the last get grain, which continues while they are nursing their foals. Foals get Equine Jr. to munch, along with the hay.

I keep salt out all the time- I was keeping plain and mineral- NEVER purchase cattle products for horses. I am now offering those Redmond 'rocks' of salt that are chunks of sea salt- have much more to offer naturally than the old type salt blocks in the way of minerals and all.

Thats about it- oh the old guy gets Equine Sr. now in addition to his hay.


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## Renolizzie (Oct 26, 2012)

HGFarm said:


> I keep salt out all the time- I was keeping plain and mineral- NEVER purchase cattle products for horses. I am now offering those Redmond 'rocks' of salt that are chunks of sea salt- have much more to offer naturally than the old type salt blocks in the way of minerals and all.


I got that Redmonds Rock of Salt too. The horse has been licking and polishing it up. The plain salt block he was busting up into little pieces. I don't mind if he has both but he seems to like the red rock block salt.


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## Tammy Breckenridge (Oct 26, 2012)

Safe Choice Original ( I think its about $18 a bag at TSC)

1 and 1/2 cups (both my boys are overs in the 37" range)

a large handfull of grass hay at night and they are out in a not so lush pasture during the day


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## disneyhorse (Oct 26, 2012)

The Redmond rock salt is very popular with horses and owners.


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## JMS Miniatures (Oct 26, 2012)

I'll have to try that. None of mine like the salt blocks.


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## TMR (Oct 27, 2012)

I changed over to Progressive feeds back in mid June and love the results I'm getting. They sent a nutritionist out to evaluate first and then set up a feed program for my individual horses. They also came back in six weeks to reevaluate and make sure they are on the right track. They look better than they ever have.

Progressive Pro advantage grass $35 for 50lbs and Progressive ultimate $35 for 20lbs. The cost is higher but you feed such a small amount that I am actually paying less than I was when feeding Safechoice.

grass hay $6 for @ 50lb bale

43" shetland in medium work gets 3/4 lb once a day of ProAdvantage grass

43" shetland/welsh cross (super easy keeper) 8oz ultimate and 4oz Pro Advantage grass once a day

36.5" mini in medium work 4oz Ultimate and 2 oz ProAdvantage grass once a day

The Ultimate is not as palatable as the ProAdvantage grass so I mix in a small amount of it to help with taste.

Right now they get turned out to pasture from 8am till 6pm (mini gets grazing muzzle, shetland X should but don't have one for him yet). Ponies get 4lbs each of hay and mini gets 2 lbs of hay at night. All in slow feed hay nets.


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## albahurst (Oct 27, 2012)

I also use Progressive or Buckeye products.

My mares and stallions are on the Grass Blend Formula

Foals and nursing mares are on the Premium Growth Formula.

One performance horse is on Performance Feed cuz he needs extra calories than what the Grass Blend would contribute,

I add a mix of alfalfa and grass hay.

Loose minerals.

Probiotics from TLC

That's it! Simple!

I pay in the $27 range for the Progressive products and are also given a quantity discount. One bag lasts several weeks here with 15 minis.

Love the product and won't ever change!

I had a horse 'in training' last year whose coat was dull and drab while on that trainer's feed program. Got him home and within a few weeks back on

Progressive, his coat became shiny and bright again.



Best product ever!


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## Lilbit1997 (Oct 28, 2012)

My two geldings get 5-6 cups of startegy healthy edge 2/3 cups oats 4 cups speedy beat and a flake of hay each throughout the day. I do two feedings. one AM and one PM. The grain is around $17 speedy beat is around $36 and oats are about $20ish. maybe. My mom pays the bill. I don't know what type of hay we feed, as we have gotten it from the same people since my mom was in 4H and have never had a problem with it. I belive it is grass hay But it is second cut or third cut and we pay around $4.50 for a small 50lb ish bale.


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## Leeana (Oct 29, 2012)

Also I have fed almost every feed available. I fed Strategy for a number of years, however, last Summer I noticed the quality of the product really dropped and I stopped feeding it. 6 years ago when I had started feeding strategy, the pellet was green and you could see the alfalfa in it and it was moist and smelled sweet, if I was to go and buy a bag of strategy now, the pellet is grey and breaks down real easy and smells like cardboard. I also fed a rural king brand feed that at first I really liked, but my broodmares dropped weight on it.

My original feed when i first got ponies was Kent which I bought from TSC. When TSC stopped carrying kent grains, I went to Strategy. Recently a local farmer become a kent dealer and sells Kent products and i've very happy to be back to being able to feed Kent feeds. Everyone looks great...babies could be clipped and lead into the show ring. Broodmares are all nice, and the 2 that need to pickup weight are picking up weight.

My dad feeds the 12% Triump sweet feed made by Nutrena to his Quarter Pony and his B mini mare, and they look nice and that is $15.99 for a 50lb bag. It was about $13 bucks until it jumped recently, however, that feed store is closing down so prices jumped recently.


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## misty'smom (Oct 29, 2012)

I am feeding my 2 fillies 5 & 6 months a Textured feed Pace-Maker 130, the breeder used a Textured Feed. It is 13% Protein, 3% Fat, 12% Fiber. It is mixed at our local Co-Op and is $15 for a 50# bag. They were getting 1 cup in the morning and 2 cups evening from the breeder but I upped it to 2 cups both feedings. Do you all think that is enough for growing babies???? Next time should I buy the higher level Pace-Maker Textured feed that has 16% Protein but also has 6% fat????

They are also getting a good quality Orchard grass hay. I had purchased 1 bale from the Co-Op for $10.50!!! The local farm I was getting the better hay from couldn't deliver it until the day after I got my babies. The Co-Op hay was suppose to be Orchard grass but was very coarse and it looks like a lot of "other things" mixed in!!!!! Anyway Misty and Josie really have not touched the hay because the are on pasture grass/clover during the day!!

I want to be a good Mini Mom and make sure they are getting what they need to grow up strong and healthy!!

They have a salt/mineral block which they are used to from the breeder. Josie especially likes to have her daily licks!!!


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## chandab (Oct 29, 2012)

I've already posted with my current feed program, but wanted to add some other prices to the thread.

Up until about 18 months ago, I fed the Progressive Nutrition ProAdvantage grass formula pellets, at that time it took another price jump and I just couldn't afford it any more for my herd. I continued to buy it, even at $31.50/bag, but then it jumped to $35/bag, only bought it one time at that price then changed my feed program (they are doing great on the new program). I checked today, the grass formula has now gone to $37.50/bag. also checked the senior ($25/bag) and Envision ($38/bag). Great products, but way out of my budget.


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## disneyhorse (Oct 29, 2012)

Chandab... It's $49.99 for ProAdvantage Grass... I'd love to pay less!


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## albahurst (Oct 30, 2012)

Wow- I only pay $27ish for the ProAdvantage plus get a discount when I stock up. Guess I am pretty lucky!

You guys could probably order it online from Progressive Company and pay less than you do at the feed store, including the shipping!


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## chandab (Oct 30, 2012)

albahurst said:


> Wow- I only pay $27ish for the ProAdvantage plus get a discount when I stock up. Guess I am pretty lucky!
> 
> You guys could probably order it online from Progressive Company and pay less than you do at the feed store, including the shipping!


I'm guessing we pay more because of the freight to get it out here. Progressive is based in Iowa, and I don't think they contract out their manufacturing.


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## mydaddysjag (Nov 1, 2012)

I actually have three different horses on three different feeds. I recently sold on, and recently got a riding horse who is boarded (so is on a different feed)

Brand:

My yearling is on Triple Crown Senior $20.99 per bag. I consulted with my vet and the nutritionaist, both felt this food was fine for any age horse. My yearling is a shetland and has a very very fast metabolism. He also has a tendency to act like a crack head with too much starch in his diet. I needed something with moderate protein, high fat, and low starch. The TC senior fit the bill. 14% protein, 10% fat, and around 10% starch. He is on 1/3 the amount that he was on strategy.

My five year old gelding is on Nutrena Stock and Stable 12%. Normally $13 a bag, by the pallet you can get it for $11.50 I really snubbed my nose at this feed for years. I know a big name very successful trainer who feeds it with excellent results, so finally decided to give it a shot. It works well for me, and the horses I have had on it werent easy keepers, but kept weight on well. Its low starch (30%) for something that they market as a sweet feed (Its actually a pellet with a small amount of cracked corn mixed in). This is the first time in over 10 years I had fed sweet feed and it didnt put thick necks on my horses, make them act like nut cases, or cause any issues. Ive fed other nutrena feeds in the past and hated them, Im really suprised with this feed, its their cheaper line of feed and works well.

My 19 year old Quarter Horse gelding is on Southern States 11-6 pellets. It runs about $15 a bag I just bought this horse, but hes been on this feed for years. The boarding barn we have him at actually fed the same food he was always on. They show quarter horses at the world and congress level, and every horse in the barn is on the 11-6 and look great. My horse still has a short, gleaming summer coat (finished up show season last weekend). Plenty of muscle and energy, and nice coat. I cant complain.

Amount you feed: The five year old gelding gets .5 of a quart, the yearling gets 1 quart, and the quarter horse gets 2.5 quarts, all horses fed twice daily

Type hay: Five year old and yearling are on third cutting timothy/alfalfa, about a 50/50 mix. 1/2 a flake twice a day, unless temps drop then 1 flake twice a day each. The quarter horse is on nice second cut orchard grass He gets 3 flakes twice a day.


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## wildoak (Nov 1, 2012)

I've been feeding Bluebonnet Equilene 14/6 for the last couple of years and am really happy with it. It's gone up, as has everything, is now about $17 a bag. Amount fed varies quite a bit depending on horses - my show horses get a couple of lbs a day but fat geldings and open mares get just a taste once a day. Most also get a little beet pulp once daily, more in extreme weather.

I feed grass hay & alfalfa to most - coastal hay was about $6 in the field here this year and alfalfa is $16.50, two string bales. My pasture mares & 2 big mares have a round bale.

I tried, really tried, to keep my feeding program simple LOL but it just never works for me. My foals & nursing mares are on Purina Ultium Growth, at $28/bag (choke). Mares are about to come off of it thank goodness, and colts will stay on it through early next year. And I have a few old guys and colic surgery veterans who stay on Equine Senior, per vets advice.

Show horses and anyone else who needs it are on Platinum Performance as well.

My horses probably eat better than we do, but across the board, they look better than they ever have.

Jan


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## BSharpRanch (Nov 4, 2012)

I keep it simple.

Alfalfa hay 2x a day. The amount I feed varies with the mini as some of mine are easy keepers (like me!) and a couple hard keepers. But they get from 1/4 flake to 3/4 flake.

If I have a mare in foal she will get Omelene 300, just a handfull at meal time unless she needs more. And when she is feeding baby she will get more. That is most of the time. I had a mare a few years ago that only got good quality alfalfa hay and she weaned a chunk at 5 months and the mare was still in heavy condition without any grain at all!

My oldtimer (28 yr old) gets a half cup senior feed 2 x a day.

I use to feed a vitamin supplement years ago to my big horses that was wonderful, however the last time I checked on purchasing it the shipping was more than the product!

It was Vitafirm Equine.

I am paying $13 a bale for nice leafy fine stemmed alfalfa 100 pound bales. The senior feed runs between $18-23 depending on which feed store I buy at.

And they have access to salt all the time. And no pasture, we live in the desert.


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