Feeding a 27" Easy Keeper

[ohmt]

I know, I am taking over the forum today

Since I had the day off, I decided to come up with my feeding plan for my 2012 show horses. I have a 27.25" stallion that is very, very nice, but he is an easy keeper with a medium build and I am just not used to feeding a horse like him. I will be showing him in 28" senior halter classes and could use a little advise from the show pros on here

Here is a picture of him taken July 2011:

He was all tucked up because he was showing off for the ladies, but he was still overweight even after breeding and round penning for a few weeks. He keeps a really nice topline, but gets thick in the rump, shoulder, and neck area. For exercise I am thinking round pen and jumping-any suggestions as to different exercises that will help lean him up a bit without adding too much bulk?

My grass hay is ok, but not quality enough for the show horses. I am thinking of feeding alfalfa/grass cubes with beet pulp, rice bran oil, and then debating whether or not I should go with safe choice or omelene 200. Any suggestions there? I would also give small meals of grass hay through out the day to keep him happy. Should I go with a complete feed instead? Anything you would add/get rid of? As you can see, I'm being really indecisive. I'm thinking that might be too much for him, but again, I'm just not used to having an easy keeper. I like to feed, feed, feed! My vet clinic is 5 minutes away so I'll be keeping close tabs on his weight. I just want to make sure he is getting everything he needs while keeping a healthy digestive tract AND keep him ready for the show ring. Not asking for too much there, right?

Another question: our first shows start right away in May and since our winter lasts until at least April, I am not going to have much time to start exercising, which is fine, I'll just make sure they are on a good feeding program. When do you recommend getting them switch over to their new feeding regime? 2 months in advance? Also, I will be sweating this little guy's neck and am not sure when I should start with that either. I'll make sure he is shaved and cleaned up daily, but when should I start leaving the neck sweat on him so I will see results by May?

Thank you for any advice you have-I am a show newbie so I very much appreciate it

 

[Charlotte]

I am thinking of feeding alfalfa/grass cubes with beet pulp, rice bran oil, and then debating whether or not I should go with safe choice or omelene 200. Any suggestions there? I would also give small meals of grass hay through out the day to keep him happy

This sounds like quite a bit of calories depending on your amounts. You want to meet his nutritional requirements without a lot of extra claories. We've shown successfully quite a few his size and it's easy to over feed. You're going to have to work off calories, so build his round pen time up gradually.

we've found a diet balancer plus high quality hay to work well. A portion of the horse's hay may be replaced with beet pulp for less gut fill. Weigh everything you feed so you know for sure what you are feeding. Don't guess. Read the insturctions on any feed you are using and use that for your starting point.

You want your show horse on his show diet at least 3 months before the first show. It's going to take him around 30 days to adjust to a new diet and it will take you another 30 or more days to evaluate how he's doing on that diet.

Neck wraps need to be on now. Clip area to be wrapped.

That is a GOOD LOOKING boy! He should do well for you.

 

[ohmt]

Thanks so much Charlotte! I appreciate the advice. I will definitely make sure I weigh everything, especially for this little guy! His metabolism is just so different from my other horses. I'll have to stick with the hay cubes to provide the quality hay he'll need (maybe I can get my tractor supply to order chops-I'll look into it), but I'll make sure he gets a bit of my ok grass hay throughout the day too just because I want to make sure he gets plenty of forage for his digestive tract. Should I go with just grass hay cubes, or would the alfalfa/grass hay cubes be ok? Then I could just add a ration balancer to that instead of sweet feed/grain. And of course he'll have his beet pulp too. For my other horses I like what it does for their toplines, but I think for this boy, it'll be a good replacement for some of his hay.

I'll start him on the neck sweat now and start switching him over to his show feed regime as well. Then I'll have a few extra weeks to evaluate him and see if he needs any adjustments. Thanks again!

 

[JMS Miniatures]

IMO just keep it simple is the best way to go. When I had my easy keepers on the Omelene 200 they were still too fat, they were a lil better on the 100 but not by much. The SafeChoice did drop the weight but they got dull coats, and it wasn't just me but one of my friends was having more problems with it as well. I know Nutrenea did an investigation on it as they got multiple reports but that was a few years ago. We quickly changed over to something else and they improved really fast. I'm personally just not a fan of Nutrenea or Purina.

I have been very happy with the ADM GLO feeds. I currently feed my horses PrimeGLO for mature horses at the maintence level and my horses are in the 31-34" range and get fed .60 of a lb of grain a day and 6 lbs of hay a day. I feed mine a good quality orchard grass gay. They also have a Pro-Vita-Min tub. When mine starts actually training I'm sure they will need more and our first show is the first of May as well and we'll start at the end of March. Another thing to remeber is you need to weigh the feed.

 

[Charlotte]

I would want alfalfa in the diet for a show horse. Remember you are going to be working him pretty hard and he will need the protein and vitamins/minerals that the alfalfa & balancer provides to rebuild muscle and have that 'show horse glow'. You'll have to decide if you want a balancer for grass hay or alfalfa hay...which one will he get most of. Or do you want more of a general purpose supplement like Progressive ProAd or Triple Crown 30% (you would feed very small amounts of these. Read the bags and figure he is probably about 1/6th of a full size horse)

These supplements combined with his hays/beet pulp pretty much cover his needs. The KISS method.

I'm really glad to hear you do multiple feedings per day. Makes for happy horses!

p.s. I have a 26 1/2" two year old mare I may bring out this year. It's decision time right now. The other show horses are way ahead of her.

 

[ohmt]

Thanks JMS and thanks again Charlotte! I'm excited to get him started now. It's so cold and everyone's so fluffy, but I am really looking forward to show season already. It will be nice to get them all started and hopefully we'll have an early spring

I will look into the supplements and see which one will fit him best. Will take a trip to tractor supply tomorrow too and see what they have on hand or can order for me. I am so glad the rest of the horses I'll be showing are growing yearlings/2 year olds. Now those I know how to feed!

Love seeing pictures of all of your little ones in the show ring-tiny and beautiful! It's not often you see a 26.5 incher showing, especially a mare. I think you need to show her!

 

[kaykay]

Ideally a show horse is on a show feed program all year. That way you are not trying to play catch up in the spring.

I think he looks pretty good weight wise; just needs fit up.

Be careful since as his exercise increases he will be burning more calories. I would rather show a horse a little plump than too thin.

Many horses also suck up at a show as they rarely drink or eat as well on the road and at shows.

 

[ohmt]

Thanks Kaykay! The picture is a little bit deceiving-he was showing off for the girls, but he was a chunk and that was after trying to get him fit for a show. I needed more time with him though and he needed a better diet, I just wanted to get to a show to see if I'd like it. Of course now I'm hooked! I'll make sure he is at a good weight though-just want to make sure he is healthy inside and out for now. Hopefully I'll have a good month of nice weather before the first show to start exercising him, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. Until then, I'll just make sure he is fed right.