Feeding grain....

[MerMaeve]

Hello everyone!
Does everyone feed their minis grain twice a day or only once? We've been only feeding grain once a day at night. If you do feed twice a day you give them half as much, correct?
Just curious, about how much grain does everyone feed their minis a day? We feed them about .5-.75# a day/one mini.
Squirt and Magic thank you in advance!

 

[chandab]

I feed most of mine once a day, but they mostly get a vitamin/mineral supplement that balances our hay in a small serving of senior as a carrier for the supplements.
The feed should be fed according to the directions for size and workload of the horse being fed. If feeding to directions is too many calories for a particular horse, find a feed with a lower feeding rate or you short change them nutrients (or top dress with a vitamin mineral supplement to fill in the gaps).

 

[dalvers63]

Ours get fed twice a day. 1.5-2# of orchard grass or timothy along with 1/2c of Triple Crown Gold Balancer and 1/2c of either Haystacks Alfalfa pellets or Haystacks Special Blend. Even with that, I need to watch to make sure they aren't getting fat and cut down as needed.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I like your horses!
I feed grain in the evening. In the morning I usually give them a little alfalfa. When they aren't on pasture, they get free choice grass hay.
Everybody has a different way. I took lots of advice when I first got mine, and tried different things, but then figured out my own way.

 

[Taz]

My little ones only get hay balance /vitamin/mineral supplement, they don't need any extra grain but I spread it out so they get it twice a day. I like more hay less grain as long as that keeps their weight on well, it's better for their gut health.
Your girls look so happy together ❤ ❤

 

[Dragon Hill]

All mine get grain(senior) once a day, free choice hay/grass. Except DJ. He gets 10-12 pellets of grain a day, wears a muzzle except in winter, and/or spends part of his time in a dry lot. Que Pasa has hers soaked in warm water now. She choked a couple of weeks ago and needed vet intervention.
One thing I do that I'm not sure others do. I don't feed mine grain 7 days a week, week in, week out. Most the year they are grained 6 days a week.

 

[Minimor]

I prefer to grain twice a day; mine get a pound of oats per feed, morning and night, and hay is free choice. They also get salt blocks and a made-for-horses mineral block.

 

[MerMaeve]

Okay, thanks everyone! We have been putting warm water on our grain.
At what point do you put a horse on senior feed? Magic is going to be 20 this year...

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

So much depends on the needs of each horse..... For us, we have a few youngish to middle age that are in good weight.....then we have a number of older ones who are hard keepers.......plus a few older ones who are hard keepers that get "owie feet" if fed too much regular grain or stay on pasture too long. So, all of these needs are met with different diets. However, they all get fed twice a day, except those on pasture. (Right now, our pasture is covered in snow, so even they get hay twice a day.)

Everyone gets mineral supplement no matter what. Some get a 14% grain that's manufactured for our area and some get a Senior Lo Carb grain that includes glucosemine. And some get a combination of the two. I measure by cups instead of lbs. or ounces. The least I feed to a horse is about 1 cup. The hard keepers will get 6 to 8 cups, twice a day. Yeah, I know.... This is all clear as mud.

You asked about your 20 year old..... Every horse is different. Is she a young 20 or an old 20? Senior feeds tend to be easier to chew and also include a supplement for aches and pains, ie MSM or Glucosemine/condroitan (sp). Check the ingredients on anything you are considering. Some are designed to be fed WITH hay and some can be fed as an ONLY feed.

 

[diamond c]

I have mini donkeys. I feed in the afternoon when I get home. 12% sweet feed. Just enough to keep them coming up when I come out the back door. And free choice hay.

 

[Taz]

I think you have to watch their condition and adjust what you feed from there. If Magic looses weight add some senior, if she looks good keep doing what your doing. I have some older ones that are fat on hay and some that need extras. I agree, a vitamin/mineral supplement for everyone.

 

[MerMaeve]

So much depends on the needs of each horse..... For us, we have a few youngish to middle age that are in good weight.....then we have a number of older ones who are hard keepers.......plus a few older ones who are hard keepers that get "owie feet" if fed too much regular grain or stay on pasture too long. So, all of these needs are met with different diets. However, they all get fed twice a day, except those on pasture. (Right now, our pasture is covered in snow, so even they get hay twice a day.)

Everyone gets mineral supplement no matter what. Some get a 14% grain that's manufactured for our area and some get a Senior Lo Carb grain that includes glucosemine. And some get a combination of the two. I measure by cups instead of lbs. or ounces. The least I feed to a horse is about 1 cup. The hard keepers will get 6 to 8 cups, twice a day. Yeah, I know.... This is all clear as mud.

You asked about your 20 year old..... Every horse is different. Is she a young 20 or an old 20? Senior feeds tend to be easier to chew and also include a supplement for aches and pains, ie MSM or Glucosemine/condroitan (sp). Check the ingredients on anything you are considering. Some are designed to be fed WITH hay and some can be fed as an ONLY feed.

Thanks for the info! We do put warm water on our grain. Uh, I don't know, a young 20? She will canter to the gate when we get back from taking Squirt on a walk...

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Remember, these little ones can live into their 30's! I have a few that are over 30 this year and one who is nudging 35!