What DO you feed?

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

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.

 

[Leeana]

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...

 

[MajorClementine]

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.

 

[Shari]

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...

 

[wingnut]

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.

 

[happy appy]

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.

 

[HGFarm]

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.

 

[Renolizzie]

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.

 

[Tammy Breckenridge]

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

 

[disneyhorse]

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

 

[JMS Miniatures]

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

 

[TMR]

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.

 

[albahurst]

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!

 

[Lilbit1997]

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.

 

[Leeana]

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.

 

[misty'smom]

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!!!

 

[chandab]

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.

 

[disneyhorse]

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

 

[albahurst]

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!

 

[chandab]

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.