What DO you feed?

[mydaddysjag]

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.

 

[wildoak]

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

 

[BSharpRanch]

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.