What grain/feed do you feed you minis?

[MerMaeve]

Squirt's owners feed 12% sweet feed but I was wondering if anyone uses the Purina Miniature Horse & Pony Feed, 50 lb.? (Purina Miniature Horse & Pony Feed, 50 lb. at Tractor Supply Co.)

 

[dalvers63]

My guys used to get Safe Choice Performance but I recently switched to Triple Crown Gold Balancer. They get 1/3 cup along with a pound of good Timothy hay twice a day. I've found that any more than that an I have fat minis. Eden thinks I'm mean but I'd rather her be a little hungry than overweight.

 

[Holly Chisholm]

Sally gets Bermuda, alfalfa, and Safe Choice performance. I don't give anybody grain or sweet feed.

 

[Pitter Patter]

Squirt's owners feed 12% sweet feed but I was wondering if anyone uses the Purina Miniature Horse & Pony Feed, 50 lb.? (Purina Miniature Horse & Pony Feed, 50 lb. at Tractor Supply Co.)

I was using Purina Miniature Horse & Pony Feed, but then kept seeing negative remarks about it. Started mine on the next best thing I could find which had a bit higher protein and that was a SafeChoice Senior Feed. I have an elderly girl and one (maybe two lol) pregnant ones and they constantly switch feed bowls so I like to find something to meet most of their combined needs. The pregnant girls also get a mare and Foal supplement mixed with their grain.

 

[Taz]

Mine get good quality hay and a hay balancer cube that they think is grain, most of my big horses get the same, I only have 3 big ones on grain, 2 on senior, one on fat and fibre and Tilly on maternity feed. I don't mind any of mine having a bit of a hay belly but if their ribs disappear they get cut back. I've always gone with they only get grain as they need it to keep weight on or if they're in hard work.

 

[Cayuse]

Mine get hay fed by weight (1.5 pounds per 100 pounds body weight) and 1/3 cup timothy pellets to mix their supplement in. I do feed a little oil for their coat, remission for their feet, and a gastric supplement. I tried grains and ration balancers but they did not do well on them and I think it may be the soy that is in them. I can't prove that, it's just a hunch as it was the common ingredient in things they reacted to.

 

[chandab]

If TSC is your main store, they now carry Triple Crown, and if I recall that includes the Lite, which is a good choice for easy keeper type minis (directions are 1-2#/500# body weight, so typical minis get 1/2-1# daily, little more or less depending on their size). A harder to keep mini could go on the TC Senior, 1-1.33# daily minimum (depending on size) to meet nutrients guaranteed on the label.

 

[malriis]

The Purina mini feed is actually pretty high in sugar considering it's supposedly formulated to fit their special metabolic needs. I wouldn't feed a mini (or any horse, really...) sweet feed, either, for the same reason. However, I wouldn't think minis would need grain under most circumstances. If I did need to feed grain I'd specifically look for one that was low-starch/sugar.

My mini gets the TC 30% balancer, soaked alfalfa pellets, hay, and 12-15 hours of muzzled turnout. He's also on Remission and a mane and tail supplement.

 

[MerMaeve]

Thanks everybody!!

 

[Pitter Patter]

MerMaeve, since we live in the same general area, make sure all your animals get selenium in some form. Our state is pretty much devoid of it. I also have selenium/salt/mineral blocks available at all times.. I'm sure you were already aware, but just in case.

 

[MerMaeve]

MerMaeve, since we live in the same general area, make sure all your animals get selenium in some form. Our state is pretty much devoid of it. I also have selenium/salt/mineral blocks available at all times.. I'm sure you were already aware, but just in case.

Yup, thanks for the reminder though!

 

[MajorClementine]

Whatever I feed I make sure it's a pellet. I was feeding grain (such as a sweet feed) but they just pooped it all out and the birds pecked the poo piles to get the grain and I had bird crap everywhere. AND the poo piles were so picked apart it made scooping them impossible which, in addition to the bird poo, made my stalls a huge mess.

I'm currently feeding the original Safe Choice formula and an additional scoop of the Safe Choice Senior to my old man. Then I have a few on various supplements because the grass hay we're feeding is just from our pasture and not great as far as nutrition goes.