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Feed for a hot horse?

4K views 21 replies 17 participants last post by  verona1016 
#1 ·
Apollo seems to be getting more and more anxious as time goes on...he came to me a skinny mess and was so laid back (probably from his poor health) and now that he has gained weight and is muscling up, he is feeling better and is starting to become incredibly hot. I've also heard his stomach gurgling a few times so maybe he has tummy problems that is causing him to be antsy/anxious?

Right now he gets a scoop of oats morning and evening (was fed oats at his previous home too), has access to unlimited hay in pasture from sun up to sun down, and has a few flakes of hay in his stall when he comes in at night. Should I just take him off of oats/grain all together and just have him on hay? He gained weight very fast once he arrived here and seems to be an easy keeper...I don't really know what to do for him. He is my first horse (although I've ridden for 12 years) so I've never had to choose feed for the horses I rode. He is 12 years old and gets worked 4-5 days a week, some days long lining, other days lunging, trot poles ect...were just doing ground work for now...he leaves sweaty and tired but is still anxious once we aren't working. He isn't spooky but is very alert and anticipates everything and makes everything 10x harder for himself.
 
#4 ·
Apollo seems to be getting more and more anxious as time goes on...he came to me a skinny mess and was so laid back (probably from his poor health) and now that he has gained weight and is muscling up, he is feeling better and is starting to become incredibly hot. I've also heard his stomach gurgling a few times so maybe he has tummy problems that is causing him to be antsy/anxious?

Right now he gets a scoop of oats morning and evening (was fed oats at his previous home too), has access to unlimited hay in pasture from sun up to sun down, and has a few flakes of hay in his stall when he comes in at night. Should I just take him off of oats/grain all together and just have him on hay? He gained weight very fast once he arrived here and seems to be an easy keeper...I don't really know what to do for him. He is my first horse (although I've ridden for 12 years) so I've never had to choose feed for the horses I rode. He is 12 years old and gets worked 4-5 days a week, some days long lining, other days lunging, trot poles ect...were just doing ground work for now...he leaves sweaty and tired but is still anxious once we aren't working. He isn't spooky but is very alert and anticipates everything and makes everything 10x harder for himself.
Some things may be part of his personality, but yes, stop wean him of the grain.

There are plenty of non grain feeds out there. For my horses I went with copra and beet pulp.
 
#5 ·
Make it simple free choice hay and a vitamin mineral supplement. That's all my horses get right now. When we ride six days a week 4 to 5 hours a day then I give grain. But I let them get pretty lean before I feed grain. Why spend money you don't need to.

Keep it simple lots easier.
 
#6 ·
Many people purchase horses thin only to find out that the horse is an entirely different ball game when it feels good! I second ditching the oats and putting him on a small amount of a ration balancer. Not so much for the fact that oats make horses hot (because I have never noticed a feed to make a HUGE difference in my horses) but more so because oats isn't necessarily the proper diet for a horse!

Plenty of hay
Salt blocks & minerals
Ration balancer or low starch pelleted feed
 
#7 ·
I rescued a very skinny horse once and he was very calm and well behaved. After I started feeding him plenty of hay and being on pasture, he fattened up and became a very easy keeper. But that is not the only thing that changed, his temperament did a total turn around! He became very hyper and he always threw a big fit when the farrier came. He also became unsafe for the little kids to ride. He was on just pasture and hay.

This sounds a lot like what happened to your guy, he was in very poor health when you got him so he didn't have the energy to be his real self. It will probably help if you take him off the oats though, hay and/or pasture is plenty for an easy keeper.
 
#8 ·
I've also heard his stomach gurgling a few times so maybe he has tummy problems that is causing him to be antsy/anxious?
This is normal and good. Stomach sounds mean that things are working. If there are no sounds, it may be an issue.

I agree with the others. Try to ditch the oats. I would try just hay with minerals and salt and see how he does on that.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Agree with the others. But why?? ;-)

Firstly why do you want to feed grain(or whatever)? If your horse needs more energy, for high performance work, there are other low starch options, but if grain is the choice, oats are a pretty good one for horses. Far more digestible than others & (relatively) low starch. But it's still important to feed little & often, rather than infrequent &/or large meals daily. So if you can only manage once daily feeds, I'd opt for low starch, easily digestible options, such as alfalfa, rice bran, copra, etc. If you need to put weigh on a horse, there are also other options, such as the above & grain isn't generally the best for putting weight on anyway.

Horses are built for eating small amounts of 'low grade'(compared to 'improved' pastures & rich feeds) forage near constantly. They don't cope well with long periods of hunger, too rich/large/infrequent feed & need to develop different gut enzymes & flora for some feeds, such as starch, fats & oils, etc. They develop them with regular small amounts & they die off without use or if overloaded.

So... basically Spirit said it above - hay/grass & a nutritional supp to 'fill the gaps' is fine for maintenance. If you find your horse is losing (too much) weight, then you can add as necessary. Oh & google 'magnesium for horses' ;-)
 
#16 ·
Yeah, 'feeding senior' is like saying 'feeding concentrate' - there are many different types, many of which are grain & molasses rich for eg. But OP's horse sounds like an 'easy keeper' who doesn't need extra calories, so it's not really relevant anyway.
 
#17 ·
Here is my suggestion...

Kalm Ultra® Horse Feed | Tribute Equine Nutrition

This is what I feed my gelding. He isn't a HARD keeper, but it's tricky to keep weight on him. Plus, he has always been a little hot (anxious and distracted), but ever since I switched him to Kalm Ultra, he has really come around. It has a bunch of beneficial ingredients that help with his digestion and overall health, it's low sugar, low starch, and it has a higher fat content. It's pretty much exactly what he needs. He looks good, his hooves and coat are in fantastic shape, and he is always pretty mellow and level headed. He loves the flavor, too. He eats every bite.

I know everyone has their own opinions on all the different types of feed out there, and that is totally fine! Not all horses are alike and they can't all eat the same thing. I have done a ton of research on the ingredients in his feed and I feel totally confident in it. Just thought I'd toss it out there as an option to consider!
 
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#18 ·
I feed an oatless grain to my horse, As he's a thoroughbred and he can lose weight pretty fast.
I find that extruded barley works wonders too!
Maybe try adding some epson salts to his feed, to help with magnesium levels, that'll hopefully help him become less anxious!

I have a very hot horse, who loses a lot of weight through winter, so it was difficult finding the right feed! But I'm really happy with my barley, and chaff.

Some possible things to add to his feed which I find helps with condition are,
Sunflower seeds, really good for fattie oils, and Oil! (I feed canola oil :) )

Hope it all works out for you :)
 
#19 ·
Just thought I'd let you know what I ended up doing!

I cut his amount of oats in half since he is now at a healthy weight and is starting to get a belly. He now is on half a scoop of oats morning and evening with unlimited hay.

Its amazing the difference it has had on his attitude/mood in general...3 weeks ago I couldn't get him to stand still in the cross ties, lunge quietly, let me lay across the saddle, or put weight in the stirrup ect because of his anxiety and high strung attitude, and now he is great with all above PLUS he is letting me ride him. We had our 6th ride tonight and he is doing wonderful...he is so calm and relaxed and isn't anxious at all. We even rode alone in the arena tonight with no other horses which is amazing for him...

He is doing great on this diet but I'm debating whether or not to switch him onto Horseman's Edge. Should I just leave him on this diet since he is doing great on it? Or should I switch him to a rotation balancer for the extra nutrients?
 
#20 ·
Drop the oats all together. If I remember clearly, you are in the same general area as me so you should be able to get Triple Crown 30%. It comes in 50lb bags and he should get 1lb a day. So it would last 50 days.

It's basically a multi-vitamin for grass/pasture kept horses.

I use it for my young easy keeper.
 
#21 · (Edited)
we took miover off, cooked barley,mita vite xtra cool,

he is now only on 50/50 chaff, maxi soy, and hay and he seems alot less hyped, now hes lazy LOL

altho he is still very destracted altho i think that is just miover,

we had him on, barley,maxi soy, sunflower seeds, garlic, mita vite xtra cool, and hay, livamol, he was full of feed,

so hes now just on plain 50/50 oaten and luceren mix chaff and maxi soy, and hay
 
#22 ·
Another fan of Triple Crown 30% Supplement here :) My horse has been on it for almost a year now and really thrives on it, and it's only about $.75 per day.

I'd definitely consider a ration balancer or vitamin/mineral supplement of some kind, as there are a few things (magnesium, vitamin B1) which can cause a horse to be nervous/spooky if they're deficient. Most hay is deficient in some way: even hay made from perfectly balanced grass (if such a thing even exists) will be low in vitamins A & E, since they break down very quickly after the grass is dried.
 
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