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Feed question.

3K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  luvs2ride1979 
#1 ·
Loki (9yrs, roughly 1200lbs) gets two pounds Strategy, 2 flakes of quality prairie hay, and green, lush pasture daily (weather permitting) for at least 30 minuets, up to 2 hours.


Obviously as a working horse he will need more grain to make up for lost energy. But how much more? What other feeds would you recommend? With Sammy, my rescue, and Red (whom I am in the process of selling) I cannot afford to feed him ONLY Strategy at the moment. Later, yes, when Red is sold and Sam is at a reasonable weight level and not eating more than Loki and Red combined.

He cannot be on anything like sweet feed. It's like giving a hyper active kid a sack of sugar and a 12-pack of energy drinks, then telling him to scarf it. I know this because against my wishes a past stable gave him sweet feed and oats even though I SPECIFICALLY told them ONLY Strategy (two pounds) since he was not working at all. I swear he could have floated he was so hyper.


I've began light work, few minuets of lunging, desentizing. Right now it's only every few days as it rains quite a bit, and often times when it's not it's bitterly cold.

Still, I need to re-examine his feed intake and prepare to give him more as I increase his work load from light to moderate, and possibly even to heavy as he goes to training for a refreshers course in 'How NOT to give your rider a heart attack and ride CALMLY out past the barn'


Suggestions...? Loki is a higher-energy horse and is built more like a QH or a Paint than a Foxtrotter. More stockier.
I would like to keep him that way without him turning into Super-Rocket Horse X-Treme Second Edition (new AND improved!)
 
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#2 ·
Well, we feed Equine Merit (senior) and they do really well on it (9y/o QH who is ridden heavily and a 23y/o Arab who is lightly ridden) and they both get fed 3 quarts. I dont think it is too expencive either.

I would deffinetly suggest some corn oil (two or three capfuls each meal) to your rescue. It adds weight SOOOOOOOOOOOOO quickly and it makes coats super shiny :) You could probably drop some of his feed and the con oil will make up for it. My friend's horse was super ribby after a few horrible colic episodes and we added about three capfuls of cornoil to his three 1 1/2 quarts of the senior feed I was talking about and with a week no ribs!!!

Good Luck :D
 
#4 ·
can you get triple crown products?? If so look to their complete feed or their senior... neither product is grain basd :)

Stratgy is a grain based feed so chances are if you increase it you will see the hyper behaviour...

I personally would increase the hay first.. and go from there..
 
#5 ·
I personally would increase the hay first.. and go from there..
Agree, I'd increase that to 2 flakes morning/evening. Hay is what brings the weight on. And it probably will be cheaper than getting lots of expensive bag feed. However you can look into pellets with high fat (which makes them calmer from what I read). I personally feed mine Blue Seal Sport pellets.
 
#6 ·
teh form of the feed has very little bearing on teh amount of sugar and straches of the feed...

Two thing to look for actual products listed. IE beet pulp, alfalfa meal NOT Grain products, forage products

Second things is no corn or barely and you want oats if they are in the feed to be third or fourth if not further down the list

aviod fillers soybean hulls, wheat midds... grain sweepings,
 
#7 ·
Yikes, you feed Strategy to a low workload horse? That's way more than he needs. I would only feed Strategy to my eventer during show season. It's a performance feed, not meant for a horse that is only getting lunged. Ideally, if you can get by without grain feeds, that's best. And if your horse is 1200 lbs it sounds like his weight is fine. Many people put too much stock in grain feeds, most pleasure horses are just fine on hay. Why are you so bent on feeding him grain? Is there any reason (weight loss, lack of energy, etc.) that makes you think he needs it? If it were my horse, I would take all the grain out and see how he does on hay and grass. When you actually do start working him hard, then re-evaluate if you even need it. If you're really determined to feed him grain, look at one of the pleasure horse feeds like Omelene 100. Advantage is also a good feed for a working horse and does not get them as hot, but it's not that palatable to many horses. Personally, I feed Elk Grove Milling Stable Mix to my horses, and they get ridden 6 times a week for 1-2 hours.
 
#8 ·
cherriebark; He's been on Strategy since he was a wee baby, and when taken off he has lost a lot of weight. He's an energetic horse, but not uncontrollable or hyper to the point were he completely ignores me. When he was taken off Strategy at a past stable and put on oats and sweet feed, he was uncontrollable and hyperactive.
The lady there told me that the protein in Strategy makes him hyper and hence refused to feed his regular amount. After that, he just got worse. o-o

I'm hoping to also be able to fence in more pasture space for him in the following weeks. We're renting 5 acres, but the surrounding fence is all square wire and barbed, so were fencing in acre sections. Easier to maintain and easier to control how much there chowing down.
 
#9 ·
Proteins doesn't make them hyper sugars and starches do, it will also make them a bit harder to keep weight on if they tend to be energetic :)
 
#10 ·
Peggysue is right, it is the sugers and starches in oats and sweet feed that will make a hyper horse go crazy. If your horse is energetic to begin with, definitely avoid sweet feeds. I don't like to feed a lot of grain if I can help it, due to the risk on the digestive tract. There are certain supplemental feeds that are designed to be fed with reglar hay in much smaller portions (Purina Born to Win is a good one)
Here is a website that I go to all the time when I have a question about feed, it is very informative. Horse Nutrition Explained
Good Luck!
 
#11 ·
Peggysue is right, it is the sugers and starches in oats and sweet feed that will make a hyper horse go crazy. If your horse is energetic to begin with, definitely avoid sweet feeds. I don't like to feed a lot of grain if I can help it, due to the risk on the digestive tract. There are certain supplemental feeds that are designed to be fed with reglar hay in much smaller portions (Purina Born to Win is a good one)
Here is a website that I go to all the time when I have a question about feed, it is very informative. Horse Nutrition Explained
Good Luck!

**** that head on that page is my mare Sassy LOL and the Babs she talks about is my son's old mare :)

That site is great for EASY to understnad information... if something is hard to understnad don't hesitate to ask a question she is great at making it easier to understand LOL
 
#12 ·
He needs more hay. 2 flakes plus limited grazing is NOT enough. My horses do just fine, even in hard work, on nothing but grass hay and alfalfa pellets, with 1/2 cup of milled flax. Horses don't NEED grain or feed, unless they're not getting enough forage or the quality of forage/protein is low.

If he's high energy on Strategy, then stop feeding it. Switch to alfalfa or alfalfa mixed pellets (2-3 lbs a day), a vitamin supplement (like Select II or SmartVite Maintenance Grass, from SmartPak), and some kind of fat supplement (like flax, oil, BOSS, etc.). Double your hay, at least. This diet will cover all the nutritional bases, be high in quality protein and fat, and will NOT make him hyper in the least. He'll have all the energy he needs for the work you do, but he'll be a lot mor elevel headed.

The last barn I borded at was most gaited horses, many of which were "high energy". The barn owner switched the whole place to this kind of all natural diet. The horses did SO much better! They all held their weight nicely, there was better muscle tone, all of the attitudes improved, and feeding time was "calmer." The mares' heats were less noticable and the "study" acting geldings were's as bad either. The few horses that did long distance riding got the addition of plain whole oats, but only during the times they were being ridden heavily (NO oats on "off days").

With your horse's attitude and reaction to sweet feeds, I would HIGHLY suggest a no-grain, no-feed diet. You'll see some major improvements, guaranteed.
 
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