Help with grain!

I currently have my horses on a 12% sweet feed, but I have read a lot of things lately about them, and I want to switch. There are so many different kind of grains, and I just don't know exactly what I should be feeding them. I have 3 older geldings (16, 21, 25 years old). None of them are ever worked hard. I just ride them a few hours a week and lightly. They get grass hay in the winter, and in the summer they are outside as much as possible. If the weather is good they get 24/7 pasture. When the weather is bad they get hay while they are inside. I live near Middlebury, Vermont, I know people always ask where people live to help them find a grain.

If there is anything I forgot to tell you let know. I appreciate any help that is given! Horse nutrition sure is daunting...

You don't necessarily have to tell me a specific grain. I am mostly jsut wondering what should I look for in the ingredients and what should I stay away from?

thanks again

If you want to stay in the 12% area, but just ditch the sweet feed component, there's Blue Seal Performance LS (low starch), Triple Crown Complete, and another brand who's name currently escapes me. They are all high in fat and fiber. If you want more protein and lower fat, all of the above have senior feeds that aren't sweet feeds but cater to older horses. What you switch to kinda depends on what your goals are. Are your horse's easy keepers? There are so many options out there. Maybe just try to find what is closest nutritionally to what you currently have minus the sweet.

I would look for low starches and sugars, and energy from fats. Good protein and fiber levels.

I personally feed Purina Strategy. It works great with all my horses (3, 9, 16 years), has no hyper issues as sweet feed or oats tend to. You give my boys sweet feed or oats, they ROCKET off the walls. O-O'

are they hard or easy keepers??

If they are easy keepers look for a Triple Crown dealer and get TC30% :)

I looked for triple crown and the closest place that sells it is over 40 minutes away from me. I was looking into Purina senior. Any thoughts on this grain?

hard or Easy keepers???

Most senoirs feeds need ot be fed at HIGH levels to get the nutrition needed...therefore they are not cost effective at all...

I stay away from anything with molasses, corn, or barley, and I'm not a huge fan of oats either. I also stay away from feeds with any "sweepings" or "leavings", wheat products, or distillers grains.

So, that leaves my choices pretty limited, lol. I feed alfalfa pellets along with a vitamin/mineral supplement, and some flax. My horses do very well on this diet, are calm and happy, have plenty of energy for work, are VERY healthy and shiney, have great feet, good muscle tone, and a good work ethic.

Horses do not NEED grain. A simple vitamin supplement and some alfalfa pellets is usually plenty to supplement quality hay or pasture. I use vitamins for horses that aren't getting any fortified feed, like Select II, SmartPak's Smart Vite Grass, Balance II, or Uckele's Equi Base Grass. They all seem to work about them same. I feed flax because we have very little grazing, so my horses are missing out on Omega 3's found in pasture grass. I use a little water to mix it all up!

L2R you have a real misconception of distillers grains ...

all the grains used in the processing is human grade to start with and are just cooked down and the sugars and starches mostly removed from them.. of course you need to ask the big question of WHERE they are coming from as well... the reason these products are good is because of the quality the distillers want for their product.. "only the best"