What do you feed your Horse or Pony?

OK, so I'm interested in what, when and how often you feed your freinds? Do you feed supplements (vitamins, minerals, essential oil Amino acids and the like)? What hard foods and what fibres do you feed as extra's as opposed to normal grazing in paddock?
Now here's the big one......WHY? I would really like to know this.
I attended a seminar on equine food and supplement and we were all asked why we fed the way we did and it was really challenging!!
Some people did because there freinds did and some had performance reasons and some health....also do you take into account the areas of digestion in a horses system and do you feed to target certain areas? And lastly how often do you feed in the day? :)

Grain twice daily. If he were to require a larger amount of feed, then I would divide the feed to three meals a day - the smaller amount to digest (of grain) at one time, the better. Two servings daily of:
Advantage/Purina - 3 pounds - because of: (copied and pasted)
This complete feed is specially formulated with beet pulp for horses involved in vigorous training, conditioning and competition. It is also designed for horses that are heave-prone or allergic to dust and mold found in hay and other foodstuffs. Complete Advantage® horse feed contains the same essential proteins, oils and minerals that are available in other Purina Mills performance feeds.
Sweet Feed - Specially mixed - 3 pounds: High energy derived from corn. Allows bulk and added energy. Also encourages the horse to eat due to molasses.
2 Flakes of hay while inside - keeps gut active and moving for adequate amount of time.
Corta-flx - treats mild arthritis as an anti-inflammatory. Thought to help restore joint tissue.
MSM - natural anti-inflammatory.
Aspirin - temporary pain reliever until all supplements have time to go through loading period and work efficiently.
Show-glo - Added vitamins and minerals for those lost during digestion of my 23 year old.

8) Wow I'm impressed! It would have been good to have you at the seminar last nite! How much of a change in your horse is attributed to the cortaflex? I only ask this because I have only used Devils Claw but the loading is so long and I am never really sure if it works!

Thank you!

Corta-flx has worked wonders so far. He has been on it about a month, the minimum amount to truly know how effective it's going to be. He also just had an abscess. (Superficial, at least.) I don't like that the amounts in Corta-flx aren't told on the bottle. If you read closely, it says that the ingredients are comparable to MSM, hyaluronic acid acid, ect. But, since I'm seeing results, I'm still unsure if I want to change to another brand. I keep wondering if other brands would be more effective.
Devils claw is still up for debate as to how effective it is, but as are most of these natural medicines. How long have you waited for effects with Devils Claw? If the arthritis is severe, I personally would choose something with a mixture of anti-inflammatorys.

Almost 30 days although I don't believe she is in any sort of ongoing pain as it appears in the shoulder after continued weeks of everyday riding....hence she gets rested often but I still want to offer some relief just in case. I do like natural and chelated product rather than synthetic but not totally opposed.
I have just purchased glucosamine that was rec by my vet so I am going to give that a go.

Wow, well, we have a complex feeding program. We have 23 horses which range in age from 9mths to 28 years.

The older horses, who are harder keepers get 2 scoops Sr feed + 1/2 scoop alfalfa pellets + 1 cup Moorglo (a weight builder) + vitamins+ probiotics 2x daily Some of the Senior citizens get some hay, some don't depending on their teeth (or lack thereof ) They don't really NEED the hay because the SR feed is a complete feed, but if they can chew and swallow it, they like it, and it is a good mental stimulation. Oh they also get MSM for their joints.

We feed M-G feed, a semi-local feed company in Texas. It is a decent feed for the price. There are better feeds out there, but many that are definitely worse. This one is the most similar to Stradgey which is made by purina, but cost less $$

Due to the hay shortage in Tx we also supplement our hay with beet pulp. This is what we feed our "main" herd.10 dry scoops of beet pulp (then it is soaked) add to that 12 scoops of 12/8 (12% protein 8%fat) + 2 scoops alfalfa pellets, + vitamins + hay once a day. This feeds 12 horses who are out on aprox 20 acres pasture.

The babies get 1 scoop 12/8, 1/2 scoop 14/6 and 1/2 scoop alfalfa pellets. + vitamins 2x daily They have their own pasture. (a couple of acres) They do not get beet pulp. They also get hay.

Any horse that is underweight, will get fed seperately, and have alfalfa pellets+ moorglo + beetpulp+ vitamins + probiotics added to their feed 2x daily plus free choice hay + pasture.

Mooreglo is a ricebran derivitive that is a weight builder. We have tried many types/brands weight builder and this seems to work the best for us.

Probiotics are a microorganism added to feed (similar to yougert cultures) which help the digestive system utilize the feed it is getting. You can buy this in a paste (similar to a wormer) or a powder that you add as a top dressing. This is good for older, underweight, and babies. (for the babies, use the paste to help them not get the scours)

Beet pulp can be used as a hay stretcher. It is mostly a high fiber food. Some people use it as a weight builder, but I haven't seen that happen in my horses. I can't remember the protein/fat content. But it does have some protein and fat in it. (not much though)

We use alfalfa pellets for two reasons. 1) It helps with the lack of hay/fiber content. 2) it is a higher protein feed (something like 21%) and protein builds protein.

My ponies are pretty laid back. No health problems so a round bale ( cas there is NO GRASS BECAUSE WE ARE IN A DROUGHT) and maybe the odd biscuit of Lucien settles them!

Hey that's a bummer your in a drought Madds! I'm a neighbour here in New Zealand so I will pray for rain for you and ermmm lets not talk Netball or Rugby....Hee! Hee!
Hey TX horsemom....do any of your feeds have copra within them?? It sounds like you feed according to need which impresses me, much like Kristy....I am finding more increasingly here that people feed there horses much like giving children eating lollies...lovely but not needed.
Anyone else.......Tell me your SECRETS..........!

Hey madd, Drought buddies! Lol. I'm guessing you are an aussie as well? Anywho.

I am lucky that my 2 horses are extremely good doers, and despite the fact that there is barely any grass, they are still fat barrels.

MORNING:
They both get fed 1/2 a biscuit of lucerne for their greenery, and to keep them going through the day. Only 1/2 a biscuit because the one they have now is fattening, and Zanath gets a bit to hyper off much more than 1/2 a biscuit.

NIGHT:
They both get 1/2 a scoop of wheaten chaff, 1/2 a scoop of cool and calm pellets, 1 tablespoon of seaweed mix to promote healthy hoof growth, and clary get 1/3 of a cup of oil for his joints.

No netball no rugby and drought buddies sound good! But we are supposed to have a rain epidemic this week and the weather is supposed to be turning back to normal! that's good news if its true!