Does this all sound good to you?? Also, the grain website said that a 1200 lb horse needs about 10 pounds of grain a day...does that sound right to you?
My horse is 5 and a hard keeper. I was planning on Omega Horse Shine becasue it has flax seed and helps with hooves. I was just going to use strategy becasue my local store carries it, and i've heard good things about it. But, i did think 10 lbs sounded like too much. What is the average you would give a horse in moderate work? ( He would be ridden 3-5 times a week, with flat and jumping). I plan on having them in pasture during the day, and in at night. I'm worried some animals that are out here in the woods would hurt him:/ Also, do you suggest just sticking to grass hay all year-round? SO confused!
I feed grass hay free choice year round even when they are on pasture
I would start with a good vitamin/mineral supplement and add calories as needed with rice bran or hay pellets or flax seed(Omega Horseshine)
Purina makes Enrich32 feed 1 1/2 lbs per day then add calories IF needed what I have found since going to this type of diet is that alot of hard keepers are that way because we are feeding them too much bad stuff and not enough good stuff
Try reading this for ideas on a balanced diet. It is part 1 of a two part series. The second part is not released on the SmartPak site yet I dont think as I just received it in the mail, but search for it for sure.
I like Strategy. we feed it to our 6 yr. old OTTB. All the horses at my former barn were fed Strategy. Of course, almost all of them were TBs.
Contrary to what I've read on other forums, Strategy doesnt make our guy the least bit "hot". He's done amazingly well on it. Superb hooves, nice coat, and held his weight well through the winter.
I HIGHLY reccomend probiotic supplements......especially for hard keepers. it is essential as it helps them garner all the nutrients from their feed by enabling more of their feed to be digested properly. It really packed some pounds on our TB.
10 lbs of Strategy sounds ridiculously high to me. The max any TBs were given at my former barn was 4 lbs. and that was for light/moderate work.....
10 lbs of grain just doesn't seem like a healthy amount to feed..... Our former BO always said to get by on the least amount of grain possible by increasing hay/grazing. Forage is so much better for your horse vs. grain. So, when devising a diet that works for your guy, take it easy on the grain if you can. And don't forget to give the probiotics a try. JMO
As for hay, our horses prefer timothy hay over "grass" hay.....though we feed them both kinds.
I agree with the above, always try to give more roughage (Hay/ pasture) before adding grain. Even my hardest keeper doesn't get more than 6lbs of grain a day (half strategy, half basic sweet feed). I do add gamma (rice bran) oil.
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