feeding my 3yr old thoroughbred filly

I recently purchased a 3 year old thoroughbred filly and I'm looking for feeding suggestions.

I have owned both a young quarter horse and a young thoroughbred in the past so I am not new to horses. However, I lived in pa when I had my other horses and I am now living in ca with my new filly.

Being that I'm from pa, I'm used to horses being out on great pasture having their diet consist mostly of grass during the summer and free choice hay during the winter. Out here in ca, there is very little to no grass for grazing in the pasture. Right now I am keeping the filly on the same diet her previous owners had her on because I don't want to make any changes too quickly.

She is a little bit underweight, maybe 100lbs (the gelding she was kept with before often stole her food and beat her up pretty bad). Right now she is being fed around 5lbs bermuda/alfalfa pellets (soaked), 2lbs beet pulp (dry measurement, fed soaked), 1.5lbs rice bran pellets, half a scoop rolled oats, and 1/3 cup germ wheat oil (all fed 2x a day). She also is getting 1 flake of bermuda grass in between meals for lunch.

I would ultimately like to get her on free choice orchard once she gets her weight up so she is able to munch all day. I'm looking for suggestions as far as what she is already being fed and suggestions on how to switch her over to free choice hay.

Sorry for such a long post!!

Free choice hay is easy just start adding flakes as she finishes one

The diet she is on doesn't look bad but DANG that's alot of food

I would add in a vitamin/mineral supplement like LMF Super Supplement or enrich32 or Triple Crown 30% and probably remove the oats and of course as you increase the hay you can decreased the alfalfa pellets

It felt like a ton of food that's why I was seeking out advice. Thanks for the suggestions!! :)

The amount she is being fed NOW needs to be divided up itno more feedings as well.... 5lbs max per feeding

This is what I was going to say. That amount of food all at one time is just asking for a ulcer.

I would cut out the oats as they tend to make horses hot and either add a complete feed to her diet and reduce the amount of alfalfa or go with a RB and reduce the alfalfa and up the rice bran

Thanks for the input guys! I'll go ahead and break her meals up into 3 meals a day and try replacing the oats

Rice bran maximum amount is 2lbs PER DAY so that can't go up much but if you can get her to free choice hay I think you will see a BIG difference and adding a good complete vitamin/mineral supplement will help with muscle tone and her using what she is being fed.

I heard that rice bran is maximum 2lbs per day if its stabilized, the one she gets is not stabilized. Is that true? I'm going to try breaking up her meals into 3 meals a day, add a vit/min supplement, and get her on the free choice and see how she does.

Because RB goes rancid so quickly, unless your are buying it directly from the mill, it is stabilized and has added Ca (so you don't have to worry about the Ca:P). Unstablilized is unsafe to be fed to horses.

I would not shy away from feeding alfalfa hay. It is abundant and cheaper than just about every other feed product out there (CA). She will benefit from the higher Ca, protein and calories it offers over the bermuda hay. Look at everything she is getting and come up with a cost and benefit of each. You're going to find that she can be fed better and cheaper rather easily.