She doesn't look bad at all, I just want her filled in a bit more. The picture does make her look a bit plumper than she is. Again, she isn't bad, I don't like to see rib, which you can't see in the picture, but in person you can. I am not wanting her to get too fat either. I have been working her lightly, but slowly increasing the amount of time of exercise.
As to the reason for the wheat bran, that is a request from her owner. I usually use it only as a filler for my one old guy who doesn't drink enough water on the hot days of summer. I make him a "soup" and he doesn't get as dehydrated. He's a whole 'nother issue. However, since her owner asked, I figured that a limited amount add to her feed isn't going to hurt. I weigh all of her other feed, but have not weighed the wheat bran. I use a 12 oz coffee can, so my guess it is actually less than a pound.
Reason for the flax seed. She refuses to eat out of a feeder, so I feed the flax for 2 reasons. One for the additional fat and oil, two for the help it aides in removing sand from the gut. I feed 1/2 pound because of the 8 oz cup rule of thumb for lighter horses. An 8 oz volume cup weighs about 6 oz, so I added a bit more for the larger size of the draft.
The beet pulp, because it will provide additional calories with out the extreme sugar spikes. Plus it is quite a bit cheaper than the Safechoice.
I feed the Safechoice because it is also a good balanced feed with controlled starches and a good vit mineral package in it.
Probiotics, new place and change of feed and water. So a bit of added gut support is welcome.
The hay is beautiful! Quite the surprise this year in our area actually. Very good smell, color, and texture. It is from a different supplier than what she had been being fed, so that may be part of it as well. As of yesterday, I did start with just one flake at a time. So far today, she has only ate one flake.
I have been giving her all the soaked feed at once, but will start breaking that up.
Overall volume of "grain", I didn't feel that I was doing too much, given the feed calculator from Nutrena recommended 13-18 pounds of Safechoice a day. I never go by their guide as it is designed to sell more feed.
I, personally would skip adding the wheatbran, but since the owner wants it....I'll feed a bit. I don't feel that it is worth it, but again I don't think that that small of an amount is going to pose any long term problems.
So, addressing now the individual responses
Left, what do you feel is unbalance? I don't mean that in anyway to be be perceived as rude! (sorry, being a bit oversensitive because things may appear different in type than they are meant to be) I am trying to keep her starch levels low, but a decent protein level because of EPSM risks being higher with the drafts. I have never experienced a hard keeper in a draft before this, so maybe floundering a bit.
TessaMay, I feed a little bit of alfalfa to her, but not much. Primarily, because I have a barn full of great oat hay at about $10 a bale and no alfalfa. I am buying a few bales at a time, but at $25 a bale, I can't let good oat hay go to waste and pay that kind of price per bale.
Jaydee, I agree that she isn't in bad shape, but in person, she just needs a bit more to round out her "curves" I'd happily donate some of my curves, but haven't figured out a way.
I am going to start breaking up the soaked feed, so hopefully that will help. I did talk with the ranch manager today and he said that they just fed about 3 flakes of hay a day, so I may just be expecting her to eat more than she needs because of her size. My 2 old quarter horses eat more than that, but each horse is different.
smrobs, great article! Thank you! EPSM is one of the reasons why I am feeding the beet pulp, flax and safechoice. It is higher fat, controlled starch. I don't feel that it is complicated, 1 on the list is to keep her owner happy, so I will add that and the probiotics will go away once she is settled here. What's funny is that I don't feel it is complicated by comparison to what I have seen other horse owners do. I guess I am more complicated than I think. LOL! She doing light work that is slowly being increased. I didn't want to push too hard to begin with.
squirrelfood, (love your avatar by the way!) Every where I looked regarding how much to feed on the beet pulp recommended about 1% of her body weight, I really thought people were going to tell me that I wasn't feeding enough. So far, I have read the opposite, much to my relief!
Horseychick87, taking your advice and splitting it up. I have never used wheatbran for sand control. I really didn't think of it all as a big meal to her as she is so big, but I think you are right.
I appreciate everyone's opinions and I am glad you all think that she looks okay! I think I maybe overly concerned because, one, she is not mine and two, my two old quarterhorses can eat her under the table. I figured she needs to eat more than they do because she weighs about 800 lbs more than they do, plus I have never experienced a hard keeper in a draft horse before now.
Thank you all for your advice! .