The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Horse Feed Experts needed!

16K views 30 replies 14 participants last post by  jaydee 
#1 ·
I am looking for that well perfect FEED! As a lot of you know from my frequent post I have a quite underweight 13 year old thoroughbred mare!

Right now she is on 6lb a day of nutrena pro force fuel and is gaining nicely but seems alittle hot on it? As well as beet pulp with molasses

So my question is what do you feed?? Nutrena Purina, and triple crown, are the top sellers here at my feed store in fl which do you feed and what style of the feed also if possible give me an estimate on price per bag your experience with it are your horses calm or hot

What do you look for in a horse feed.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#10 ·
I would recommend steering clear of molasses if you think your horse gets hot off her feed. If you're looking to simplify your horse's diet and help her gain weight at the same time, you should look into Triple Crown's senior feed. Even if your horse is not old, senior feed is more palatable and digestible and the Triple Crown Senior seems to have a higher fat and fiber content than other brands.

Our horses get Southern States Solutions. This feed is also fairly high in fat and fiber and has done a wonderful job of keeping our thoroughbreds, and one senior thoroughbred-type appaloosa gelding in great body condition, without making them hot, and without feeding them large volumes. They're not getting good grazing right now either because of the weather. We're buried under more than a foot of snow and temperatures have been in the single digits (Fahrenheit). The horses get hay, but nothing over the top in quality and they're still in good shape and keeping warm with their current feeding regimen.

If you're really stumped, perhaps you should talk to your vet or an equine nutritionist.
 
#11 ·
Your horse is going to be hot, she's a TB. She's probably been lacking energy because she was so underweight and now that she's gaining and feels better, she's coming back to her normal. That said, I don't like to overfeed anything with a lot of sugars in it, it's like feeding a 5 y.o. kid a Kit Kat for breakfast and then expecting him to behave.

I've had excellent results with Ultium and Amplify. The Ultium is around $25/bag here and the Amplify is close to $40 for the 25 tub. Both are cost effective because you really don't need to feed huge amounts to get results.
 
#13 ·
I don't like horse stereotypes.. not all thoroughbreds are HOT!!!!!! the lady I got her from had her before she got skinny and she was far from hot at all then she rehomed her and she lost weight due to neglect! It's been only a year of this and she is almost 14!
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#17 ·
Personally, I avoid any sort of feed that has molasses or any sort of grain in it. All that is is sugar and starch that isn't healthy for the horse. It can make them more prone to founder, insulin resistance, colic, and other problems that start in the intestines.

As others have said, alfalfa pellets (yes, they are sold like a regular bag of feed, at my feed store it's about $12 for a 50lb sack). I also add a bit of oil, either canola or pure vegetable, not corn, and if you wish, flax seed. Rice bran is another good product for adding calories without adding starch/sugar. If you need to add a ration balancer, you can, but I've always had good luck with free access loose minerals.
 
#18 ·
senior feed is bagged feed, grain free usually, has the vitamins minerals older horses need, usually a little higher in fat content. Many brands out there on the market. it is made to be easier to chew and digest.
I use it on my old horses, and any horse that comes to me underweight .
many grass hays are good hays , to find out how what the nutrients are, it has to be tested.
ask the grower if they know the protein content.
 
#19 ·
I am looking for that well perfect FEED! As a lot of you know from my frequent post I have a quite underweight 13 year old thoroughbred mare!

Right now she is on 6lb a day of nutrena pro force fuel and is gaining nicely but seems alittle hot on it? As well as beet pulp with molasses

So my question is what do you feed?? Nutrena Purina, and triple crown, are the top sellers here at my feed store in fl which do you feed and what style of the feed also if possible give me an estimate on price per bag your experience with it are your horses calm or hot

What do you look for in a horse feed.
Posted via Mobile Device

first, i would change the beet pulp to plan, no molasses, beet pulp. molasses helps make some horses hot, and sounds like that would be your baby.

i love my purina!!! i have 2 arabians and a national show horse (arab x saddlebred)...and purina feeds do not make my horses hot or crazy. i have recently gone from omolene 200 to ultium competition. the ultium has higher fat and fiber than the omolene, and has lower carbs.

my nsh is extremely hard to keep weight. he had a bladder stone, and the pain made him drop weight like you wouldn't believe. after his surgery, the vet had me put him on the ultium competition and he's doing very well on it. he's a big boy, standing 17 hands with a healthy weight of around 1300lbs. he's currently eating 10lbs per day, and i will be adding a bit more here, soon. the feed is kind of pricey (i pay almost $26 with taxes for 1 bag in kentucky)...but it is so well worth while!!

hope this helps some.
 
#20 ·
I like Triple Crown Safe Starch forage with their Low Starch pellets added to that - no molasses in it but high fat so good for weight gain without the 'fizz'
I add sugar beet - only a double handful of soaked and a handful of alfalfa pellets
I feed good hay but I find that if that's all they would get they would not do so well in the winter - mainly because they get bored with it plus the TC has the vitamins, minerals and oils.
 
#24 ·
I like Triple Crown Safe Starch forage with their Low Starch pellets added to that - no molasses in it but high fat so good for weight gain without the 'fizz'
I add sugar beet - only a double handful of soaked and a handful of alfalfa pellets
I feed good hay but I find that if that's all they would get they would not do so well in the winter - mainly because they get bored with it plus the TC has the vitamins, minerals and oils.
I don´t get it jaydee? no molass but you would give sugar beet??
 
#23 ·
I was once a die hard nutrena fan never bought anything else!!! When I got this mare I really buckled down and did my research!

Nutrena is not good in quality at all!!!! They change there recipes to go with there "fixed" pricing.. not to mention take a look at what they list for "ingredients" not what you would want in your horse feed!!! And safechoice is nothing safe ay all for your horse also has a quite high nsc at 22%
 
#26 ·
I agree with amigo. I really started researching feed when I raised dairy goats. We drank the milk, so I really liked knowing what went into them. When companies use products such as processed grain by products its a big turn off. I would just give her a good vitamin mineral mixture, some hay pellets and flax. Flax is really good for their gut in addition to hooves and coat. Horses arn't meant to digest a bunch of processed grains. They're grazers. grass and hay.
 
#27 ·
Hi Sparks:
That is sooooo coooool, a goater.
I had a couple of milk goats many years ago when I was learning how to haul timber with horses out of the woods. The kid had bad colic, the goat milk cleared it right up.
My brother and his wife have a goat dairy farm, sell goat cheese at the farmers market.
 
#29 ·
I feed unmollassed sugarbeet to my 14 ty old TB and halflingers, it is a very versatile high fibre feed (I use the soak overnight type rather than the quick soak shreds).

My Tb lives out and this year with a field of mud to deal with it has been a challenge, to keep her weight on I either add linseed (flax) or oil and recently grass nuts.
 
#30 ·
Thank you for the links jaydee.
I checked out what is claimed to be inside the bag which is pretty much 2-3 differant typs of grasses - supplements - rice bran - fish oil & in a couple of bags Oats o and the Garantee Analyses Numbers.
I wonder if anyone has ever taken a handfull out of the bag and sent it in for analyses? I can pretty much garantee the numbers will not add up.
Too me it seems like pretty expencive processed hay, nutrition does not handle processing very well.

Beet Pulp....been through this a few times before, will keep it simple:
As you say it´s what is left over after extrakting the suger.
Fiber, yep, but you can get that with a good hay and it would be cheaper.
There is really no nutrition in beet pulp, some protien, fat, trace elements and yes there is still some suger (evidently they cannot process out all the suger...nor some of the sand which horse owners here in Sweden have been finding out).
And it has to be soaked before feeding. The trouble with that is the horse will not produce saliva which is needed as a nutural agent to prevent gastric ulcers.

I have looked over and studied what is on the market and I always come back to the same conclusion......"I see no advantage in feeding my horses bag feeds".

I know I am a Stick In The Mud (old way´s, oat´s & hay) but if it works....(I´v alway´s had hard working horses)...why change it.
 
#31 ·
No one is suggesting that the OP feeds beet pulp as a hay replacer - but as an addition too. I find that my horses get very bored with the hay no matter how good it is and having something different encourages them to eat - and for most of the year I also soak my hay because it reduces the sugar levels in it and the inevitable dust from the environment and pollens
I find that the more extra moisture I can get in my horses the better, especially in hot dry weather and in the winter when they never see a blade of green stuff here because it all dies back or is mostly buried under snow
I am sure that plenty of people have done an analysis of these various products because from time to time there are reports of companies failing to supply 'what it says on the label' so if a company says "guaranteed analysis' then they are asking for a lot of legal trouble if they are a long way out
According to Tractor Supply (one of the most used widespread chains of feed suppliers in the US) a typical bag of complete feed that has added oils, vitamins and minerals such as
Nutrena Safe Choice Special Care costs $17.99 for a 50lb bag
Producers Pride Plain Rolled oats (cheapest quality) $16.99 for a 50lb bag
A complete feed that has higher levels of nutrition will cost only a few $'s more
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top