Right now my TB's are in the pasture 24/7. They are brought in when it comes a thunderstorm and occasionallly spend the night in the stalls with a couple flakes of hay. The previous owner had them on half a 2 quart scoop of sweet feed a day, plus pasture and hay when stalled. I have continued what the previous owner was feeding but would prefer to switch them off the sweet feed. Indi is a easy keeper, where as Bella is bit harder to keep weight on her. Indi is very calm, sweet. Bella is sweet too but a bit fiesty. I am thinking all the sugar from the sweet feed is not so good for her. I want them on the best possible diet and would like to know what is the best diet to get them on. As far as working they don't do anything right now except come in every afternoon to get groomed. (it's their favorite time of day! lol and mine too)
Once I get them moved to my property (building a stable, fence right now) then they will be rode several times a week, possibly everyday for at least an hour but won't ever be worked super hard. They also get farriers formula for their hooves which are chipped up and Indi has three hooves with cracks. Bella gets probiotics for her poo which is pudding like ( and looking much better everyday the Probios is working)
Would you feed them grain at all? What kind? Any other advice? What's the best diet for my TB's?
I like the 24/7 pasture access, it sounds like it works for your girls. I would only start graining when they start working. Start small and work it up as you go. For both of them, I think that Nutrena "Prime" is a pretty good choice. I use it on my previously 'hot' QH and it had some pretty amazing results. The sweetfeeds can make them hot...some horses just react to it that way! The way that some kids get hyper on sugar and others dont. Its good for easy keepers, its concentrated so you dont have to feed so much. My horse was getting a lil ribby before I started him on this (my barn feeds only sweetfeed) and was running lots in his pasture. Now, hes pretty cool (though he does occasionally 'show off') in his field and the change in him under saddle is unbelieveable. Since he has stopped running in his field and jigging less under saddle, he has put on a few pounds and covered those ribs right over. Its got a good bit of biotin in it so his hooves are looking great. For my two cents, I like the nutrena stuff and its sold at most tractor supply stores.
For TBs and similar "hot" horses I like a grain-free diet. You can accomplish this with a vitamin supplement and hay pellets or beet pulp, or a concentrated "ration balancer" feed/supplement. These are fed at the rate of 1-2 lbs a day for full nutrition.
I use ADM's StaySTRONG Mineral Pellets. You can order them online if you don't have a local ADM dealer. One bag will last about a month per-horse, and it's only about $15 a bag, so the price is very affordable.
Other companies that make a ration balancer or "supplement" feed include Progressive, Triple Crown, Buckeye, etc. I don't care for Purina's ration balancer. It has too many fillers and isn't a fixed formula (never know what's going to be in it...).
For just a simple vitamin supplement, you could go with GrandVite, Select II, or SmartPak's SmartVite Maintenence Grass.
If you want a traditional "feed", look for one that says "Lite" or "Low Starch". You need to feed to the bag's recommendation for full nutrition. Most Lite feeds recommend 3-4 lbs a day. Look at the feed tag ingredients. Stay away from feeds that contain corn, molasses, any wheat products, and barley. All of these are high in sugar and/or starch, which can make a hardkeeper lose weight!
My TBxArab gelding used to be a hard keeper. We fed him buckets of food and supplements just to keep his weight steady, without much real "gain." Now he holds his weight beautifully on free choice hay (no real grazing), 1 lb of ADM's StaySTRONG pellets, 1/2 of a 3qt feed scoop of Timothy hay pellets (about 1.5 lbs), and a couple squirts of Uckele's Cocosoya oil (for added Omega 3's, since we don't have any grazing).
My hard working horses get the same, but instead of Timothy pellets they get 3 lbs of Alfalfa pellets. They are "cooler" horses though and the added Alfalfa doesn't hype them up like it does my TBxArab.
Corinio- that's how Bella is jiggly! lol She is defintely the kid with too much sugar. She prances and dances around. I am thinking that getting her off the sweet feed will help her tremendously. Indi it doesn't seem to bother at all but I have read so much negative things about sweet feed that I don't want her on it either. Why feed them junk when it isn't necessary? I am just not sure what I should put them on, so many decisions!
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