Comet gets fat off air.
Bravo was 300 pounds underweight and is now a normal weight.
Splash was 100 pounds underweight and is now a normal weight.
We have had Bravo since August and Splash for a month.
We give them a round bale of 30% alfalfa and 70% grass to free feed off of.
Also been feeding twice a day beet pulp and Sentinel (varying amounts per horse).
Now that Splash and Bravo are normal weight, I want to take them down to very little feed or none at all. They are very lightly worked and I have always figured they didn't need anything but grass/hay in those circumstances.
What are thoughts on this? I have cut Bravo down to about half of what he was getting because he was putting on too much weight. I am watching to see if his weight holds with less feed.
I think I am a little afraid to take him off cause of the condition he was in when we got him. He was pretty bad off. The beet pulp has really helped pack the weight on.
You're feeding a good mix for hay. I would have your hay tested and only feed the minerals and vitamins that are lacking. You can have a custom blended supplement done by Uckele Equine Nutrition for a reasonable cost. Mix your vit/min supplement in with just a little soaked beet pulp once a day.
Read this article. There is good information and links to help you get your hay analyzed and figure out what your horses' need. New Page 14
A ration balancer would be a good choice for you. They are meant to be fed at 1lb per day for the average horse. (This will change with horse weight,age and workload). If all 3 of your horses are an average size (800-1,200lbs), arent in any work, are mature and are easy keepers, then try out a RB. They will get all the nutrition needed in only 1lb per day (about 2 1/2 cups).
Both of those suggestions are really good. I'm not sure if your feed store carries Seminole or not, but here is the link to their ration balancer called Equalizer. I'm also not sure how the ingredients vary to different brands, but this way you can get an idea of what's in a ration balancer.
I feed Comet one called Equine Choice Topline before I switched everyone to Sentinel. I know the local feed store carries it, is that the same type thing?
Topline is a pelleted supplement formulated to balance an equine forage diet naturally and efficiently. With its concentrated vitamin and mineral levels, your horse will require only 1.0 - 3.0 pounds daily, making this an efficient way to supplement your feeding program. What's more, topline's locked formula lets your horse enjoy the same high quality nutrition day after day, in every bag.
Tribute Essential K ration balancer is a great one too! The Enrich 32 doesn't seem to have quite the amino acid balance and I'm pretty sure Purina doesn't use any chelated minerals. (Chelates are more digestible to the horse.) I honestly don't know about Topline?
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