What would you add/change?

So I have a gelding who's about 15.1/15.2 and about a mw saddle so he's not lean but not super bulky. About your average QH 78 blanket so...

Right now he gets
*Free choice hermathia/Jiggs Hay I've been considering getting an alfalfa compressed square bale? But Not sure how he would do on straight alfalfa. But at $200 a compressed bale I can't afford to get one alfalfa one and a bale of something less quality at the moment

1/2 oz. Apple-A-Day
2 oz. Organic Garlic
20g MSM
1 oz Cool Calories 100
1 oz Mega Cell
8oz Purina Strategy(Just to mix it in so he eats it all)

He's in good condition, but it seems like I can see his ribs but may be his coat as I can just barely feel them... But I think with more work he will be a little ribby and I don't like that...

Opinions?

Looks good to me! You might could give him some alfalfa pellets or cubes to help him maintain weight if you think he's a little too skinny. Then you could cut out the Strategy since you could mix all his stuff in with the alfalfa. I'm not sure where you live, but here in GA a 50lb bag of alfalfa pellets costs me $13.50. I give my horse 4lbs a day, so a bag lasts me about 12-13 days.

Oh by the way, what is hermathia/Jiggs hay? I've never heard of it, or if I have I can't remember.

I'm in Florida and it's all over the place really. I have no idea what it is but it's one of the cheaper round bales $55 ish for a roundbale... I was considering adding in BOSS? I know I can get it at work for like $21 + my discount for a 40lb bag....

If you're in Florida you should be able to get access to Seminole's alfalfa pellets. That's what I get. I'll have to Google that hay to learn more :]. Instead of BOSS try ground flax seed instead. Flax has more omega 3s which is anti-inflammatory. Plus it's probably cheaper. I think you can get it at the grocery store, if not try a health food store.

Any flax I can find here is like $2-3 a POUND. I refuse to pay that. I may go run by the feed store and pick up some alfalfa pellets or something.

Go to Seminole's Equalizer 1lb a day for the nutrition and you can elimanate all supplements except joint ones

Add alfalfa pellets/cubes or rice bran for calories

I have zero access to ration balancers and i'd prefer to keep the supplements... But I will definitely be getting the alfalfa pellets to add for calories.

Thanks.

The Purina Strategy isn't doing you any good. I would keep him on free choice hay and feed him the following:

• 3lbs of Alfalfa Pellets (1- 3qt scoop)
• 1 cup of Flax Meal (works better than Cool Calories)
• Grand Vite or SmartVite Maintenence Grass (Better than Mega Cell)
• 10g of MSM (20g is over-kill)
• With your Apple-a-Day and Garlic

Use some water or apple cider vinegar to mix it all together. You can feed 2 scoops of alfalfa pellets, but I would start with 1 scoop for a week and see how he does with that.

Your feed store should have generic ground flax, or they should be able to order it for you. Mine has generic for $26 for 50 lbs. If you're only feeding one horse, you will need to refrigerate it or pour it up in multiple air-tight buckets, to keep it from going bad.

OR you can buy stabilized ground flax for about $2 a lb from horsetech.com. Their NutraFlax product is excellent and the price includes shipping. The 20 lb container is an air-tight 5 gallon bucket. You can order refills in bags for future purchases for a bit less. Their HighPoint vitamin is excellent as well as is flax based.

1 cup of flax is about 4 oz by weight, so you should go through about 7.5-8 lbs a month.