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Wondering if our feed is right

2K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  Saddlebag 
#1 ·
Good morning. My daughter has a 4yr old QH gelding. He is 15.1hands and not an easy keeper at all. It feels like we are feeding him an insane amount of hay and grain daily for him to be maintaining his weight.

He is currently fed twice a day morning and night.
4 lg scoops of rice bran
4 lg scoops or strategy
4 flakes of hay
1 sm scoop of fattener
1 sm scoop of mane and hoof supplements

He is worked 5x a week and stalled half the time and at pasture half the time.

I'm just wondering if this looks completely wrong to anyone. I want to make sure we are feeding him correctly and that he is getting everything he requires.

Thanks so much

Karena
 
#3 ·
It sounds like a lot of hard feed, but as Horseychick said, we could certainly be thinking of different sized scoops :) Also, with feeding that much rice bran, it's probably a good idea to make sure you get a fortified rice bran, which has added calcium to balance out the high phosphorous.

4 flakes doesn't sound like a lot to me, but again it really depends on their size. That would be ~15 lbs of hay from the hay bales my barn has, which some horses will do OK on, but I find that a lot of people end up supplementing that amount of hay with a lot of hard feed (as you're doing) and don't think anything of it. My horse is also out on pasture for about 10-12 hours each day, and he eats ~25 lbs of hay from a small hole hay net each day when he's inside.
 
#4 ·
I think you need to go by weight when you ask for advice like that because a scoop size could be anything - and you really should weigh according to the manufacturers advice and not just throw it in by a random scoopful
Maxiglow rice bran recommends feeding approx. 1lb a day - its quite an expensive way to feed a horse really
The Strategy looks to be about 2.5 lb a day from their chart
No idea what the 'fattener' is - but a lot of those things are a waste of money
A horse feed needs to be based on fibre - so go for a good chopped forage as a base with soaked sugar beet shreds, alfalfa pellets, grass pellets and add an oil to that
The main food source needs to come from hay (supplementing whatever grass you have) and increasing the hay would be the first place to start - you could weigh it but if the horse is struggling to maintain weight and he's wormed and ulcer-free with no health problems then increase his hay ration
 
#5 ·
That's a lot of rice bran. I use a small cat food can to measure out mine and it's for horse that is over 16 hands.

There are 3 different formulas of Strategy. Which one? How much does a scoop weigh?



The bulk of his feed should be coming from hay. Even if they are big flakes 4 doesn't sound like much. Horses are meant to eat fiber. The hard feed is really meant as insurance for getting all the vitamins, minerals and calories he needs.

Even what kind of hay makes a difference. If it's heavy on alfalfa he won't need to have as much to get his nutrition in but their gut is set up to never be empty.

It's been a few years since I've used square bales but my full sized horses pretty much ate a full 40-50 lb bale a day in the winter. Little less in the summer. Could be more if it was real cold. That's mixed grass hay. Mostly timothy with a little this and that mixed in.
 
#6 ·
Good morning. My daughter has a 4yr old QH gelding. He is 15.1hands and not an easy keeper at all. It feels like we are feeding him an insane amount of hay and grain daily for him to be maintaining his weight.

He is currently fed twice a day morning and night.
4 lg scoops of rice bran
4 lg scoops or strategy
4 flakes of hay
1 sm scoop of fattener
1 sm scoop of mane and hoof supplements

He is worked 5x a week and stalled half the time and at pasture half the time.

I'm just wondering if this looks completely wrong to anyone. I want to make sure we are feeding him correctly and that he is getting everything he requires.

Thanks so much
Karena
sounds like he needs more hay. My heaviest flakes are 5 pounds and most are much less. A horse that size should get 25 plus a day depending on work load and weather. My 1100 pound horse gets 25-40 a day. 40 is in cold weather. I
Would cut back on grain and add more forage. Have no idea what your pasture is like but if it's like mine it's not very good and they only eat certain areas.and at 4 he is growing. I assume he has been wormed and teeth regularly done by a qualified person. You are feeding him insane amounts of grain but sounds like you are under feeding his hay. I feed grass hay and alfalfa may be different since it is richer.
 
#7 ·
Sound advice from the others....you must weigh your food stuffs so you know how much you are truly feeding to the horse.

When was the last time the horse was wormed, teeth taken care of, a physical exam to make sure their is no underlying health issue?
One of the other things you mention is he is 4 years old...the horse is still growing, maturing and probably needs extra calories fed with being worked 5 days a week.
No animal can gain weight nor maintain good weight unless more calories are put into the body than are used during exercise or just being a horse.

Quality feeds have added in vitamins and minerals in proper amounts already. Unless you know for sure that the horse has a deficit, you may be spending money where it not be needed. You may also be supplementing in incorrect amounts throwing off the entire endocrine system and causing problems...
All of the items you mentioned are fed by weight not volume and the size of that volume container makes a huge difference.
I would strongly suggest you use that "large scoop", fill it to the amounts you feed and weigh it, then dump and weigh the scoop empty...the difference is what weight of food you are actually feeding the animal.
Now carefully read the bag back of each food stuff and follow their feeding directions...
Reading the bag back of Strategy GTX....it tells you for a active horse to feed at the higher amounts... and I am not sure I would consider a horse working 5 days a week being a active pleasure horse exactly but more to the line of a performance animal. The bag also says if you are feeding grass hays to increase the amount of Strategy fed ...
Purina Horse Feeds - STRATEGY
Not knowing what else you are feeding because you did not disclose the names of the exact product...it is a guessing game.

I know some people who think a "large scoop" is a 20 ounce coffee cup, some who think a 4 qt over-flowing scoop is average... you need to be more specific in how much the food products weigh for a realistic answer from anyone.

You mention Strategy...is it Healthy Edge or the GTX formula...difference in feeding and difference in what is in the mixture too. See the link below and the link above for the 2 different formulas...they are different in fat, protein and fiber amounts.
Purina Horse Feeds - STRATEGY

Personally, I would before messing with the feed/grain and all the other "stuff" you stuff the horse with...maybe seriously consider having the vet out for a look-see and to make sure there is nothing wrong. Some educated advice on how to proceed by someone who can see, touch and examined the horse is truly a good idea.
However,.....some more information from you with specifics would help the knowledgeable posters here give better suggestions to consider or try.
What kind of hay are you feeding? Hay as anything else...some is better than others in quality and nutrients.
If not using a slow feed hay net or receptacle, research the benefits of slowing down the eating pace so the gut can digest and take more nutrients out as it passes through the intestinal tract...that digestion starts in the mouth with chewing though so teeth are very important.
Being the age of the horse, I would not skip the teeth in case you have a dental issue from him not losing some baby teeth creating part of the problem...

Best of luck.
 
#8 ·
I'm assuming he is fed that twice a day?

You need to weigh your feed. Buy a cheap kitchen scale and keep it out in the barn. You'd be surprised at how much you are actually feeding when you weigh it.

Feeds have different/certain feeding rates, depending on the horse's age, weight, and activity level, to make sure they get the correct vitamins and minerals from it. If you are feeding less than the recommended, the feed is not doing its job. If you are feeding over, your horse could be getting unnecessary calories.
 
#9 ·
Also, I was told that Strategy was geared more towards easy keeper horses. You may want to look for something with more fat, designed for hard keepers and/or horses in hard work. Consider Legends Performance, Triple Crown Complete, Purina Ultium...something along those lines. They will probably have a lower feeding rate, and will be more concentrated, so you can feed less while getting in more nutrients.
 
#10 ·
He is 15.1hands and not an easy keeper at all. It feels like we are feeding him an insane amount of hay and grain daily for him to be maintaining his weight.

He is currently fed twice a day morning and night.
I'd be wanting to know why he's a 'hard keeper'. Do his teeth need attention? Maybe worming hasn't been effective? Maybe he has ulcers? Chronic stress or pain? Hope his 'work' is easy, as working a 4yo 5 days a week could be too much. Maybe not enough hay, nutritional imbalance?

Hay/forage/grazing should make up around 2.5% bwt daily. So if there is little grazing, that's about the daily weight of hay for maintenance. More for weight gain.

Feeding hay twice daily may be fine, if it's in a 'slow feed' net or such, or you feed enough that it lasts to the next 'meal'. But horses aren't built to cope with empty stomachs, they're 'trickle feeders', that do best with a small amount of low carb, high fibre feed near constantly.

This applies with 'hard feeding' too, although of course, until someone invents something, it's impractical/impossible to 'trickle feed' concentrates to horses. So meals are necessary. But horses also don't do big, rich meals well either, so it's best to keep meals small and feed over 3 or more meals daily. High starch is also problematic, best kept low, but is more of a problem with large/infrequent meals. Ulcers are one thing too much starch/grain, infrequent meals, etc commonly cause. Both fats & starch are not readily digested & little & often is the best way to help the horse get the 'good' out of them with minimal 'side effects'.

The more I learn, the more I think nutritional balance is so vital to virtually all aspects of health. So I'd also suggest working that out, to ensure he's getting a balanced diet. FeedXL.com is one great resource for that.
 
#11 ·
Definitely weigh the feed - the $15 kitchen scale I purchased from a local grocery store has been the best purchase I've ever made for my feed room.

If he's a hard keeper, you may want to look into a feed that is higher in fat. Some common, easy to find options in my area that I'm aware of are Purina Ultium, Safe Choice Perform (though not as high in fat as many other options, it is available in a lot of locations) and many different products by Tribute like Kalm Ultra or Kalm Performer.

Feed XL is a great resource. I use it to balance diets for my horses and have been very happy with the service.
 
#12 ·
I'd back off all that hard feed and up his hay to a free feed situation. A ration balancer for vitamins and minerals plus free choice hay should make a big difference, assuming you have ruled out any health issues such as teeth, ulcers, etc. The majority of his diet needs to come from forage, i.e. grass and hay. 99.9% of "feed" is just marketing to make us all feel like we're doing something for our horses.
Regarding free feeding your horse, initially it's going seem like he's trying to blow himself up eating all the hay. Don't let that scare you. He will figure out that the hay is going to be there consistently and reliably and he will settle down to eating only what he needs. For most horses this takes about 2 weeks or less. It depends on the horse's anxiety level about access to food. Try getting a couple of hay nets, stuff them full and hang them up in his stall. At first he's going to think he died and went to heaven. Eventually he'll realize that he doesn't have to worry about going hungry and gradually you'll start seeing more hay left over.
I don't know what the quality of hay you're currently feeding but if you can provide "lower quality" hay that's best. They really don't need all that rich green stuff we think of as quality hay.
Free choice tan colored hay, ration balancer and a little patience.
 
#14 ·
Nothing wrong with good old whole oats and plenty of hay. I've never had a horse go skinny on me on that diet. Try feeding 2lbs of oats, per feeding 3 x daily if possible, or 3 lbs 2 x daily. Oats are higher in protein which the horse needs if ridden 5 x weekly. What you are feeding may be creating fat soluble imbalances. Don't succumb to all the b.s. the feed companies tell us. They're in it to make a lot of money. Most times the simpler diet is the better diet.
 
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