The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Do Drafts Eat More?

4K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  Cat 
#1 ·
Stupid question time!! *grin* Just one of those silly puzzles that plauge the mind.

I am in love with one of the Belgian brothers at Saddlebred Rescue. He is just so gorgeous. He actually looks like my horse meets the Hulk.

My common sense assumptions keep screaming to me YES! but I just wasn't sure.
 
#6 ·
Well, I suppose it does depend on the horse...I've actually read that drafts have a slower metabolism than some of the lighter breeds and that they sometimes require less food as a result. I suppose it depends on the amount of activity the horse does. An idle draft horse may not need much of a different amount than a regular horse...

However, I'd say in general, expect to pay for more food when dealing with drafts.


Because my girl is a senior, I do have to put a lot more food down her way to keep a nice appearance to her. Even as an idle horse, her food demands are large... :shock:

By the way, that belgian boy is just gorgeous!!! :D
 
#7 ·
well... I'm two years late replying to this one... but... with my Montie - I was giving him very little grain for the first 13 years - Now I have always gone through a ton of hay... it isn't until this past year, at age 21 that he got skinny, so I finally have bumped up his feed - and got him back to a good weight. Yes, his metabolism was really slow, so...
 
#8 ·
It depends on the draft. My boy gets FAT, as in, literal rolls, if you give him 1 cup of feed and 3 flakes of hay (twice a day), while my mother's smaller horse gets skinny if you feed him less than 2 cups + 5 flakes (twice a day).

On a diet, my draft gets 1/2 a cup twice a day, and one flake of hay, and I still have to work him hard to get weight off of him.

It really depends on the horse, but I hear my boy's metabolism is pretty common from other draft-owners I know. My friend's draft is on grazed-down pasture only, and down right fat, while his other horses are a bit skinny.
 
#9 ·
Depends on the horse. My draft eats less than my riding horse. He keeps like an air fern. =] I suppose it also depends on the horse's workload, age, and size. My draft is only 17hh. The humongous Belgians and Percherons you see at the fair probably eat like elephants.
 
#10 ·
When Montie was younger, people saw his feed and thought they were just his suppliments, and wanted to know where the feed was... for years it was about 1/2 a cup. He is a little pudgy now - now that he is getting about 2 cups worth of Senior feed and Rice Bran meal. oh, and about 2qts. beet pulp. 2x daily. But I want him to go into winter this year a little plumper so he does better then...
 
#13 ·
Rocko is a massive half draft and he eats less that Petey the Pony. He eats about 6 lbs of feed a day. Period. xD That's one flake in the morning, and one at night. And he is FAT! lol
 
#14 ·
Drafts many times can get by with a lower % of hay per pound of body weight but yet overall, depending on their size, it will still come out equal or more than what a lighter breed needs to maintain.

For example - if you have a 2000 lb draft that needs 1% of its body weight in roughage to maintain vs a 1000 lb lighter breed that needs 2% of its body weight in roughage to maintain its weight then each horse needs 20 lbs of hay daily. So technically you are feeding the same amount of hay, but the draft requires less per pound of body weight.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top