Feeding Broodmares...

[sedeh]

The Progressive feeds sound interesting though last time I checked there were no dealers available in my area.

I feed my broodmares the same as my other horses until the last month of pregnancy when I bring them in the barn. Prior to that they're out on sparse pasture and get alfalfa and orchard grass hay and Purina's Enrich 32 ration balancer. Once they're in the barn I add Omelene 300 and additional hay since they don't get the "pasture" except for their daily turnout times.

 

[Charlotte]

Yes Chanda, Frank has used the High Fat Balancer and Envision both (at different times) for the show horses and has been happy with the result. I've never needed it with the breeding herd.

I know the Progressive products seem pricey compared to some others, but we have found that we feed less of them so the amount we spend over time is about the same as any other high quality product.

The times we have felt some horse needed something extra we try to use a Progressive product which doesn't mess up the vitamin/mineral balance. It makes my life easier....not having to try to figure out amounts of this and that.

Charlotte

 

[Becky]

Chanda, I've been using Progressive's Benefat this year and I really like that product for a horse that needs weight. My mare with metabolic issues has been on that as it is safer calories than some products as it's made from ground flax seed. It is rather pricey, though, but again it takes very little of it to see results.

 

[ThreeCFarm]

I feed the Progressive Nutrition Grass Balancer to all of my non-show horses, to include broodmares and foals. For those that need more calories, I add alfalfa pellets. I'll have the occasional horse that needs more calories (and I don't like pouring a large amount of feed into a horse), so I'll add Envision. I've never had one refuse the Envision. Maybe you had a bad bag? My show horses are on the alfalfa balancer, alfalfa pellets and an alfalfa/timothy mix chopped hay.

As Charlotte said, the foals are born strong and up on their legs, which didn't happen before I made the switch to Progressive. I also have some horses, like my little 28.5" broodmare, that doesn't need any extra calories beyond her hay and what grass she gets, so if I didn't feed her the balancer, she wouldn't get anything unless I dry lotted her for the rest of her breeding career, and even then, I probably still couldn't feed her the recommended amounts of any of the other kinds of feed. It wouldn't really hurt her, but it would affect her foals.

 

[chandab]

I feed the Progressive Nutrition Grass Balancer to all of my non-show horses, to include broodmares and foals. For those that need more calories, I add alfalfa pellets. I'll have the occasional horse that needs more calories (and I don't like pouring a large amount of feed into a horse), so I'll add Envision. I've never had one refuse the Envision. Maybe you had a bad bag? My show horses are on the alfalfa balancer, alfalfa pellets and an alfalfa/timothy mix chopped hay.

I don't think I had a bad bag of Envision, but what the nutritionist recommended was just more than the old guy was willing to eat (at the time he seemed to be doing good on his hay and ration balancer just needed a few more calories, but now it seems he needs more of a complete diet in a bag). He wasn't picky as a youngster, but as he gets older, he's getting pickier; he'll be 27 in may. I can't get him to eat more than 1# dry measure then soaked beet pulp, as he doesn't like wet feed. He'll eat all the senior I give him (he gets 7.5# daily and would eat more, plus forage pellets and grass hay), but it has molasses on it (total NSC is about the same as Progressive's senior, but it looks like molasses is sprayed on the outside of the pellets); come spring, I'll see about changing his diet to something he'll eat with less molasses, but in winter I'm not going to risk him losing weight because he won't eat it.

 

[ThreeCFarm]

Yes, there is a limit to how much Envision a horse will eat, simply due to the large amount of fat/calories in it. The amount varies from horse to horse.

I feel for you, we used to have an old gelding that would change what he was willing to eat from week to week!

 

[chandab]

I feel for you, we used to have an old gelding that would change what he was willing to eat from week to week!

Luckily, he's not quite that bad, but... His dietary needs are much different now than when he was younger and even just a couple years ago. At one time, he'd stay fat "on air"; then more recently needed the ration balancer and a few oats with his hay; now, he needs some complete feed to stay good (easy to chew and digest). His teeth are ok, sees an equine dentist yearly, but he just doesn't digest hay as well as he used to (doesn't get as much out of it). Luckily around 10# of bagged feed plus free choice hay keeps him pretty good; but I'm sure one of these days he's going to need an all bagged feed diet.