Feeding the senior Horse update

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Ashley

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Ok, I thought I would ask again since people are back from nationals. I know some thought he was a bit thin.

I measure him the best I could with a very inaccurate tape measure and got him about 60".

HE comes in the barn at night and gets 6 cups alfalfa pellets, 6 cups beat pulp, and 6 cups at this time sweet feed(will be getting senior on wensday). Plus he gets one 5" flake of hay.

He gets the same in the morning but instead of the hay he goes out side to pick at what grass there is and free choice round bale. All hay is grass hay. I have noticed he eats the all of the hay at night. ONly found one small wad this moring he seemed to drop. I havent seen him eat at the round bale. But I do know he prefers my one grass hay over the other.

DOes this sound right? to much? to little?

He is 24 years old.
 
It sounds a little light to me, but I don't know what your feed weighs per cup.

My 25 year old half-Arab gelding gets a 3-qt scoop of alfalfa pellets (3#6oz), 1# ration balancer, 4 cups whole oats (my BIL gave them to me, or I probably wouldn't be feeding them), 1 cup BOSS, and free choice grazing/grass hay (minimum of 15# hay) per day. In the winter I add a 3-qt scoop of senior and 1# beet pulp (dry measure then soaked, its all he'll eat of soaked feed right now) per day.

I try to plan for about 2% of his bw in feed per day minimum; he's about 1050#, so minimum of 21# feed per day. [i feed more in winter when its cold.]
 
Hi Ashley
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Do you soak the pellets??

If so I would think the feed is about right but I don't think the hay is, I would be thinking of building him a manger so that he can have free choice hay.

I only got my Arab mare to 22 (Rabbit can't eat hay) but she had free choice hay all day and night, and grazing as well.

Rabbit gets as much feed as your bigger horse, but that is all he gets, although he does have good grazing, he can't chew it up enough to swallow it.

If your "Senior" is still eating hay well I would give him as much as he wants and view the "grain" side as extras.
 
Everything gets soaked. The amount I stated is pre-soaked.

Rabbit- he does get almost free choice hay. He gets the huge flake inside at night, and when he is out during the day he has all he can eat round bale and what grass he finds.

When I got him I started him at half this amount because I dont know what he was getting prior to comeing here. He was getting a fat supplement to, but ran out this morning. Will get more when I get senior food.
 
Everything gets soaked. The amount I stated is pre-soaked.
Rabbit- he does get almost free choice hay. He gets the huge flake inside at night, and when he is out during the day he has all he can eat round bale and what grass he finds.

When I got him I started him at half this amount because I dont know what he was getting prior to comeing here. He was getting a fat supplement to, but ran out this morning. Will get more when I get senior food.

Does he eat all his hay at night? Is there anything left in the morning? If there is nothing left in the morning, I'd add more hay at night til he has a little left in the morning, from that amount you could then back off a little bit so you aren't wasting hay. I see from your profile, you are from MN, so you get nasty cold winters much like we do, and nights get really cold; around here the big portion of daily hay is fed at night when they really need to stoke their furnaces to stay warm. For example; if I feed 3 flakes of hay per day; then 1 is fed in the AM and 2 are fed at night when it is colder. [Mine are all out 24/7 with run-ins, but even if stalled, I'd feed this way.] [The hay bales I get from my FIL are about 50-55# each, I give my senior gelding 1/2 bale per day; a little less than 1/4 bale AM, a little more than 1/4 bale PM. And, when I"m feeding round bales, I just stuff his feeder full and keep it full. When he was younger I couldn't have done this as he was a very easy keeper, but now he needs the extra and he'll get it.]
 

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