Feeding

[Aimee005]

Im reading this book on horses and how to care for them and came across the feeding section where it explains how to feed and what kind of foods according to the nature and the amount of work the horse is required.

It says for ponies and small horses, such as minis, to feed 30% concentrated foods (such as oats, barley, etc) to 70% bulk (such as hay).

I was wondering what kind of foods do you feed yours and how much?

 

[kaykay]

There really is no one answer to this. Every horse has to be fed indivually which is a pain but I have never found anything else that works. So I will just say how we feed

weanlings through 2 year olds get equine jr and hay. how much equine jr depends on the condition and size of the horse. every horse is different

idle mature horses not being bred or showing and in good weight just get a good quality hay

show horses get complete feed plus hay

late trimester bred mares get complete feed plus hay

The biggest mistake most newer people make is not feeding their miniature enough. Especially weanlings and yearlings need a lot of good feed to keep up with their growth!!

 

[Jill]

There are a lot of different right ways to feed a horse.

Personally, I also am a fan of complete feeds and will not use sweet feed. That said, I have friends who do use it and to see how amazing their horses always look, it clearly works well for them!

What we feed ALL our horses is a nice, soft orchard grass hay. We do also sometimes feed a timothy from this one farm that is very soft and the horses love it even more than the orchard grass.

In addition to the hay, every horse, regardless of age, is getting a complete senior pellet. I choose a senior complete pellet because it is more easily digested than a regular adult pellet, has more fat, and more protein. My vet thinks this is a good stratgey, too, for what that may be worth.

The show horses and the growing horses get about 50% of their food from the pellets and the other 50% from the hay. The other horses get a smaller amount of pellets compared to hay.

The show horses do also get ground flax seed as a top dressing. I feel that really brings out the shine and bloom on the horses and it also enhances gold tones.

 

[Keri]

And see, I feed mine with beet pulp. They get 4 cups of soaked beet pulp with 2 cups basic grain (right now), Super 14 for their coats. Then they get a small amount of hay for roughage. In the morning, they each get a half a flake of hay. During the show season, I feed a complete grain to keep up with all the energy they are burning.

And the special ones get supplements for their various ailments like joint and oil and such.

 

[dannigirl]

I feed a mix that is mixed for me at the feed mill. It is mostly oats with a bit of cracked corn and minerals and vitamins. It can be a complete feed if hay is short, but I really like to add hay to it whenever possible. I feed this mix to all ages and watch the horses individually. Each one needs a different ammount to stay at their best, so it is adjusted regularly.

As you can see, that is different from any of the above. Beware of feeding just large horse sweet feed mixed at a feed mill. It may not have what your little ones need. Mostly find out what a healthy horse looks like and watch yours to make sure they stay healthy looking. Make sure you 'feel' around because the hair in winter can cover way too much.

Angie