New to the forum and FEED question..

[danielledwarf2]

Hello everyone!! I am soo excited to become a partof this group!!I think

its great we all can talk and share stories and questions.

A little bit about me, I am a real estate agent for Long Island Horse Properties,

I own a 33"Mini Donkey jennet, whom is in the process of getting trained to drive,

and i am looking to eventually show her in the big shows one day. I also own

a 29" mini horse, and an ArabxQh Mare, she has the worst case of

lymes disease EVER recorded on Long Island, and from this she also

contracted EPM and Cushings because her body was so run down. I am in

the process of adopting my very first dwarf mini, name Beanie Baby, aka

BeBe. Being a knowledgable equine person and having one of each! lol,

I learned alot of things before getting myself into little Bebe,and look

forward to having her in my life. Looking forward to hearing from you all!

**Also, well since I posted I may ask my first question,

my mini mare 29", 4 1/2 yrs old, is having some trouble keeping weight on

her more so then normal, she was always a toughie, she always gained too much

weight in the winter and lost too much weight in the summer, but we always had

it under control, but recently she dropped alot of weight, and i was told to use beetpulp,

and have heard nothing but good things as long as used right, and i feed her triple crown

light (specially for minis&ponies) so she doesnt get too fat, let me know what you guys think,

and tips are greatly appreciated!!**

Happy Horse!

Danielle Peters

I can be reached at;

[email protected]

[email protected]

 

[Reble]

and tips are greatly appreciated!!**

Also wanted to say WELCOME TO

we are feeding Blacks Premium forumla Vitamin and mineral supplement for horses

I always make sure their is thiamine included.

Read below:

http://www.twydil.com/en-twyd/tools2/3.vit/fr4vit20.htm

Blacks Vitamin and mineral supplements contribute to

improved hair and coat condition

improved hoof quality

increased feed effieciency

 

[danielledwarf2]

Thank sooo much! I will look into that!

-Danielle and the gang.

-will post pics soon.

 

[Dona]

First of all.....WELCOME TO THE FORUM Danielle! :saludando: I think you will find that people feed in many different ways....using many different types of feed, depending on what part of the country they are located.

I personally like to feed Purina products. I give all the horses "Born to Win" which is a ration balancer. I also give Equine Jr. to the youngsters, broodmares in their last trimester & while nursing, and Equine Adult to those whom I think need it. Equine Adult & Equine Jr. are "complete" feeds...can be fed entirely without hay if need be. So...I give more of that to my show horses, and less hay, which helps to keep them trim.

As far as putting on weight....I've never had much of a problem with that.

: Most of mine have just the opposite problem, as we have very lush pasture. But, I know that Beet Pulp is excellent in that area. I would soak it before feeding it, however, then pour off the liquid. Beet Pulp contains a lot of sugar & "can" cause founder in some horses who are prone to it.

 

[Robin_C]

High sugar and starch feeds definitely can predispose a sensitive horse to laminitis and founder. That's why beet pulp is considered such a good choice for weight gain. It does contain a lot of calories, but despite its origins (a byproduct of sugar beets used for sugar production), the only significant amount of sugar content in beet pulp comes from the molasses that is sprayed on the shreds (or pellets) to keep the dust down. The sugar industry does a pretty efficient job at extracting the majority of sugar from the plant itself. What's left is mostly fiber, carbohydrates in the form of pectins (much safer than the form of carbohydrates found in grains), a low level of minerals and protein, and a good deal of calcium. A good 1-2 minute fresh water rinse will get rid of the majority of the sprayed-on molasses, AND there are molasses-free beet pulp products available (though they are not 100% molasses free in most cases). Many, many people with metabolically-challenged horses (those who exhibit chronic or recurrent laminitis, founder, Cushing's disease or other metabolic issues) feed beet pulp (along with low sugar hay) in place of all grains because of the safety margin of feeding beet pulp.

When fed in addition to a normal portion of grain/commercial feed, such as the case with an underweight horse, it can also take the place of feeding high amounts of grain which may lead to colic, laminitis, founder, etc. Beet pulp can provide a SAFE SOURCE of calories vs. adding the starch and sugar of extra grain to the diet (high starch and sugar levels are felt to contribute to a horse's risk for laminitis and founder). A miniature can have up to 1 pound per day (dry weight) of beet pulp which will make a LOT of wet beet pulp and lots of happy munching time. Beet pulp can also replace up to 40% of the hay in the diet which may be beneficial for show horses or other horses (seniors, horses with teeth issues, etc.) on hay-restricted diets.

There are other commercial weight builders which are chiefly fat supplements. These should be fed with due diligence to miniatures, a breed which may not be particularly well-engineered to deal with high fat diets. Hay and pasture (if available) can also be increased to achieve weight gain.

Triple Crown Lite is a great food for weight maintenance (I use this feed myself) and is much like a lower protein ration balancer. I highly recommend this product. That being said, the digestible energy (calories per pound) of TC Lite is on the low side, starch and sugar on the moderate side (15-16%), and is designed to be fed to "easy keepers". It won't do much for weight gain, though I think you mentioned you use it during the times when she becomes heavy. It's a good choice for that time frame. You might want to try one of the higher calorie Triple Crown products for weight gain such as Growth. Starch and sugar is still in the 15-16% range (moderate) but the digestible energy (calories) is much higher than TC Lite. I use this for all my pregnant mares, growing foals and stallions.

I do like the ration balancers, too, especially for horses that are easy keepers. Purina's Born To Win, Mare and Maintenance, Buckeye's Gro N Win, Progressive's Balancer products -- these are all excellent feeds. Fed by themselves, they can help a horse maintain or even lose some extra pounds. Fed with oats they can serve as the vitamin/mineral basis of the diet while the oats add calories/weight and energy.

Bottom line is, there is no ONE right way to feed. There may be many different ways (and products to try) to achieve the same goal (be that weight gain, weight loss, or weight maintenance). If there was only one right way to feed - we'd only need to have one product on the market!!!

Robin C

 

[danielledwarf2]

Kickerpoo Acres,

Well hey! Thanks for the welcome! I too never have that problem with the minis, normally its trying to keep them trim, but the weather has been absoluely horrible, with no constant temp. I heard of the equine jr. for the edn trimester for mares, that is definitly going to be a good thing when i breed her down the road. My mini has never foundered, thank god, knock on wood, so i think beet pulp is the best thing to do, i also give to Lacey (my horse) to help keep her balanced and in shape for shows, and i cut down her grain.

Would love to see pictures!!

:

Happy trails

Danielle

Robin,

Hey!!! Well thank you for all of the information, i greatly appreciate it! Im glad to hear you use triple crown lite also, it really is amazing, except for at this time when shes not heavy! lol. Everything you said about the beet pulp is great!! I am thinking about keeping my horse on it and cutting down grain a lot, because i show her and she also has cushings, and she eats it right up! Im still going to have the minis teeth checked again, and hopefully with a good float, and the beet pulp, and plenty of hay shell do fine. She also gets to graze a few times a day also, i never let them stay out all day obviously because they're not used to so much grass, i dont want them colicing or foundering. Ill definitly look into the triple crown growth, and talk to my vet. Thank you for all your tips once again!

:

Happy horses!

Danielle :saludando: