Number of feeds in the feed room?

[chandab]

:wacko I had just posted earlier today asking what is the right/best kind of feed to use....WOW....more confused than ever after reading all that!! Sounds like there is no "right way", which for someone like me looking for a black and white answer is frustrating. I guess it is just trial and error and personal preference-not the answer I was hoping for.

Yes, it can be very confusing. If you ask 100 horseowners what to feed, you are quite likely to get 100 different answers. There are so many things it'll depend on; what's available to you, what type of horses you are feeding (growing babies, idle adults, performance horses, seniors, etc), what type of hay you can get (if you can't get decent hay, then you might have to used bagged, chopped hay or cubes for your forage) and probably other factors as well.

The most important things: you should start with a good forage (whether good hay, pasture or hay cubes depending on what you can get), clean water available at all times and a salt block; any grain you add needs to be what fits your horses needs (which for some is no grain at all). As close as I can come to a black and white answer; try the new Purina Mini and Pony feed, its formulated specifically for minis, and feed it according to the directions (and don't forget their clean, dust/mold free hay).

 

[MindyLee]

Purina Mini Horse & Stratagy MIXED.

Soon as thats gone, just Mini Feed.

Then I have 2 different types of hay.

 

[chandab]

This is so interesting, and I'm glad to know that for the number of horses I own, I'm not alone in having multiple feeds in the feed room.

I am currently trying a new feed, and so far, we like it. I'm trying it on two mares first, they seem to be most sensitive to change and to feed ingredients, so if it works for them, it should work for most everyone here. Only exception, might be my two hard keepers, but I'll probably try them on it too.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I only ever feed straights so I have:

Micronised Barley

Full Fat Soya

Peas

Beans

Ground Flax

Occasionally Maize (corn)

Beet Pulp

Alfalfa and / or Grass pellets

Grass Chaff

Oat Straw Chaff.

Mollichaff

and at the moment I am adding Rice Bran Oil and Corn Oil to Rabbits feed- he can only eat mush now so he is on soaked Alfalfa pellets, Beet Pulp, and then Soya Peas

and Barley, ground in the blender and soaked and made into a porridge- I feed the porridge to the weaning foals, too. He can also tolerate a small amount of one of the chaffs- I never feed anything to anyone without Chaff- it cuts down on the amount of feed you need to give as it bulks out the feed and slows down it's progression through the gut. This means that the horse digests a lot more of the feed than it would normally do.

In the winter I feed just about everything to the mares and fillies, the stallions get a slightly more specialised diet and Rabbit stays the same all year round. I am not feeding anything yet except the weaning foals and Rabbit as the mares and stallions are all still grazing on knee deep grass- honestly I have SO much at the moment (not trying to rub it in, just saying

) I do not feed hay to the mares and fillies- they graze all winter and I supplement them to make up for what is no longer in the grass. The weaned foals get a high protein diet- that is why I love straights, I can feed every horse I have or will ever have on what I have in my feed shed right now, all I have to do is vary the amounts to suit the animal.

 

[ThreeCFarm]

We have two big horses and 6 minis. One big mare can't have hay anymore, so she's on Nutrena Senior with a lunch time "snack" of 1 large coffee can of alfalfa pellets. The other big mare is Cushingoid/IR so she's on Progressive Nutrition's Grass Balancer and timothy pellets, and grass hay. One mini is IR, so he's on Triple Crown's Safe Starch Forage (I'd put the big mare on it, but it would cost way too much to feed it to her!), and the rest of the minis are on Purina Strategy. We used to have all of the minis on Progressive's Balancer, but we were trying to reduce our costs, and Progressive isn't sold in our town. Unfortunately, neither is the Safe Starch Forage, but I'm not willing to take Bob off that.

 

[chandab]

We have two big horses and 6 minis. One big mare can't have hay anymore, so she's on Nutrena Senior with a lunch time "snack" of 1 large coffee can of alfalfa pellets. The other big mare is Cushingoid/IR so she's on Progressive Nutrition's Grass Balancer and timothy pellets, and grass hay. One mini is IR, so he's on Triple Crown's Safe Starch Forage (I'd put the big mare on it, but it would cost way too much to feed it to her!), and the rest of the minis are on Purina Strategy. We used to have all of the minis on Progressive's Balancer, but we were trying to reduce our costs, and Progressive isn't sold in our town. Unfortunately, neither is the Safe Starch Forage, but I'm not willing to take Bob off that.

I've been feeding the Progressive Grass balancer, but it just took another huge jump in price, and it jumped right out of my budget.

 

[Jill]

We are lucky and to date a KISS method has worked for us. We use a line of feed that is formulated by Kentucky Equine Research and licensed to our large area coop. We feed a low starch pellet to most of ours and a higher protein senior feed o younger horses. That and real nice orchard grass hay (and of course fresh water, deworming, etc.). We've done it this way a long time and like the results. Have one of my favorite broodmares who is a picky eater and we endulge her with sweet feed when she's nursing.

 

[chandab]

We are lucky and to date a KISS method has worked for us. We use a line of feed that is formulated by Kentucky Equine Research and licensed to our large area coop. We feed a low starch pellet to most of ours and a higher protein senior feed o younger horses. That and real nice orchard grass hay (and of course fresh water, deworming, etc.). We've done it this way a long time and like the results. Have one of my favorite broodmares who is a picky eater and we endulge her with sweet feed when she's nursing.

The feed you use sounds great and I wish I could get it, but unfortunately I live very rural and in the middle of nowhere past where many freight companies even venture, so have very limited feeds available to me. Considering where I live, I feel fortunate to be able to get what I do.

 

[Jill]

I understand, Chanda.

 

[Zipper]

One feed. Gro 'n Win. I've been feeding that for 7+ years to all. That and grass hay (and for two years a mix of grass and alfalfa). The foal(s) get Buckeye Foal Starter (a milk-based pellet) until 4 months of age and then are also on Gro 'n Win. Easy peasy

What company makes this feed?

 

[Davie]

I basically feed two different feeds, then add customize for the individual. I feed a 12% complete pellets that can be fed without hay and Purina's Miniature Horse and Pony. For now both of these are getting some alfalfa pellets added at about 1/2 and 1/2.

The pasture horses get 1/2 and 1/2 12% and alfalfa pellets. The Stallions and junior horses are getting 1/2 Mini Horse and Pony and 1/2 alfalfa pellets. I recently bought a 21 year shetland mare with a big filly at side and she was a little on the poor side as she is a heavy milker. She is getting a 16% feed with Alfalfa pellets and a mid day meal of beet pulp.

The horses get individual loose minerals each day and those that are showing get BOSS or Paprika for their coats and beet pulp to help keep the belly down.

To help with the hay shortage I've been using a product called Chaffhaye--a chopped compress alfalfa that is fortified with probiodics and yeast--horses love it.

 

[Leeana]

I only have one feed in the barn- ADM Growstrong Ultra Fiber 13% Pellets....I love this feed. I have fed Purina for the last five years and have recently lost all respect that I have for the company and will NEVER feed Purina agian (and I was a big fan before). I do have one picky picky eater who is also a harder keeper, I have a cheap bag of sweet feed which I mix in with the ADM Growstrong Ultra Fiber pellets just so he will eat it.....he is not really into pellets and there is not really any sweet feeds that I am crazy about. Right now I am not really planning on showing heavily for a while so everyone is really just on a grain and hay diet. I don't really have any junior horses right now, except for one coming 2 year old but he looks good on the Ultra Fiber. I do have a weanling that will be up in the barn within the next couple weeks and will probably stick her on an ADM junior pellet.

Everyone looks good on it, it is low starch which I have come to value (starch levels in Purina Strategy was sky high). They may be just a little bit fat right now, but going into winter I am fine with that.

 

[Becky]

Feed prices here are skyrocketing and I've had to make adjustments to what I feed. Feed prices used to go up .10 cents to .25 cents maybe once or twice a year. Now, they are going up $1.00 - $2.00 a month!! It's ridiculous and I'm wondering when it's going to slow down?

 

[noblebrook]

Zipper the feed Matt73 is talking about is Buckeye.

Matt---I had a representitive come out to talk to me about this feed and it really does sound like an ideal feed to use. From the sounds of it you love it, it certainly would make life easy with just 1 feed. I know you only have a few horses though--not sure how it would work out to pasture feed but then that's an issue with any of them. I use a larger chunck feed for the broodmares and it is easy to put on the ground for them and then just moniter any that are not getting enough (or too much) I am giving serious thought to feeding it to all my horses including my QH.

If you could email me about it I would appreciate it Matt, thanks, Rita www.noblebrookfarm.com

 

[wingnut]

We have 6 horses and 2 feeds. There was a time I had 3 different feeds, but once our weanlings got passed their weanling year, they went on the same feed as their big sister. They are all on Purina's Miniature & Pony feed (I recently switched from Strategy after all the rave reviews here and from some local folks). My hard keeper is on Omolene 300 because that's what she'll eat the most consistently.

We have in our 3rd can supplements. I give a hoof supplement to all. The hard keeper gets a weight supplement and uguard powder. I used a fly repellent supplement this summer but think I may have started too late (late April or early May) so it didn't work as well as I had hoped. I plan to try it again next year starting in early March.

And it also holds the cat food for our barn cat.

P.S. One of the reasons I've worked to keep it as simple as possible is so I can rely on my husband and kids to feed my girls whenever necessary. If I make it too difficult or complicated, then it's hard to translate that especially to two teenagers who feel "put upon" whenever asked to help out. Not that this behavior keeps me from doing so, but it helps with my peace of mind

 

[sedeh]

The majority of my horses get a mix of good grass hay and alfalfa and Purina's Enrich 32 as their supplement. Plus free access to salt blocks. The horses in training and babies I've just switched over to the Purina Mini/Pony feed(plus the grass and alfalfa). Haven't had them on it long enough to know how well I like it...but they seem to like it! I plan on using the Purina Mini/Pony feed in place of the Omelene 300 for my broodmares as they get closer to foaling and then lactating...we'll see how it goes!

 

[chandab]

Thank you for all the replies and information.

I can't really tell from the poll, so will just ask. ARe there any out there that just feed hay, salt and water with no other extras (no grain, no supplements)? Just curious.

I honestly don't know if my minis even need all the extras I have in my feed room, except for two hard keepers, I'm wondering if I could dump half the crap in my feed room and simplify more. [Not to mention, hubby thinks I spend too much on feed, and that I'm too picky on what they get. He's always complaining about their special feed. To be honest, I think half of what's in my feed room is more for me than them, I feel they need/want it more than they probably actually do need it.

]

 

[Margo_C-T]

I have been recently reconsidering the direction of my feeding program. I tried, and like, a steam-extruded, heavily forage-based feed called 'Thrive', but it is distributed only in TX, and I just can't justify traveling the distance to get more(around 400 miles one way), so I won't be getting more after I run out of what I have on hand. I had already begun planning to simplify, as well as cut back on the rapidly-increasing costs; an article I read just today in 'thehorse.com' cemented that plan. With much input by Dr. Eleanor Kellon,the article, entitled "Understanding Feeds for the Busy Owner" reiterates something I already was aware of...that many mature horses, in good health and not in HEAVY work, do not 'need' concentrates, but can well have ALL their basic needs satisfied by forage...good grazing, and/or quality hay, as well as good water and plain white salt(article also states that 'mineral salt'--the 'red'block---is NOT necessary.)It goes on to outline several approaches, as well as suggest some uses of 'forage substitutes', mentioning beet pulp w/o molasses,hay cubes, pellets, and bagged chaff...and states that if hay is of poorer quality, a vit/min supplement can be given...in lieu of adding concentrates. It slso lists a 'how to use concentrates' IF truly needed.

I use and will continue, Omega Fields' 'Horseshine', an stabilized ground flax, and, soaked molasses-free beet pellets, because I believe both offer REAL benefits to the horses' overall health and condition. But, I'm going to try, once the 'Thrive' is gone, increasing the proportion of alfalfa hay I feed back to previous levels(I cut back when I began the 'Thrive', because of its alfalfa content), overall increasing their total amount of hay even more, and dropping all concentrates to all but my very elderly mare. I have come to strongly believe in getting as close to the way horses evolved to eat as it is possible; I don't have grazing, but I can at least provide plenty of good quality forage in the form of good alfalfa and grass hay! Will see how this goes!

Margo

 

[ohmt]

Chandab-my mares in the summer do not get grain unless they have a foal. They are out on pasture 24/7 and have their salt blocks and that is all they need. They all look so healthy, shiny, and by fall are fat and sassy and ready for winter. I actually pulled a 6 yr old mare from the pasture this summer and brought her to a show with zero conditioning or sweating and she took a reserve grand in open halter. When it gets cold they get free choice hay, salt, and then oats with enrich 32. That is all and they do very well on it. I do have to keep my younger mares up in a different area-they don't do well on this regime until they're about 4. They get free choice alfalfa/grass hay with omelene 300 and oats, same as my foals.

My stallions get alfalfa/grass hay or just plain grass hay depending on the individual. They also get strategy and oats.

I have 2 horses that need senior feed.

We're pretty simple here and the horses look great. We adjust if any need it, if course, but they almost all do well with this.

 

[ohmt]

This is a terrible picture, but this is the mare that I showed pulled straight from the pasture. This pic was taken in May so she still has some fuzzies and filling out to do, but I brought her up a month after this and that's when she went reserve grand. She also took firsts in solid color in big classes. So, even without all the fancy stuff, my girls stay very healthy!