Advice on feeding my horse

[mountainmama]

Hi,

I have a 15 year old appaloosa that I bought in December. As soon as I bought him I started him on horsemans edge sweet feed. He gets one scoop a day. I also have added beet pulp shreds and he is up to one scoop mixed in with his grain. When I bought him he was just on pasture. I want to ride him atleast once a week maybe 2 for an hour or 2 working on mostly trotting and a little cantering until I get better, I am a beginner. He is still a little underweight, you can see his ribs. My question is, should I switch him to equine senior instead of the horsemans edge or should I keep him on the horsemans edge but feed him twice a day? Since I am a beginner I do not want him to have too much energy that I cannot handle him but I want him to look better. What do you guys think? Also, what is the difference between feeding horses whole oats than a sweet feed? A friend feeds her horses oats and I just was wondering what that is for?

I also have a 15 year old quarter horse who I just bought 2 weeks ago and she used to be on a scoop of horsemans edge 2 times a day. She is fat so I reduced her right now to nothing because she has alot of energy. My question about her is should I give her maybe a half a scoop a day or what do you think? I want to ride her once a week.

 

[Iwantahorse!]

hiya. When I bought Ruby (about 3 months ago) she really needed some serious weight on. She has been on 3 hard feeds a day and ad lib hayledge. Each feed consists of: 1 scoop 16plus pasture mix, 1 scoop of chaff (plain no molasses), and two scoop of sugarbeet. i also supplement her feed with linseed for joints and coat, garlic for everything lol, and in one feed a day brewers yeast to balance the gut. Ruby is 14 and since we've been feeding her up is looking about 6 - brill movement, coat and general being. I know sugarbeet can fizz horses up and considering Ruby is TBx she doesn't seem to be affected by it. We've just moved her onto spring grass and I'll be cutting down the hard feeds as appropriate.

 

[Billy]

Hiya!

For your first horse;

The general rule is if they're not doing much work (and if you're only going to be riding once or twice a week he's not doing a huge amount) then go for lots of roughage such as hay, haylege and grass, and if he's underweight then give him unlimited access to these (more or less). In terms of other kinds of feeds feel how he rides, if you're worried just walk him and have someone with you. If he feels over excited then go for pony nuts or fibrous feeds which do not have that much cereal in them, but lots of protein. Cereals and oats contain lots of high energy which will be released quickly, so if you're worried about him having too much energy avoid these. 15 is senior but not exactly old, so you probably don't need to rush to put him on those kinds of feeds. I'd recommend feeling twice a day if he is underweight, but don't go for cereals or oats, and stick to smallish portions.

Check using a weight tape or someone with a good eye for these things that he is underweight, because most domestic horses nowadays are over-weight! You should be able to feel his ribs but not see them (as a very general rule!). Someone told me today that soya oil or sunflower oil (I think) encourage weight gain and good quality coat, maybe that's worth a try.

Your second horse probably still needs a feed perhaps, depending on whether they are turned out much, or not at all. I'd again go for pony nuts or something general, with NO oats!

Anyone correct me if I'm wrong on these things, they're just things I've always been told, but I'm still learning too! I don't know enough about specific feed types, I'm a bit of old fashioned gal and believe less is more (good old roughage and nuts), only use complicated feed types if you know what you're doing.

xxx

 

[Billy]

Having just read a myth buster post in another part of the forum I'm referring you to this website which may help you decide what to feed your horse! Clearly I've taken too much for granted over the years!

I may have been wrong about oats..

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/hrs3243

That might help you think about what your horses need.

 

[Iwantahorse!]

Billy-That might help you think about what your horses need.

So we're not soak sugarbeet then???? Sorry but I aint taking the risk...each to their own but that is just ridiculous.

 

[wundahoss]

Hi,

Horses are designed to eat little & often. Feeding grain is often problematic, especially if not fed little & often - eg. small ration, at least 3 feeds or more per day. The horse gets less benefit from it the less frequently it's fed too, as their system finds it hard to digest, so a lot is wasted if only fed 1-2 times daily. Grain is high in starch, which along with other sugars, is also potentially problematic and can lead to probs such as laminitis & insuline resistance. I would avoid 'sweet feeds' all together & feed grain only if necessary(say the horse is in hard work), and depending on the horse, it's health & how often you're able to feed.

With the little you are planning on riding the horses(more exercise would benefit them), pasture or hay should be adequate - may have to restrict that too for your mare. However, grass is generally deficient and imbalanced in many important nutrients and a *good* complete supp or 'ration balancer' will probably be necessary. People seem to be too used to seeing fat horses(& people & dogs) these days. If your horse is nicely rounded & you can just see his ribs in his summer coat, he's probably not underweight. If he does need to gain weight, more hay/forage, the beet pulp, oil, are some good alternatives to grain. Another reason why he mightn't be doing so well is if he needs his teeth done, or he has ulcers or such.

Oats are about the safest grain to feed horses - the most digestible, and about the only cereal grain that's OK to feed whole - the others can't be broken down in the stomach if not processed first. They are predominantly starch, so therefore energy, but are also relatively high in protein and in phosphorus(I think, without looking it up...) so could be a valid way of addressing a deficiency in that mineral.

 

[Billy]

Billy-That might help you think about what your horses need.

So we're not soak sugarbeet then???? Sorry but I aint taking the risk...each to their own but that is just ridiculous.

Don't shoot the messenger! Consider the possibility that it's just an old superstition, that isn't founded in evidence, check out some articles. There's actually a lot of debate about this.

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1896791
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090112134319AAz1CcH
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=314
http://distanceriding.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=53

Other animals (pigs and cattle) seem to get it dry, why would it expand in a horses stomach but not in other animals? Not that I'm arguing with you, just maybe suggesting alternatives. Although, it does seem that soaked sugarbeet is tastier for the horse anyway, and less likely to cause choke. So probably better to soak.

People seem to be too used to seeing fat horses(& people & dogs) these days. If your horse is nicely rounded & you can just see his ribs in his summer coat, he's probably not underweight.

Amen to that.