What do you feed, why, and how much does it cost?

[Mukluk]

OK. I have a new OTTB (Angel) who could use a little extra weight (100 pounds?). She is boarded and I don't know exactly how much hay she is getting (I believe it is a mix of oat grass and alfalfa). I think she is getting a good serving as the barn owner knows she needs to gain some weight and cares for the horses as though they were her own. Angel just started on platinum performance (vitamins and all that good stuff). The vet also recommended either purina ultium or some similar food (can't recall the name) to help her gain some weight. The feed store had the purina ultium so I got that. The platinum performance costs about $50.00 per month to feed. And the ultium will be about $100/month to feed based on feeding 7 pounds per day. May as well have bought a Hippopotamus! So at any rate it got me thinking what do ya'll feed and why. And how much does it cost you? I'm looking forward to hearing your responses. Thanks in advance.

[Dance_To_Oblivion]

I personally would not use Ultium to put weight on a horse. Find out how much hay your horse is getting and make sure it is enough to encourage weight gain. I prefer using things like alfalfa cubes and beet pulp and of course hay for weight gain. There are also some good supplements that can help with weight gain. Do a search especially in the Horse Care section and you'll find lots of good information on weight gain ideas!

[clovis]

I have used Pennfield Grand Prix Granola for ages. Its not cheap, but I find I don't have to feed much of it (maybe 4 lbs per day) and my horses are all fat! Even the TBs. It is high fat, moderate protein, and low sugar. Love it!

[kcrubin]

I feed the Pennfield Enduroevent - the horses love it, they keep weight on easily and Pennfield is a BIG supporter of our sport.

[Hilary]

I have one horse who is very expensive to feed, and three others that are not.

Clancy, who is semi-retired, eats Legacy, from Nutrena, which runs about (where's a reciept when I need it) about $12/bag. He eats 5-6qts/day and a bag lasts about 10 days. He also eats beet pulp ($11/bag - 50lbs) and that lasts about 3 weeks. He goes through a bottle of bute every 50 days ($22) He also eats over a bale of hay per day - at current prices ($5/bale, although I make my own hay, so I incur that cost in sweat in July). I hate to price it out but he costs nearly $200/month to feed. When he was in work (prelim eventing) he at twice as much grain, same beet pulp, same hay, and I gave him Dengie as well. He is the ultimate hard keeper. (he had grass in the summer too)

Star on the other hand gets fat if I look at her funny and probably costs me less than $100/month. She gets 3-5lbs of another Nutrena feed (more like $10/bag) and I am generous with the hay but she only needs half a bale/day.

My 28 year old mare has gotten more expensive in the past few years now that she requires senior feed and beet pulp.

[Mukluk]

The barn owner gave Angel some beet pulp but she didn't like it. :no: She prefers carrots and Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies. :) I was told to avoid sweet feeds, like the A&M (Alfalfa & Molasses) that we used to use to fatten them up in the olden days. Thanks for your suggestions so far and please keep 'em coming.

[jn4jenny]

The barn owner gave Angel some beet pulp but she didn't like it. :no: She prefers carrots and Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies. :) I was told to avoid sweet feeds, like the A&M (Alfalfa & Molasses) that we used to use to fatten them up in the olden days. Thanks for your suggestions so far and please keep 'em coming.

Try the horse care forum, where there are many lovely threads about hard keepers and what to feed them, including feedback on Ultium and Plat Perf. In fact, you'll find that Ultium has many corollaries in other feed brands. Triple Crown Complete, Nutrena XTN, and a number of other foods are VERY similar to Ultium in composition and may be a little cheaper. Ditto with Plat Perf--some people swear by that particular product, but others feed cheaper alternatives with success. Some go for feeds like TC Complete, which is already vit/min balanced, which allows them to kill two birds with one stone.

Most horses don't take to beet pulp right away; I had to "sell" my horse on it by mixing it with alfalfa hay at first. Once they get used to it, they're used to it and eat it happily.

The cheapest way to put on pure weight (meaning no nutritional value) would be to add oil to the feed. Alfalfa hay, beet pulp, rice bran, flax, and black oiled sunflower seeds (BOSS) are other possibilities, but they're not nearly as high octane as oil.

Don't forget to worm effectively, check for ulcers, check teeth, and consider a daily probiotic to improve digestion. My horse has shocked me with how little food he can maintain on when fed Uckele's Absorb-All every day.

[ss3777]

I am a big fan of Blue Seal Carb Guard. $15 a 50 lb bag. The more I read, hear anecdotally and see from my own ulcer ottb; I grow less and less fond of sweet feed. Molasses sure smells great but my guys don’t need the sugar. My ottb/ulcer boy did awesome on Carb Guard, finally gained weight and covered his ribs. I switched all the boys over to it. Big bonus……it does not freeze!! My guys also get 24/7 turnout on grass with a shed and free choice hay (we even grow our own hay :) ) all winter.

[Windswept Stable]

Try Triple Crown Complete. I also use BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds) - my hard keepers get 1/2 qt / twice a day. To my recollection---the BOSS is somewhere in the mid 90's for % of fat.
Triple Crown also sells a Rice Bran Oil for top dressing.
Regular corn oil-has never shown me that it works. from what I have read, it would take so much of it to make a difference --that the horse wont eat it if you put that much on.
I have also never been convinced that beet pulp does the trick. Have tried it and tried it--but had better luck feeding the Complete.

[cuonxc]

8 yr old TB -Ultium = $100/ month

12 yr old TBXQH -nothing =$0/ month


I suppose it evens out in the end :)

[Catalina]

I love CarbGuard! I feed it to my IR pony and she maintains a great weight without any laminitic flare ups :). I also give it to my two air fern WBs who only get a handfull twice a day.
I feed my hard keeper eventer BlueSeal MidAtlantic 10/8 ($13.74 per 50 lb. bag), Omegatin ($40 per 50 lb. bag), Rice Bran ($31.89 per 40 lb. bag), oil and UGuard. It comes out to about $150 a month, but he is totally worth it :D.

[mkevent]

I love the Ration Plus for the hard keepers and Cocasoya. Have an OTTB here now that's really started to fill out a bit with these products added to the grain (Strategy). If the BO doesn't like to add liquids, Uckele (who makes Cocasoya) also makes a product called Equine Omega Complex. All my horses coats look fantastic with either the Cocasoya or Equine Omega!

[Bogie]

It's always a good idea to start with hay. If you can find out how much she's getting every day, that will give you a base.

I've had very good success putting weight on horses (specifically TBs) feeding Ultium. It's a beet-pulp based feed that's high in fat and relatively low in starch. How much of it you need to feed depends on how much hay you are feeding and how much you work your horse.

I'm not sure why you are feeding Platinum Performance and Ultium. It seems to me that you are doubling up on your vitamins and minerals. If you are feeding enough Ultium for her to meet her nutritional needs, then the Platinum Performance isn't adding much that she isn't already eating. You might want to speak to a nutritionist and figure out what -- if any -- additional supplementation you might need to balance her ration. For example, I feed flax seed separately because my horse does not need the additional supplementation. When I spoke to a nutritionist I discovered that although I had been trying to cover all my horse's nutritional needs, I was spending more than necessary and over-supplementing in certain areas.

Good luck!

[Jleegriffith]

I feed TC complete (11P/10F) and the hard keepers get supplemented with rice bran, beet pulp and alfalfa cubes depending on their needs. I have had good luck with the Max-e-glo rice bran and also ultimate finish for those who need more.

I feed lots and lots of quality hay which is a timothy/orchard grass but now have one who is getting alfalfa just because he is a picky eater and needs some more weight.

My TC complete is $16.50 a bag. Most of the horses who are ottb's eat around 8lbs a day and all are pleasantly plump. I would say I spend around $80 if I combine grain and rice bran per horse. If you add in the hay well then another $100 a month per horse.

[RunForIt]

I've thought about switiching the horses over to TC Complete since Witchy was on it during her brief time with a local trainer, appears to have low sugar and higher fat...both of my OTTBs are ridden or worked (its lunging right now for Witch til we get her ulcers or mood or whatever into agreeable riding horse mode :D ) 5-6 days/week for about 45-60 minutes, at least 20 of which is walking, sometimes more. Don't know where that falls into "level of activity", but right now, both are getting all the hay they want, 1 lb of Strategy and 3/4 c Enrich 32 (RB) twice a day. Both could use a little weight, but I can't imagine putting 8lbs of feed into either of them....yikes!!!! Of course, neither is very big (Rasta is 15.1 and Witchy 15.2).

I need a nutritionist.

[flyingchange]

I have a very skinny TB mare that I've tried everything with to get her to gain weight: Ultium, rice bran oil, wheat germ oil, Ultimate Finish, beet pulp.

She turns her nose up at Ultimate Finish (much to my chagrin - the stuff ain't cheap!!! Like $40 for a 40 lb bag). Sulks if presented with beat pulp. Doesn't like anything to be too oily, though does prefer wheat germ to rice bran oil. She won't finish her Ultium.

The best thing I've found to help her gain weight is just good alfalfa/orchard grass hay. That plus time off and she is finally getting a little rounder. I also feed her about 5 lbs of plain oats per day. Cost is $12/50 lb bag.

I also top dress her PM feed with a complete vitamin plus a couple of other supplements. She loves her plain oats and cleans up her feed bucket at each feeding. She is definitely an example of KISS!

[Jleegriffith]

FC- I have one who will not eat beet pulp, rice bran or the ultimate finish. If I dare touch his feed with anything he gives me the finger. I just went and bought him some of the best looking alfalfa I have seen in a long time so hopefully that does the trick. He is not thin but not enough weight for my liking especially heading into winter.

Runforit- I have some of the tb's that eat around 6lbs and my two easy keepers eat the TC lite. I suppose I do not think 8lbs is a lot that is basically one big feed scoop morning and night if you put in on the scale. I am hunting several of them but it seems like once the grass goes they need more grain and hay. In the spring/summer they are much closer to the 6lbs and look great.

Beet pulp used to be cheap to feed but not anymore!

[RacetrackReject]

I feed Nutrena XTN to my, previously, hard keeper TB. I chose XTN because I live in a rural area where there are not many selections and this feedstore would special order it for me. I wanted something with lower protein and high fat, but textured, at my vet's recommendation after a choking episode. XTN only has oats for grain, then beet pulp type pellets and fat pellets (Empower). I did have my TB on Ultium, but he was kind of whacko on it and seemed to burn off the calories it put into him with his crazy behavior. On the XTN, I have a happy sane horse who has good cover all around and the other upside is that it smells amazing!! Like fresh baked cookies.....lol. My guy is on 24/7 turnout with good pasture and I only feed him 1 2.5 lb scoop twice a day as he is not in terribly heavy work. If his workload were to increase, I would feed him 3 times a day or up his ration to 2 scoops per feeding. I pay about $20-22 a bag depending. I am going to try out the new Ultra feed that Nutrena has come out with because I am trying to find something both my Tb and QH can eat and I have another TB coming in on friday. It is also supposed to be less expensive. If it works out, I will switch, if not, I'll just stick with the XTN.

[wookie]

hi. i got a ottb in june who was about 200lbs short. i am feeding him one cup of grow and win from buckeye as a top dressing to just plain strategy-3 cups . he gets this twice a day. because he is a little up naturally i give him flaxseed one scoop each feeding and vit c once a day. unlimited hay--no alfalfa...he gets plenty of protein in the grow and win. the hay is orchard grass. and he does have some grass in his field now but the summer on the eastern shore was dry so it was not in abundance. he looks great and apparently feels great. the buckeye is 24 a bag and lasts about 6 wks.
they really need a concentrated supplement with plenty of vits. i do the extra c for immune aspect and the flax for the omega's. congrats. saving these ottbs is my new thing.

[badawg]

I'm all about getting the best nutrition for the lowest cost. I personally feed TC 30% supplement (about 1lb) and about 1.5 TC Complete along with a vit/min supplement, though that's probably not necessary, what with the ration balancer. The supplement runs about $20/ bag, the complete about $16. Go through approx. a bag per month because my mare shares her complete with her semi retired gelding brother who gets about .25/lb. She also gets 20-25 lbs good quality grass/alfalfa hay per day. My mare is a 5 yo 16.1 hh Appendix mare, moderate keeper in medium work. But, I def. noticed when I upped her protein, her muscling improved dramatically. So, really consider what you're feeding her. Also, consider calling a nutritionist, even call the purina reps, if purina is what you want to feed. They can tell you if what you are feeding is appropriate.

[RunForIt]

Runforit- I have some of the tb's that eat around 6lbs and my two easy keepers eat the TC lite. I suppose I do not think 8lbs is a lot that is basically one big feed scoop morning and night if you put in on the scale. I am hunting several of them but it seems like once the grass goes they need more grain and hay. In the spring/summer they are much closer to the 6lbs and look great.

Beet pulp used to be cheap to feed but not anymore!

Mine are getting 3 cups of strategy/2x a day - which I weighed at 1 lb. Along with the Enrich 32, I expect they're getting enough protein. There is NO alfalfa anywhere nearby - may have to drive up to North Fulton Feed and Supply to get some. At least diesel is down....that's a fairly long trek from Covington. These two have lost weight since the summer grass went away and they get almost nonstop hay. Feet are grand, just want to make sure they are getting enough calories....thanks for your thoughts. :cool:

[jn4jenny]

Mine are getting 3 cups of strategy/2x a day - which I weighed at 1 lb. Along with the Enrich 32, I expect they're getting enough protein. There is NO alfalfa anywhere nearby - may have to drive up to North Fulton Feed and Supply to get some. At least diesel is down....that's a fairly long trek from Covington. These two have lost weight since the summer grass went away and they get almost nonstop hay. Feet are grand, just want to make sure they are getting enough calories....thanks for your thoughts. :cool:

RFI, if it's a bulk issue, don't forget about Triple Crown Low Starch. It is a much denser feed than TC Complete or TC Senior, yet it's higher in calories per pound. So basically you can feed less bulk and get a bigger calorie bang. The fat percentage is only 6% but the fiber percentage is a delightful 18%. I've seen it work well for some horses, and feeding a smaller volume of it means it might cost less per meal.

[Bobthehorse]

My barn feeds Purina, not great but not bad. Id prefer brooks, but thats not an option right now.

Bob, 18 y/o QH, Training level - 2sc Omega (sweetfeed with omega pellets), 1 Senior 2x daily. Plus 3 coffee cans of Alfa-Tim haycubes (only 1 in the summer, since he was on pasture). With Select Nu-Image and Recovery EQ.

AJ, 5 y/o TB/Dutch, BN/N - 1 oats, 2 Oatina (sweetfeed), 3 cans of cubes as well, with one in the summer as well. Same supps.

The grain is included in board along with 3 flakes of hay morning and night, the haycubes cost about 50 extra bucks a month, the Recovery is about 30 bucks a month, and the Nu-Image is quite cheap, but I dont recall the monthly price.

Im thinking of switching the third can of cubes to beetpulp for the winter.

[Coppers mom]

Another vote for Blue Seal products. At my old barn, there was a mare with malabsorption (could only absorb a fraction of the nutrients that she took in), and the Blue Seal feed was the only thing that would keep weight on her. Make sure you get an extruded feed, as it's easier for them to digest, and will put weight on faster.

You may have to mix the beet pulp in with the feed at first. That's what I had to do with my guys.

[CBudFrggy]

Grade TB Gelding of unknown origin. Not an EZ keeper! Three quarts Strategy or Seminole Gold Chance 14, AM and PM, plus at least 4-6 pads of T&A a day. His coat is shiny, but the minute the BO skimps on his hay, he drops weight.

[jn4jenny]

Grade TB Gelding of unknown origin. Not an EZ keeper! Three quarts Strategy or Seminole Gold Chance 14, AM and PM, plus at least 4-6 pads of T&A a day. His coat is shiny, but the minute the BO skimps on his hay, he drops weight.

Am I the only one whose mind went to a bad place when you said T&A? :lol:

[happyappy]

I have been using a digestive supplement called Succeed. The company that makes this is Freedom Health, LLC. I have had my TBX on this supplement for over 6 months now. I love this product and have seen a lot of differences in his ability to maintain weight, his willingness to work, his digestive track, his overall body condition etc. He maintains his weight, he only gets 1.5 lbs 2Xs per day of 12% Triple Crown pellet, ground flax seed, Cosequin ASU, apple a day electrolytes, and a squirt of Red Cell in his food once per day. He was only getting 1lb 2Xs per day during the summer. He does have free choice hay during the day in the field, and eats 4-5 flakes of hay at night. He has maintained his weight very well! He is in work 4 times per week right now, and 5 times per week in the warmer months.

This product is not cheap, but very effective. Dover sells it in Northern VA. Since I have put my horse on it, about 12 people I know have put their horse on it for similar reason and have seen differences enough to continue to buy the product.

[ss3777]

Am I the only one whose mind went to a bad place when you said T&A?


You are not alone........lol :)

[Carol Ames]

How old is this horses? I found the Purina feeds, equine Senior , and Junior worked well with the uneven:eek: pasture we have in this climate With that, a good quality round bale, kept under\cover after baling; and a good worming program had the horses all all come through the winter in good condition,;):cool: weight, hooves coat and attitude:yes:; As i recall the Sr. was not too expensive :no:

[purplnurpl]

I follow Eqtrainer's protocol for worming and feeding.

so basically I feed beet pulp, and then add diet balancers to that.
With an endless supply of coastal hay and some alfalfa.


good weight gainers:
Progressive Nutrition's Envision
Beet Pulp
Rice Bran
Oils like Cocasoya from Uckele
Boss
I use ADM Alliance Nutrition's Moorglo. It is rice bran/flax/soy.

all of these weight gainers are low in starch.

I prefer not to know how much it all costs.

[RunForIt]

I follow Eqtrainer's protocol for worming and feeding.

so basically I feed beet pulp, and then add diet balancers to that.
With an endless supply of coastal hay and some alfalfa.
.

if you come to PTF, please make sure you bring some of your coastal bermuda - I'm putting back a flake of the coastal I feed to the pony and to retired Buddy - with big guilt and anxiety - for us to compare. Is the Texas coastal different than the Georgia coastal - NO ONE I know will feed it around here. Granted, I did for several years before becoming "enlightened" by my first dressage trainer...I got enlightened by her in many other ways too and ran for my life!!!!! :eek: :lol: :cool:

Anyway, lucky you to be able to feed hay that doesn't cost $12/bale...I really would like to get some tall boots. :winkgrin: :no:

[HandsomeBayFarm]

Don't forget to worm effectively, check for ulcers, check teeth, and consider a daily probiotic to improve digestion. My horse has shocked me with how little food he can maintain on when fed Uckele's Absorb-All every day.


I second this statement. Make sure you are not feeding the worms. I have had the biggest change in my barn after a strict de-worming program (same as purpl via EqTrainer). My hardest keeper (like the SPCA was after him) is now on a diet. And his ulcers are gone. And he has no teeth. He eats Seminole Wellness Senior, 32%RB, and some BP. About 4lbs in all 2x aday.

The hardest working horse (17hd 5yr grade) foxhunter/eventer eats 1 cup oats and 1 cup 32% RB 2x aday. He and his worm friends used to eat about 12lbs of TC Complete - and he was wired for sound. Now he is level and shiny and not toting a hay belly. All are on free choice coastal and Absorb All.

I have gone from looking like the feed store with this feed and that supplement to a much more realistic diet for all.

Go over to Horse Care forum. Lots to read. :)

[nightsong]

This Ph.D. equine nutritionist has a website with a discussion forum where you can ask her questions: www.gettyequinenutrition.biz (http://www.gettyequinenutrition.biz) . She reminds you that a horse needs a BALANCE and that feed is basically a means of balancing he forage they get. Know your FORAGE, know what you have to add to have a COMPLETE DIET.

[S4zeus]

I feed the Pennfield Enduroevent - the horses love it, they keep weight on easily and Pennfield is a BIG supporter of our sport.


Ditto. The hard keeps get the enduroevent and don't need much to keep the weight on, maybe some rice bran powder for the hard hard keepers.

Pennefield Hunt Country 12% sweet for the easier keepers. Horses love it. Don't need much to keep the weight on.

And as much hay as they will eat for the most part.

[yellowbritches]

Ahhh....feeding. My favorite and most hated topic. The boss and I have conflicting feeding ideas. Thankfully, since I do the reading and try to stay current, he usually lets me stomp all over his old school feeding ideas (meaning, SWEET FEED!!!!), and leaves me in control.

Right now, I'm pretty happy with our very simple, not terribly high tech feeding program. Most of the horses get Purina Strategy, and they all look fantastic. We switched to this from beet pulp based feeds (my truly favorite feeds) because of a major struggle with darling Vernon's allergies. Apparently, he's allergic to bp, so I try to avoid it if I can. In a perfect world, all my harder working kids would probably be on Pennfield Enduroevent, or, in an extremely perfect world, Banks Mills Elite (made in Aiken, SC with a very limited range). But, considering all our guys are either perfect to pleasantly plump on realitively small amounts (the most I feed is 6 lbs a day, but most get 3 lbs), I'm not complaining about the Strategy...and it eliminates one less allergen for Vernon (who breaks out if you look at him the wrong way). I also like it because it seems to keep their weight on or get it on without ever having excess energy...some of our horses were homicidal on Ultium.

The ponies in my care get Enrich 32, and I have fed that to horses in work, as well. The NZ horse gets that, too, because I am experimenting with his feeding and feeding him straight oats. The verdict is still out on this experiment (he's only been on it for about 2 weeks), but I'm hoping that it will help him run a little quieter/less neurotic but still give him the stuff he needs to be an UL horse.

And everyone gets lots of really quality hay (probably why they all border on plump right now in vacation season). I feed a fantastic timothy/alfalfa mix that I LOVE, in their stalls. They have the end of season grazing, and an orchard grass hay in their fields. They do not want for quality forage, and I am a strong believer in always upping the hay first, if they'll eat it (I've known a lot of OTTBs that just won't eat a ton of hay), before upping the grain or getting fancy with the grain.

[gottagrey]

For horses at our place that need a little muscle/plumping up our BM puts them on Athlete which I believe Ultium contains. When my horse first arrived there he was a bit slim and needed to put on some lbs.. so he got Athlete; another horse arrived several months later needing about 150lbs put on - he looked terrible, thin, dull coat - put on the athlete and I swear in about 2 weeks he looked like a completely different horse. Also both horses went from so-so pasture and less hay to much better pastures and plenty of hay. My horse also had hoof issues and I had him on a hoof supplement - after about 6 months at the new place his feet never looked better!

right now our horses get the Enduroevent (Pennfields) and some are on Athlete - both are on the expensive side but you feed less so I supposedly in the long run it balances out. We also used the Granola which I liked but I think it might be more $ than the Enduroevent... both seem pretty much the same ingredient-wise, I'm sure Yellowbritches can correct me -since she is more up on feed...

[deltawave]

Straight orchard grass hay because it's the best hay I can find, grown by one of my patients who is a devoted and fanatical hay grower. And he gives me his best stuff. :) Hay is tested every year, otherwise I'm guessing and I don't like guessing. :)

Purina's "Nature's Essentials" Ration Balancer because it fills in what the hay doesn't provide, and it's available at the great little feed store that's only 2 miles from my office.

Natural Glo rice bran because I like to add a little fat and my horses eat so little concentrate that they refuse flax seed. The rice bran is delicious (apparently) and I don't need much.

Since they get so very little hard feed--not even close to what the makers recommend--I also use a multivitamin/mineral supplement to fill in the gaps. Our soil (and therefore hay) is so deficient in selenium and other trace minerals that the measurements are actually "zero" at times. They get free choice salt blocks and 12:12 loose minerals.

[yellowbritches]

dw- it is funny that your horses think rice bran is delicious! I feed it on occasion when someone needs an extra boost. I was trying to get our St. Spike to put on some weight...the brat will eat everything around the rb! :lol:

[deltawave]

Gosh, even my dog and my kid like the rice bran! My son says (and he's right) it smells just like cream of wheat. Haven't tasted it, myself, but the horses sure like it. I bought the "crumble" type once when they were out of pellets--"crumble" is an optimistic word for "dust". The mares did NOT approve.

[RunForIt]

I feed a combination of the DW and YB diets: 3 lbs of Strategy to TBs +
1 1/2 c Enrich 32 + 1c Farrier's Formula/day divided between 2 feedings AND all the timothy I can get them to eat. Is working just fine. Actually , am just upping Rasta's and Witchy's Strategy to 3 lbs - taking a week to do so from 2 lbs. Witchy is so nice and quiet right now I'm not going to stir the fires with adding calories via corn oil...JUST in case she comes unglued. If it happens now, there's only one factor changed. Rasta is just happy to eat more. :D :lol:

[wabadou]

if you come to PTF, please make sure you bring some of your coastal bermuda - I'm putting back a flake of the coastal I feed to the pony and to retired Buddy - with big guilt and anxiety - for us to compare. Is the Texas coastal different than the Georgia coastal - NO ONE I know will feed it around here. Granted, I did for several years before becoming "enlightened" by my first dressage trainer...I got enlightened by her in many other ways too and ran for my life!!!!! :eek: :lol: :cool:

Anyway, lucky you to be able to feed hay that doesn't cost $12/bale...I really would like to get some tall boots. :winkgrin: :no:


RunForIt, I would love to know what you find out comparing the TX coastal to the GA coastal.
I've fed primarily GA coastal for 35 years with no problems to QHs, OTTBs, a Selle Francais and an Arab but I do hear of people who won't feed it.

I've always had great results with Strategy and have found with the OTTBs and our current hot little QH gelding that I can feed half the amount of Strategy compared to the sweet feed that so many around here feed. I also used the BOSS with one of our former OTTBs who was a hard keeper with good success.

[yellowbritches]

I've always had great results with Strategy and have found with the OTTBs and our current hot little QH gelding that I can feed half the amount of Strategy compared to the sweet feed that so many around here feed. I also used the BOSS with one of our former OTTBs who was a hard keeper with good success.
Yeah, agreed. Got to admit that when I bit the bullet and switched the entire barn over, I was skeptical that it would work as well as it has. I feed sooooo much less, even to my "hard keepers" than most do to what they consider easy keepers or normal. The hardest one, the one who doesn't like rice bran, still only gets 6 lbs (fed over three meals a day), and he's just about caught up and is looking good. I can't remember the last time I fed more than 6 lbs, and I feed that amount to just a couple of horses!

[bornfreenowexpensive]

Our farm feeds a balancer from Buckeye--grow n win. For really hard keepers, they get a fat supplement added to that and some get just plain oats and barley. I'm now sold on balancers.

But I've been in the situation that the OP is in for boarding and that is a bit tougher. First you need to understand what your horse is currently getting within the barn's program and what can be easiest/most affordable to add to that (so you keep their balance correct). Often, I found in a boarding situation that my horses were not getting enough protein (which is needed for most performance horses)...so I usually added either a balancer or something like calf manna. That would up the protein without adding more sugar. If they needed higher fat (and my horse would eat it), I added rice brain pellets. If they were not getting good quality hay...I actually found adding some hay cubes worked well. You just want to either wet them or make sure that they have water right next to them.


Those various things worked for me. Just know that it takes time to put weight on.