Feeding Questions

Just thought I would see if anyone here changes their feeding strategy and what not when the seasons change?

I feed less in the summer, and more in the winter. During summer I feed coastal hay (lots) , and in the winter I feed alfalfa.

Just curious.

I don't decrees there feed in the summer, I only increase the amount of alfalfa I give them in the winter. I only give them small amounts of alfalfa in the summer because it digests HOT.

when the pasture runs out in the winter those guys go on round bales if it gets really really cold they get grain or alfalfa pellets added at night otherwise nothing changes the ones that are up may get alfalfa pellets or extra fat added if they are difficult keepers (I have a couple who cant tolerate alfalfa w/o going a bit loco from their usual lazy selves) most are too fat to begin with so not usually a problem for me.

We add two midday flakes of hay in the winter, mostly to alleviate boredom, because our horses are in quite a bit in the Michigan winters, and I think keeping their digestion working more helps keep them warm. Our two mares who get no extra feed in summer also get a tiny bit of SafeChoice in the winter, just to make them happy ! OUr gelding eats more than enough for all three and we are still having trouble getting weight on him. I think this winter with less work, hopefully he will gain a little more.

Mine is in a heated barn, so we don't do anything different. I do give her electrolytes all year round though to make sure she keeps drinking enough water.

The only one of mine that'll get more is Kid and the 2 broodmares, as far as feed. I've got grass out the yazoo, as soon as it starts dying, time to start paying out the nose for hay! ARGH!

Mine eat the same all year. In the summer and good weather days they only get 1 flake of alfalfa for the PM feeding. They are out on pasture during the day when weather permits. Same grain ration AM and PM.

In the winter when the weather gets bad they will get 1 big flake of alfalfa 3 times a day. This is only because they will not be out on grass. There turn out will be in the arena for stall cleaning and stretch and role.

As for Stockman need to add some fat to the geldings diet. That can be done many ways. My older mare thinned down a lot last winter. I added 1lb of Candence to her grain ration twice a day and she came right up and looks great. She is not getting it now. But, will again this winter if she tries to go skinny on me again..

I put most of mine out on grass all summer, with the young ones and hard keepers getting grain. In winter, we get alot of snow. We put up our own hay. It's mostly alfalfa, with some timothy and brome. The ponies and fatties will get grass hay. Wade thinks I feed too much, but I like a little layer of fat on them to help keep them warm.
Sheila, how expensive is hay gonna be there?

Alflafa year round for everyone. Progressive and oat mix year round for show string and everyone 2yo and under.

I like mine fat too. Not too fat. Just enough to keep them warm and happy... My husband hates my feeding program too. I say it works and that is how it will be... My mares look like they were never in foal after foaling. They get a lot of nutrients and I will keep that up. Hense $$$$$$$$$$$ to feed them the way I like too. Everyone that comes here cannot believe how good they look.. Well, DAH..

Wade was complaining last night when I went to feed Gun. Why was I feeding hay already when we still have a ton of grass. Well, first off, the fence crawling son of a @#&^( needs to locked up in a pen, and pens have no grass, and second, the feed value in the grass here has gone down. I have a couple of weanlings that picked up a virus and got run down. One appendix colt looks almost like a walking skeleton, so the babies get a never ending supply of hay and pellets, plus oats twice a day.
We've all been letting out our cinches, so my feed program must work.
Any body have any suggestions on putting weight on these babies?

Alflafa for the babies.. Worm, worm worm...

I have a different opinion from BJ I personally would add a fat supplement to the babies if they are getting plenty of hay and it sounds like they are try adding a fat supplement for added calories they metabolize it better and you get less of the protein which isn't needed so much from the sound of your feeding program. It will take 2-4 weeks for the colts to really maximize the useage so dont expect overnight success with it.

fat can be easier to add too...the animal body can only use so much protein, so after you reach that amount, the rest is just urinated out anyway $$$ ..and just like people food, fat is less expensive than protein

We pretty much feed the same year round. Right now everyone is looking and feeling great!
The only thing we change is that starting in Oct the broodmares get increased protein and nutrients...try and get them even happier!

Nothing wrong with fat as long as you like the results. Many horses do fine on it.

We do not feed it simply because it does not put the weight where I want it.. On the other hand that is what Chad gets in his diet. High fat and the stuff I feed him is way more expensive then what the other get. He still gets the protien and calcium for his muscle and bone development.. I am not too worried about the cost when it comes to shaping my horses the way I like to see them.

If $$$ is an issue there are many ways to bulk up for less.. Just add some good ole corn oil, soaked beet pult, high fat rice bran (only if feeding alfalfa) and you got high fat..

I've used rice bran before with good results. Wade'll complain about the price. Right now they are getting alfalfa hay in the feeder, but turned out during the day so that they can also eat grass. Oats twice a day, with canola oil added, plus some pellets and sweet feed. They will get dewormed on Oct 1st, plus starting to use diatomaceous(sp?) earth mixed in the grain.
My old boss used beet pulp for his horses. But I live in the boonies, and I can't always get it here, so I don't use it.
When we moved here, the guy left almost a whole 45 gallon drum of molasses, which I add in tiny amounts to get the horses to start eating pellets and rice bran. Some of my guys have never had anything but oats before I got them, but they love the sweet taste of the molasses, so they more readily try out new feeds.

reiningfan, Sounds like your feeding program is a good one. Rice bran is cheap to feed as long as you are feeding alfalfa to balance the phosphorus and calcium. The reconstituded is spendy. I never bought that one. I used the one that was about 10.00 a bag and only fed about 1/2 cup. Beat pulp is a pain and really not needed if you are feeding plenty of the other stuff and the horse has good weight.

My horses eat oats too. Whole oats. They are high in fat and low in protien. I think no matter what you do if you are getting the results you want then it's a good diet for your horse.. I do like to see balance in a diet though. The all grass or grass hay diet is not for me. It puts those tummies on them and no muscle mass. Just not what I like to see on my horses.. Really depends on what you like and the body style of the horse. The grass hay around here along with pasture is not enough. Mine are out on pasture during the day and in at night with alfalfa and all the goodies.. They get the oats in the morning and out they go..

Course I call all of my horses Hippo's. They are not too fat. Nice and rounded with a healthy look to them. They cannot wait to get back in the barn and eat again.. Seems they really do not care much about anything else..

The rice bran here is over $30 a bag. I haven't been able to find it much cheaper. Could be just being from Canada makes a diffference there. I've noticed that the babies are slowly putting on some weight now. I groom each of the 4 that are in every day for a bit, and I am starting to feel less ribs.

Very possible that the rice bran is not a product of Canada.. Much of the stuff we get here is.. You can get the same results with soaked beet pulp, alfalfa pellets or corn oil.

For me the object is to keep the weight up on the back and not the tummy or neck.. Alfalfa pellets are great for that and not too hot. I like to keep my incredients dry. The oil is just added fat. So, you really need to think about where you want that weight carried.. I do not want to get fat necks so I do not use the oil. But, many people do and like the results they get from it.. It is good for digestion and coat as well. I use other products for that..