There are a number of formulas, and more recently the University of Minnesota released an app called the Healthy Horse,, he said. I hope this is helpful to you please let us know if you have further questions! Light to Moderate Workload: 2-4 pounds of oats per day, divided into meals. horse: 6 - 9 lbs Thanks for the question. And all of his food must be soaked to a mash or he chokes. Hope that helps! We do strongly recommend ensuring hay or pasture is available all day, or split into at least two feedings per day, however, to keep the gut full of fiber. These make up for any dietary shortfall from the pasture. Im at a bit of a loss hes used for 4H, so not worked terribly hard. In warm and sunny weather, the shelter you supply will provide your companion with much needed shade and relief from biting insects. Always remember to take into consideration the quality of your hay. Stay up-to-date on the latest news about your horse's health with FREE newsletters from TheHorse.com. Horses who can still eat hay and are maintaining body condition on a feed like Special Care probably do not need to be switched to Senior feed. If you're feeding about 5 lb (2.3 kg) of feed a day to horse, then he can be safely fed in one meal. Now, with that said, one can provide more than the horse needs, say with good pasture when a horse is at maintenance. Be sure you are feeding according to tag directions based on the weight of your horse the most common mistake when feeding senior is that people dont feed enough of it. Thanks for the question! He was underweight and losing muscle along the top line, and hips. For his size, he should receive about 2 lbs per day of that product, to maintain weight. Will take a look at giving her the senior feed, but since I have five horses, I like having a feed that I can give them all. Thanks ~ Gina T. My 31 year old stays in great shape on 9 1/2 lbs of SC Senior, plus beet pulp and a little bit of alfalga that she eats the leaves out of. Unless you take your horse to a facility that has a large-enough scale, such as a veterinary clinic or commercial farm, you will need to calculate his estimated weight using a weight tape. I have a 20 year old paint quarter horse. Because their stomachs are relatively small and their digestive systems surprisingly delicate, horses need to nibble or graze throughout the day, rather than have one or two meals a day. We frequently take in senior horses that are emaciated just because they are not getting enough to eat. Sudden differences in the amount or type of feed can lead to colic or founder. If you have a horse that you are trying to put weight on, we would actually recommend feeding for one activity level above the horses actual activity level he needs more calories than what he is burning. A. Bob Coleman, PhD, BSc, assistant professor and extension horse specialist at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, suggests using technology to determine a horses weight. I would love to feed him again in the middle of the day but I feel like I am over feeding him anyway. Range in total intake (forage + Concentrate). He almost drinks it down and loves it. Hello Janean, Great questions, and that sounds like quite the herd! Ponies have been reported to consume up to 5% of their bodyweight . There is a significant jump in fat and calories from the Purina Equine Senior to the Triple Crown Senior and similarly, to our new ProForce Senior feed, if you are interested! Were you feeding him according to his activity level? horse in light work) they have to be formulated in such a way that a horse eating this much of the feed wont be overdoing the concentration of vitamins/minerals, etc. This is only a rough guide. 20 lbs x 121 days = 2,420 lbs hay per horse. He loses so much feed unless its mixed with water, soup like. Also, note that the daily nutrient your horse needs depends on . Why dont senior feeds have higher fat content? Hi there, first of all make sure she has been thoroughly checked by a vet to rule out any health issues that could be causing weight loss. Therefore, even if your horse is able to eat hay along with the senior feed, you still need to feed the minimum amount (5-7.5 lbs. >>A 2 year old (Qtr horse) on 4 lbs Safechoice Mare & Foal (devided into 2 meals) 2023 The Humane Society of the United States Privacy policy and terms. Horses are herbivorous. Step 2 Separate your horses into categories, refer columns 1 and 2 of Table 1: Table 1. I have him on senior care feed and I am wetting it. While SafeChoice Senior can be fed to any age horse (with the exception of foals/weanlings, as it doesnt have the vitamin/mineral levels that are ideal for them), we generally recommend watching for signs of a horse needing a senior feed starting around age 17 or so. She was losing a lot of weight and got super skinny. Feed 1 3 lbs. of feed, which is probably more than your horse needs. Thank you, Ellie. she has 15 acres to graze and alfalfa hay, what grain and how much should i feed her? First, and most importantly, horse owners must be able to look at their horse and assess whether it is at a healthy weight or too fat or too thin, she says. During winter or drought, supplement pasture grazing with hay. So if your horses are out 24 hrs/day, they would spend about 17 hours grazing and take in somewhere around 17-24 lbs of pasture. Hello, so Im adopting a horse from a local rescue facility. Here's how to craft the proper hay and grain ration. They told us that you should feed your horse 100 pounds of chaff per day. A good rule of thumb is 2% of his body weight per day in forage. If the nutrient quality is poor, then the horse will require more hay (by weight). I will be starting him up on Kaolenpectate for live stock twice/wk and as needed, did thsat last year and it helped some with the stools. it takes awhile to adjust to new home and new companionsremember horses never forget and if she was at UT home for a long time, she is homesick and missing those she lived with. Hello Sandy, Thanks for contacting us. 1 to 2 cups. I hope this information is helpful, please let us know if you have more questions! The first step in crafting a horses diet, says Rhonda Hoffman, PhD, PAS, Dipl. Keep in mind that most senior feeds actually contain dehydrated alfalfa right in the pellets so you may not need to do separate alfalfa pellets. Hello, >>15 yr old retired AQHA show mare EASY keeper with Ringbone (gets 1-lb LMF Super Sup G) Thanks ~ Gina T. Our 18 HH Belgium age 12 is worked as a vaulting horse we feed 2 lb of the senior along with 1/2 lb .Empower, extra Vitamin E and oil. A lot of people telling me what to do .bSo what do you think. He was a rescue 4 yrs ago. Thank you! By end of last winter he was down really bad, despite being fed 8 pounds per day of senior feed plus a fat supplement (Moorglo) and pelleted alfalfa (broken into morning and evening feedings) and free choice access to good prairie hay (kept inside the barn) and being blanketed. 21 to 50 pounds. The " horse feeding chart " is a list of the amount of hay that one needs to feed their horse in . Hi Karen, I have been running an Equine Rescue for about 20 years. Hope that helps you and good luck with getting her back in shape! After an owner has figured body condition and weight, the final step is to work out individual nutrition plans. We're here to help. For example a 500kg horse should have a maximum of 2.5kg of food per meal (this includes concentrates, chaff, sugar beet etc.). For this article weve called on four equine nutritionists and extension specialists for their best feeding advice. Were here to help. It sounds like you are doing the other things right teeth, deworming, etc. Didn't find what you need? Switch to a higher fat Senior feed, such as our ProForce Senior if it is available in your area. Depending on where you live and what kind of hay you choose, a bale can run from $5 to $50. Ensure that you do not have too many horses grazing in the same pasture, keep an eye on horse condition to look for signs that they might be nutritionally lacking, and be prepared to supplement with feed, where necessary. Horses should be kept on a consistent feeding schedule, with meals arriving at the same time each day. This question is mostly about once a day v/s twice a day feedings The key for him is really to monitor how his body condition is maintaining because if he is maintaining well on a feeding rate that is well below the suggested amount, then hes getting all the calories he needs but not the nutrition. 13 pounds (11.5 pounds of grain per hour of work), 38 pounds (1.52 pounds of grain per hour of work), 510 pounds (1.52.5 pounds of grain per hour of work). He doesnt have any teeth left to grind grass or hay, he makes spit balls! If group-feeding in a pasture setting, DO arrange feed buckets in a circle at least 30 feet apart to give each horse space. horse: 14 -16 lbs. and Hay in the evenings. I do try to separate him from my arab mare who is bossy, but im just really concerned were coming to the end of the trail here with him. There are a number of formulas, and more recently the University of Minnesota released an app called the Healthy Horse, he said. Although it is common for people to feed their horses at the same time, there isnt any physiological requirement to stick to a feeding schedule. For instance, a legume hay, such as alfalfa, is higher in calories, protein, and calcium than grass hay of a similar maturity. 1200 lb. Our trainer is a huge fan of Nutrena do you recommend your Senior Feed topped w/ Boost (and/or anything else) or something else with a higher fat content (like Performance feed)? However, it is also worth noting that very few owners have top-quality pasture. It does seem like he should check how big the horses are. You should also supplement if your horse is in high stress or unusual circumstances. Hello Ginger, Thanks for the question, and for considering SafeChoice Senior horse feed! What are the qualifications to be in the field for Safe Choice Senior. Horses have relatively simple dietary requirements, and many of these can be met through regular grazing on pasture. You will also find it easier to balance the fiber intake in his diet, instead of mixing 3 sources of concentrate. It contains beet pulp (great source of soluble fiber and great for putting on condition), extruded high fat rice bran, controlled NSC, organic trace minerals, Nutribloom Advantage to help her horse get the most out of every bite of forage and feed, and Topline Advantage to maintain or rebuild muscling. I find ballancing is hard because he gets terrible diarreah. Sounds like your mare is doing quite well! She only weighs about 800 lbs but she is only 14 hands tall and still very underweight. Good luck with him ~ Gina T. If I am also feeding soaked cubes (currently alfalfa and timothy, but would love to select one over the other) as well as 2 lbs. Change a schedule gradually, in the same way you would change the feed itself. Place help My ponies lost lots of weight has no back teeth could you please tell me how many pounds per day of feed should I be giving him he has Cushings and has been prone to laminitis please. If oats are $12.50 per 50-pound bag, the cost to feed 7 pounds per day is $1.75. any ideas? If you feed your horse once a day, make sure that they can't finish their food in less than 12 to 14 hours. Or should I decrease it some to feed in only one meal? My vet suggested that I take him off Senior feed (being that he doesnt have issues eating it) and put him on a feed with higher fat (his senior feed was 8% fat, the new feed is 14% fat plus top dressed w/ 18% fat feed). Feeding high-quality hay free-choice in addition to pasture could exceed some horses nutrient requirements, warns Coleman. No horse should spend all day confined in a stall, except on a veterinarian's recommendation. Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with, If you are interested in adopting this horse, please submit an Adoption Inquiry via AAE's website; No texts please: allaboutequine[dot]org/how-to-adopt., Horse breeding from planning through foal care, Horse-health-problem risk factors, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, Design and maintain a healthy horse operation, Prevention and treatment for problems of the equine foot, How to care for the basic health needs of horses, Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of leg lameness, Proper feeding practices for foals, adult horses, and older horses, All aspects of caring for performance horses, News and issues for equine health professionals, Discussions about the welfare of our equine friends, Horse owners should acquaint themselves with the, Bob Coleman, PhD, BSc, assistant professor and extension horse specialist at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, suggests using technology to determine a horses weight.