Not looking to be redirected to previous threads.
I’m just looking to see what experience people have had when it comes to feeding hard keepers. Looking for something to keep weight on, keep my TB sane, and keep his gut happy.
Can you describe what you’re doing now that isn’t working?
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We just started my TB on Crypto Aero after the rest of the barn had switched. Mine has been a little underweight coming out of the winter and after starting the new feed realized he had tape worms also. He has been in work between 3-5 days a week but it is light work due to my pregnancy. Looking at him just the other day I was like- where did those muscles come from?! He is blossoming and I think a large part has to do with the feed change. We have also taken him off of one supplement (Smart Digest Ultra) and I think that has helped too.
He hasn’t gotten hot on it at all and hasn’t had any intermittent diarrhea either.
For what it’s worth we switched from Cavalor.
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Which Cavalor did you feed?
I switched my picky, hard keeper from Strucomix to Crypto Aero about a year ago, and have had fabulous results, I love it. I have an 11 yo, 17.3 hh, Westfalen, so a bit different from a TB temperament wise but, he has done nothing but blossom since being on Crypto. I have never had him scoped but he is also on 1/2 cup aloe juice 2 x day and SmartGut. I really saw a difference in his behavior, especially on the ground, when I started the aloe. He just seemed happier, He also gets beet pulp and alfalfa cubes 2 x day. Midday lunch is just plain grain.
Sportsfield Eventer- Do you think the strucomix made him hot? My westfalien mare is on it and Ihave a feeling it is behind her being hotter and more reactive than she used to be. She is, however, NOT a hard keepr.
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Truthfully, you could mix your own version of Crypto Aero for much cheaper in the long run…
I looked into CryptoAero and for $40 a bag figuring I would go through quite a bit, I priced the ingredients (most of which I had on hand anyway) and found it would be cheaper to hand mix it and I would have more.
Plus you have to feed a vitamin mineral supplement in addition so in the end you’re probably going to spend more buying CryptoAero than you would buying a ration balancer and adding to it.
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Mine was on Fiber Force. He also gets Speedi-beat with every meal (4 times a day).
My horse, hot? Ha! I wish I could light a spark under his tail! But, I do know what you mean. He is the most wonderfully tempered horse but, prior to modifying his food, he was a girthy and a bit pissy. Although, the main reason I changed his grain was because the Strucomix left behind a bit of powder in his tub that he didn’t clean up and it has corn in it. I wanted him to be on a “cleaner” grain,
Wouldn’t feed it has oats in it, too his in sugar/ starch. It equals bad for horse high sugar/starch diets can make for metabolic issues.
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The lack of fortification makes me ask what’s the purpose of even feeding it? I have no problem with the mix and I can appreciate the idea of “clean” ingredients. But the product is basically just calories, and very expensive ones at that.
They provide an extensive guaranteed analysis, which I almost feel is misleading-- the numbers for the minerals are so low, nowhere near NRC recommendations for maintenance (let alone working horses). Yet the average horse owner would not recognize that; most horse owners know to read the “big 3” macros of protein/fat/fiber and would just be happy to see the other minerals on the label. Then the company takes it a step farther on their website to say which nutrients each of the ingredients supply-- again, very misleading IMO when the quantities are so low or not reported at all.
But regarding firsthand experience for the OP: I do know people who feed it and they are happy with it. Personally, I think their horses appear to be lacking the “bloom” in their coats seen with better balanced nutrition, but I also think the horses owners would disagree with me.
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I realize some folks are in situations where they need to feed a one bag feed, they can’t expect the barn staff to mix an individual mash every night. Perhaps this feed served that niche, though $40 US a bag is insanely expensive.
After looking at the website I agree with the poster above that said mixing your own mash and adding a vitamin mineral supplement would be much more affordable and would let you tailor the ingredients to the horse’s needs. The supplement will be the costliest component. A bag of oats, a bag of alfalfa cubes, a bag of flax, a bag of beet pulp, loose white salt, and you are set
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I’d say there are far better/more suitable options than this, if you just need a one-bag feeding routine 
I realize its appeal. Whole foods, non-GMO (not hard, they simply chose things that either aren’t GMO anyway, or are easy to source as non-GMO).
I know quite a few people now who love it, and who hate it. Horses bloomed (funny enough, most of those were on pretty crappy diets before, so not surprising), horses lost condition.
It is what it is. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it. This isn’t meant to diminish the value of the OP’s question, but asking about this is no different from asking about TC Sr, or Purina Ultium, or any feed out there.
Everything works for some horses, Nothing works for all. The only way to know how something does for a given horse in a given environment (in which the forage plays the biggest role) is to try it.
There’s no way I’d touch it for a metabolic horse.
There’s actually no way I’d touch it because of its price, it’s lack of fortification, and the fact that I’d have to add vitamins and minerals. when I could just use some oats and alfalfa pellets of my own for a lot less.
I see its appeal with the added herbs. It’s also easy and cheaper to get those yourself, as there are some products which already combine most of them.
In the end, as long as you recognize what it is, and more importantly, what it isn’t, you’ll just have to try and see if your horse is one for whom this work.
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Probably in order to comply with AAFCO requirements for feed labelling.
People should have that information.
However, as you say, they often ignore it.
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I believe AAFCO requires minimum guarantee for Se in ppm for horse feeds. Unless I missed it, they don’t list Se…they did manage to list copper twice though…
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
Crude Protein…13.50%
Crude Fiber…14.00%
Crude Fat…11.00%
Lysine…0.60%
Methionine…0.23%
Threonine…0.48%
Calcium MIN…0.40%
Calcium MAX…0.60%
Phosphorus…0.38%
Magnesium…0.20%
Zinc…35ppm
Copper…6ppm
Potassium…0.92%
Sulfur…0.17%
Dietary Starch…24.10%
Sugar…4.20%
Iron(not from supplemental iron)153ppm
Manganese…40ppm
Zinc…35ppm
Copper…6ppm
Omega 3 fatty acids…0.47%
Omega6 fatty acids…4.90%
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Wow! Is that and NSC of 28.3 or am I figuring it incorrectly? That is not something that I would feed for a healthy, happy gut.
OP, have you looked at Triple Crown Senior? Or any of the other lower NSC concentrates. I’m only asking because I was told that my TB mare was a hard keeper when I bought her. I can understand why her former owner thought that - she was feeding the poor thing about 1/2 of a water bucket of high NSC grain twice per day. The mare was a skinny, sickly, nervous wreck. She had a dull coat, was covered in rain rot, and had horrible feet. I slowly started decreasing her concentrates while at the same time switching over to a lower sugar/starch grain while increasing her hay. She is now my ‘chubby’ horse who has to eat her free-choice hay from a slow-feed net. For her ‘grain’ she gets 1 cup of alfalfa pellets and 1/2 cup of Coolstance twice per day. She also gets 1/3 cup of chia seeds in her morning grain and a vitamin supplement. She is healthy, happy, and her coat gleams, even in winter.
I’m not suggesting that your horse not get more than a cup of hay pellets a day since he’s probably in work and my mare is a pasture pet. But in my experience, sometimes less is more if you’re looking for a happy gut. And my mare did not start to gain weight until I decreased her overall sugar/starch intake. She still energy to burn but she isn’t a twitchy nervous wreck anymore.
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I’m not sure how you calculated it but yes, it’s in the 28% range. Not a cool thing for metabolic horses. Maybe on some level they recognize how ridiculous that is by saying never feed more than 6lb of it. And if an IR horse should only receive 1c twice a day, why bother?
I totally agree that TC Sr is a far better choice. There are many better choices for weight and happy digestive tracts.
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I think this feed and Cavalor are marketed to appeal to the human consumer rather than provide for equine dietary needs. While I love the idea of a non-GMO “whole food”, I personally would never feed my horse more than a handful of it. The high NSC and no vitamin or mineral content equates to feeding your horse candy…expensive, non-GMO candy:lol:
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My friend put her mustang on crypto aero and has had great results. She was never a hard keeper but is so porky now. I might be concerned about the oats making the horse hot… but it’s worth a try. You could always add a supplement like cool calories.
Why is it a great thing for a Mustang - already prone to metabolic issues - to be porky?
Anything that makes a horse “so porky” is either the wrong food (28% is MUCH too high NSC) or being fed in too high an amount.
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