I just bought a five year old Friesian/QH cross. He is really gorgeous, but I am having a hard time knowing what to feed him. I bought him from a place down south that said they only fed him a bag of chopped dried alfalfa, and no grain or anything else. When he came to me, he was advertised as “suitable for any level rider” sort of saint being ridden by children. This was why I bought him. I am an experienced rider but do not want a hot horse because I am 67. I have him on grass all day, some hay at night, a cup of alfalfa pellets twice a day and a ration balancer with 26% protein (Poulin E-Tec Balancer). He also gets a scoop of smart muscle. He gets first cut. I also give him vitamin e and some Cruz flax oil. Since getting him in March (two months ago), I have noticed that he looks great and is super shiny but he is gradually getting a little bit hotter. The amount of balancer I am feeding is based on his weight and not his hay, since it is pretty crappy hay. But he does get grass all day. Has anybody noticed that Friesian crosses are prone to hotness if overfed? I would like to hear what people with Friesian crosses feed and how they regard them.
I like alfalfa pellets, or a flake, as an ulcer preventative, especially for a horse I just brought in. Are you feeding it because the previous owners fed it? It might be something to cut out if the grass is good and he has settled in with you. I’m not familiar with the supplements you mentioned other than the oil. A ration balancer would not be making him hot.
A friend has Frisian’s that she rides & drives. I find them to be quite keen horse yet very obedient.
Thanks for this reply. He is really a very kind horse.
Sounds like you are feeding him better so he feels better.
And yes, a ration balancer won’t make him hot, but the additional calories/energy can.
Sounds like he just needs more work.
How’s his condition?
Unless he needs weight, I’d drop the alfalfa pellets and oil, and see if anything changes. He may just be getting too many calories.
He looks pretty fabulous, actually, but is not muscled up. But super shiny and well fed.
He’s getting plenty of protein with the balancer & smart muscle; you can probably drop the alfalfa. Some horses are sensitive to it.
Is the hay tested? Some “crappy” first cut can actually be sky high in sugar, which might not be agreeing with him.
How was his condition when you got him?
He looked ok when I got him but a tad rangey and certainly not shiny. He had no muscle whatsoever.
Crappy hay doesn’t really mean anything if it isn’t tested and could be full of sugar
How much oil? How many hours of grass? What’s his weight?
Enough grass almost guarantees he doesn’t need the Omega 3 from the flax oil, so if you’re feeding more than 1-2oz, drop to that, or even eliminate it if you’re worried about his weight
2c alfalfa pellets is around 300-333 calories, so not significant
What is “some hay at night” - how many pounds? If you’re not sure, how many flakes from what size bales, roughly? Grass hay tends to be in the 2-3lb/flake range is smaller 40-50lb bales, maybe a little more. But they can be 4-5lb if from large 100lb bales. I guess the bigger question is - is he out by morning, or does he still have some left over?
He was “advertised as “suitable for any level rider” sort of saint being ridden by children” but did you test ride him? See video of these kids riding him? What does “getting a little bit hotter” mean? given the description of his condition when you got him, he likely just feels better and you’re seeing the real Him.
Almost ANY horse is prone to ‘hotness’ if overfed.
I am consistently amazed by experienced, 60+ horsewomen who can’t understand why their overfed horses are hard to deal with; I’m not singling out the OP. I’ve seen plenty it in real life.
Fat and Sassy is a real thing. If he was a bit “rangey” it may have been for a reason.
I have a Friesian cross. She is probably the sweetest horse I’ve ever had! And she tries really hard for me. But! they are not dead-heads.
When I bought her, she came from a bit of a dealer and was completely shut down. They had kids riding her, trail riding, etc, and she was 3. As she “woke up” and learned that I allowed for “no” answers, she became over-reactive in a lot of scenarios. It took another 6 months-ish of working with her with normal training (kinder probably) for us to build trust and her to come back down from those initial issues. I don’t think she was abused, but pushed hard and worked a lot more. We still have blow ups occasionally (not bad really), but she comes down from them really quickly.
My guess is you’ll have a similar arc if yours was kept thinner and pushed/worked harder. Mine gets fat really fast, just fyi!
It’s the smart muscle, it works amazingly well but has had this effect on several horses I’ve used it on. I find it’s a balancing act of when to use it: heavy work, coming back to work - yes. But not all the time and not so much when they are on grass. I take a similar amino acid blend myself when I’m doing a lot and it gives me a real energy boost too.
Agree. I have a 16.3 hd 5 yo Friesian cross mare - super sweet, good mind, but she can be sensitive. One day sensitive, next several days back to mid-century ammy easy.
She came from Amish country and at first was stand-offish and would kind of look you over like “hmmmm, what are you about to do to me?”. She is darn fancy and generally likes to work but is smart, smart, smart. I don’t think she was abused but like Maple Farm said, I think she was pushed through a lot for the auction ring. She sold at not quite 3 yo through auction and could “ride western and english, drives TSS, and just started jumping” according to her ad 
I actually found the video of her going through the sale which was kinda cool.
I have not found feeding her too much different than other horses. She does have anhidrosis, so that has taken a little work to sort out. I have found alfalfa can make her more sensitive, so I have not fed it in a while. Winter she is “sharper” than summer - but often the work isn’t regular in winter. She’s on brome grass hay/ timothy or brome/orchard and is on TC Senior Gold ( has a whopping 1800 kcal/lb). She’s got a gorgeous coat and if she grows any more mane/tail/bridle path, I will need new clippers and scissors 
I think we have very similar mares!!! Same exact size, and mine also was originally from Amish country. A trainer asked me if I imported her; I called her a Pennsylvania Dutch Warmblood 
hahaha!!! I call mine a Amish Warmblood! They do sound similiar!!
Do you know the friesian bloodlines of yours? Mine is by Lucaz G by Doaitsen. Verified by DNA. Her dam is listed as “crossbred” - but I found a phone number of the person who sold her at Auction so I’m going to call and see if he knows anything about the dam 
DNA my Horse said my mare is Friesian / Morgan. And she is a super cool dark buckskin color!
Yes, mine is also DNA verified & came with papers - 3/4 Friesian, 1/4 Standardbred. Sire is Pieter Z, by Rintse 386. Dam sire is Knight of Wild Rose Ranch (what a name ) by Goffert 369. Reitse 272 on both sides, but further back, and inbreeding is low.
It’s an interesting cross - she looks very Friesian-y, but not too much crazy knee action. Dark bay and THICK (as a lady commented at my last show lol). Buckskin sounds absolutely gorgeous - I have thought about breeding her to a creme warlander in the future to get one! I always said I wouldn’t breed for color but if you can get both color and what you want… 
I know a lot of people don’t like the crosses, but she’s a lovely animal. Athletic enough for me (I’m no grand prix rider), smart, sweet as can be, and a way lower chance of having Friesian breed problems. Knock on wood. I posted some photos of her on the matchy matchy dressage thread this week if you want to see her!
Anyway sorry for us taking over this thread
