“on a concrete floor” during a humid Spring is probably what did it in.
Was the bucket just a plastic bucket, or did you have the paper bag inside the bucket? Keeping some of these things inside their original bag, particularly if it’s more paper-y than plastic, will keep a great deal of moisture out. Think about bread - there’s a reason good bakery bread comes in a paper bag even if it’s got a plastic outer bag 
[QUOTE=Nezzy;7176415]
i am surprised how few people here approve of Ration Balancers. Both of the local vets that work in my area have recommended them to many of us at our barn, b/c our horses have full access to hay at all times. I would suspect the vets of knowing what they are talking about…[/QUOTE]
RB’s are great, but not great in every case. I love RB’s, but my easy keeper ponies, like the OP’s, don’t need the cals from them, and, as JB said, most RB’s get their protein from soy, and my guys can’t handle it, especially one of mine who is very sensitive to soy. They get beet pulp and alfalfa pellets as their carrier for their vit/min supplement. The ones that need additional lysine, like my working ponies, get triamino (uckele) or nutramino (horsetech)
And you would be surprised how little a lot of vets understand nutrition and what to recommend for what.
i understand what some of you are saying- but i was told by the barn vet to put my overwieght horse on RB’s b/c the senior feed was making him fat. So i assumed that the RB’s were low fat? I know they have high protein, but my horse is only getting a cup per meal, 2x daily. I am saving money, and my horse is staying fit. I have been feeding it for 2 yrs. Maybe b/c my horse only gets a cup per meal, it is not high fat?
I have to trust my vets, b/c i am not a nutritionalist either.
How much senior feed was your horse getting? it’s all relative. The amount of calories in the minimum recommended amount of a RB vs. the calories in the minimum recommended amount of a senior feed is going to be less. It may be the right amount for your horse, but for some, it is still too much. Does your horse have any fat pads? If so, he’s still getting too many calories.
fat and calories are not the same thing. There are low fat RB’s and high-fat RB’s.
If your horse was getting a recommended 5lb (ish) of the Sr feed, and was fat, then a RB is a reasonable first choice of change. 5lb of many feeds is somewhere in the range of 7500 calories, but some can be 8500 calories. Swap that out for 1lb of a RB and you’re in the 1300 cal range - huge decrease.
It’s not about how much fat there is, it’s about the calories per pound, and how many pounds you’re feeding
I know they have high protein, but my horse is only getting a cup per meal, 2x daily. I am saving money, and my horse is staying fit. I have been feeding it for 2 yrs. Maybe b/c my horse only gets a cup per meal, it is not high fat?
Again, it’s all relative. You can have a 10% fat Sr feed, and a 10% RB (I don’t know if any are, just an example), and by feeding 10lb of the Sr feed, you are feeding more absolute fat, vs the fat you’re feeding in 1lb of the RB. 5lb of 10% fat feed is 750 fat calories (assuming 1500cal/lb). 1lb of 10% fat RB at 1300 cal/lb is 130 fat calories. But more importantly, it’s a difference of 6200 calories or more.
I have to trust my vets, b/c i am not a nutritionalist either.
Given how little many vets know about this, it is up to you do educate yourself
he was not getting very much at all. Probably similar to what he’s getting now. About a cup or a cup and a half per meal. He gets 24/7 hay, so he does not need much at all.
If you’re saying he was only getting 2-3c of the Sr feed a day, and that switching to a RB would be better because of “lower fat”, then it should be clear now why you need to educate yourself and not rely on this vet for nutritional advice 
2-3c of most feeds is probably less than 1lb. Most fall into the 1.25-1.5lb/qt range (4c). Some are 1lb, and a few I know of are a bit less. So, you can see you’re not even feeding 1lb most likely. So, if that feed is 1500 cal/lb, and 4c/lb, then 2c is 750 cal, 3c is 1125 calories, and that’s LESS than most RBs are, as most of the ones I know of are in the 1200-1300 cal/lb range.
Your horse isn’t fat because of some higher fat in the Sr. He’s fat because he’s either taking in more calories than he’s using, or he’s got some metabolic issue. If you’re lucky, he’s just an easy keeper
he is not fat any longer. he was fat 2 yrs ago. that is why i am confused. my horse is fit and looking good now, not overweight and i feel that we were feeding about the same amount. i am terrible with math and etc, so i don’t get this stuff easily, but it seems that the proof is there that he dropped the weight and is healthy.
Keep in mind too that “senior feed” and “RB” is also relative, without knowing specifically which senior feed and which RB you are feeding, and how much of each by weight, we’re just making guesses. Since he lost weight going to the RB (anything else change? workload, etc?) then it seems the right choice was made for your horse.
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