Feed

[ThoroughbredLuver]

Hi!

Needing some feeding advice. My four year old warmblood is currently on triple crown ration balancer gold (13.5% protein, 16.3 NSC). My vet recommended my horse stays lower protein (under 14%) while I’m not training him hard. The high NSCs bother me and I’ve also been told it’s best to lower iron levels to I can increase absorption of copper and zinc to help grow his feet for a hoof problem.

I’m considering taking him off grain completely and doing soaked beet pulp with some added minerals (cal trace or VT blend). I can’t test hay since I’m in Florida and hay is too inconsistent. I’ve been looking for a nutritionist, but having a hard time finding someone here.

So my question is, what do all of you feed a growing 4 year old that’s an easy keeper? I really have no complaints with TC gold RB other than the higher NSC and potentially iron if that should be kept to a minimum.

[JB]

@ThoroughbredLuver

My vet recommended my horse stays lower protein (under 14%) while I’m not training him hard.

I don’t understand why vets don’t understand any of this

1lb of a 13.5% balancer is a whopping 68gm protein. If he’s 1100lb he needs around 700gm.

@ThoroughbredLuver

The high NSCs bother me

what made you choose the Gold over the regular - are you looking to avoid soy?

@ThoroughbredLuver

I’ve also been told it’s best to lower iron levels to I can increase absorption of copper and zinc to help grow his feet for a hoof problem.

It’s super easy and cheap to add copper and zinc.

@ThoroughbredLuver

I’m considering taking him off grain completely and doing soaked beet pulp with some added minerals (cal trace or VT blend). I can’t test hay since I’m in Florida and hay is too inconsistent.

That’s a reasonable plan, but know that those don’t provide all that a balancer does. Is that ok, or not? Entirely depends on the forage

@ThoroughbredLuver

I’ve been looking for a nutritionist, but having a hard time finding someone here.

Without a forage analysis they’re also flying mostly blind

@ThoroughbredLuver

So my question is, what do all of you feed a growing 4 year old that’s an easy keeper? I really have no complaints with TC gold RB other than the higher NSC and potentially iron if that should be kept to a minimum.

Keep the balancer, regular or Gold, use the regular unless you’re avoiding Soy.

Add copper and zinc. Easy peasy. TC has the bonus of being among the lower iron ppm feeds, and higher copper and zinc. They just don’t add a lot of iron, so most of what’s there is intrinsic, same with your hay and grass

Custom Equine Nutrition, Uckele, Horse Tech, California Trace, all have cu/zn supps. CEN is only a combined pellet, CT has powder and pellet as does Uckele I think, Horse Tech is just powder. For the plain individual supps, CT is cheaper, but HT sends cookies

Hay Harmony from Yucc It Up is a blend of cu/zn/biotin but you may not need all that.

[JB]

To expand on the protein deal:

Horses need absolute values of protein, in grams. The average 500kg/1100lb horse in moderate work needs around 700gm

If that horse needs 30,000 calories to maintain weight, that 700gm is 9% of his total diet.
If that horse needs 15,000 calories to maintain weight, that 700gm is 18% of his total diet.

See why looking at just the % of any nutrient on a bag is irrelevant all on its own?

A 30% balancer is providing 136gm of protein in 1lb. Unless you’re feeding high protein grass hay, or a good bit of alfalfa, that still isn’t too much.