Hi all, I just bought a 15hh, 6 yr old TB/Welsh gelding, and I’m not sure what his feeding routine should be. At the vet check, his body condition = 5, so he’s at a good weight now, in light work. The seller told me he gets a ration balancer, with “maybe a little” alfalfa pellets. They were unsure about the brands of anything, so I have to choose something myself. He is currently boarded at a place that feeds 10 lb timothy per day as a standard, with additional available for purchase.
My last horse was a hard-keeping 17hh TB, so I’ve never had an easy keeper. Should I assume my new horse’s ration balancer would be fed in addition to something else? If so, I’m not sure what would be the best feed to mix it with. Beet pulp, hay cubes, etc.? Also since this guy is half TB and half pony, I’m not sure where his maintenence needs would tend to be, especially in terms of laminitis risk.
Many horses do just fine on hay and a ration balancer.
No horse is in good shape on 10 lbs of hay a day so I assume the old barn had pasture or old owners are confused.
You just don’t want any horse to get obese. It’s usually safe to start with about 20 lbs of hay and then adjust up or down. I’d be generous with hay while horse is settling into a new place. I’d feed just hay for a few weeks to make sure his digestion handles the switch then add on a ration balancer slowly.
Got any pics so the pros on here can see what he looks like now and if he leans more towards welsh or tb? What are you planning to do with him riding and exercise wise? What is the turnout and grass situation like right now? Temps in your area? Are you body clipping or blanketing? What is his current coat status? All these answered would help the feed gurus on here give you a better plan of attack at least to start him out on. Oh and congrats on a new horse!!
For his current living situation, he is on a drylot with shelter but right now there’s snow cover, probably until spring. Temps in winter average from high 35F to low 20F. He is wearing a medium-weight blanket, and is not clipped. I plan to do lower-level dressage and trail riding. Right now he is developing a pretty dense winter coat, at least to my eye. Here is his glamour shot from the fall, but his body condition was just assessed by the vet (=5) last week.
He looks great!! Dry lot by himself or how many others? I agree he will need more hay than 10lbs especially thru the winter to keep him warm and not lose any weight. If he is by himself can you hang extra hay in a net in the shelter or install a small hay rack? Anything to keep the hay off the ground and out of the snow and mud.
Beet pulp and hay cubes would have to be soaked, not ideal for an easy boarding situation or in cold weather imo. A ration balancer or a beet pulp based complete feed might be a better option. Do they feed grain type feed once or twice a day? Whats the water situation. Coming off a colic episode myself so thinking about drinking in winter. Will he have a salt lick/mineral block at all out there? Sorry just brainstorming!
Good points! He is by himself in the drylot, so we could provide individual feed rations twice a day. I will get him a mineral block too. He has a haynet and a water trough with a heater, so I think I don’t have to worry about it freezing.
I would consider leaving him unblanketed as much as possible, but as often as really needed, especially if he really tends to the easy keeping side of things. As long as he’s not shivering, it’s ok to let the easy keepers lose a little weight (within reason!) over the Winter
I would aim for 2% of his body weight in forage, however much that is, and see how things go. If he gets a little thin, add more. Work with the ration balancer, unless he won’t eat any more hay and is a bit too thin, then add some calories
Just make sure you put the block in a tub pan thing, or if you are hanging or mounting it thats good too. Otherwise even in a shelter the moisture will just suck it into the ground little by little.
Right now while he is in a good weight have you put a weight tape on him? I know it’s not perfect but it would give you a general idea of where you want to keep him at Weight Wise as you start out with him through the winter. If you are out there daily, you can try to notice how much output he normally has so you can judge if he ever starts having an off day. How big is the drylot, do they get poop picked at all?
The only other thing if he’s going to be outside through winter, again even with a shelter, and I don’t know if you have shoes on him or not, would be to definitely try to keep his feet picked out. If they get soft, maybe do hoof hardener once a week or something to help him out? I don’t know what the footing is like in the dry lot or anything where you have him though.
Oh thought of another thing, legs and Sheath cleaning!!! Mud rot and sheath problems are horrible to deal with once they set in!
I do have a weight tape, and that’s a great idea to start measuring him regularly. He is barefoot, which is also a new experience for me in terms of horse-keeping. I’ll keep his feet picked out and see how they do. I was told he is fine for sheath cleaning, but we shall see lol
For sure with mud and outdoorsy type living his sheath will need to stay clean! In between cleanings I spray my ponys with microtek spray. It says on the bottle safe for that use, I forget the exact wording of it. I just pop the bottle in his sheath and give it a couple squirts to help with any irritation or funk.
The weight tape once a month will help you keep at least a minimum idea of if he is losing or gaining. Take into account any winter coat he could start growing too.
Barefoot feet I think are easier, but keeping them clean is crucial, again with the weather coming on and thrush since he cannot go into any stall to dry them out. Gotta keep nice big sulcuses!!!
What is the footing like in this drylot and in the shelter?
Under the shelter the footing is dirt, packed flat and dry but not frozen hard. Outside of the shelter the footing is the same, with about an inch of snow on top at the moment. I’m not sure how much he would want to stand inside the shelter during normal weather, though.
I’ve been admiring that horse’s ad… I’m glad someone snapped him up, because I absolutely didn’t need another (and he’s too tall–I’m solidly on Team Pony!). If it’s helpful, I must be in the same geographic area, and I feed my ponies (13.3 Welsh and 14.1 Bitterroot Sport Pony aka a short horse from Montana of uncertain pedigree) about 15# of grass hay and a titch of pellets daily–any more and I need to put more holes in the harness. I don’t blanket unless we hit the Inland NW trifecta of wind, wet and freezing, and they only deign to come under cover for food.
Their metabolisms (like mine, alas) are far more efficient than the Old Man, who requires a near constant infusion of easily-digested calories in the winter. I mean, he put in his time with my mom, he filled in for Pony Clubbers, he packs my kids around, he deserves his retirement, etc, but give me a hairy air fern with a leg at each corner any day.
However, I digress. Your new guy’s incredibly cute, I’m glad he got snapped up, and I can’t wait to hear what he does!
I would be VERY careful doing this. It contains several essential oils, all of which have the potential to irritate things especially most sensitive things like a penis. And, horses don’t need to be constantly “cleaned”. A healthy bacterial colony is the best defense against unhealthy bacteria.
I wouldn’t bother. If it’s got molasses to encourage eating, he may eat way too much. If it doesn’t, it typically tastes pretty icky. And, normal consumption provides insignificant amounts of anything, other than maybe salt. And, it’s better to provide loose salt if possible (not always weather friends, depending on the setup), or just add 1 tbsp per 500lb a day. The ration balancer ( or appropriate amount of a regular feed) will cover his bases. If you find you need to add extras, like copper and zinc, they need to be added to the feed so you can control how much he gets.
As for the sheath - have your vet do a good exam, and cleaning if necessary, next time she’s got him sedated for dental work, if he won’t really drop for you so you can get a good look. Way too many people WAY over-clean, and end up causing a cycle of good bacteria disruption which allows bad bacteria to take over which causes more cleaning which… Cleaning should be without soaps, just warm water, maybe some KY Jelly or something else that rinses CLEAN (ie not mineral oil or baby oil!) to just get excess smegma out/off.
Wet conditions don’t cause thrush. 1000s and 1000s of horses, including mine, live out full time, in mud of various types (ours is red clay) without thrush. Healthy feet - diet, trim, not standing in pee/poop all the time, no metabolic issues - don’t allow thrush. Picking them out 5-7 days a week is fine
