Why wouldn’t you just switch to a correct ration of Pro Force Fuel? Why feed “some” ration balancer and “some” Pro Force?
3 Likes
They aren’t the same thing though, right? Pro Force Fuel is the feed and the Enrich Plus is the ration balancer. Maybe I’m confused about what a ration balancer does.
No they aren’t the same thing - most people feed either a nutritionally complete feed or a ration balancer. Usually ration balancers are fed to fat horses so that they get a full complement of nutrients without extra calories. But if you’re feeding a full ration of a feed designed to meet a horse’s needs nutritionally (which I believe includes Pro Force Fuel, although I do not personally feed it), you should not need a ration balancer as well.
1 Like
Ok, good to know. So I can just give her the recommended amount of the feed and quit the Enrich Plus all together.
2 Likes
Also, I swear I’m not a clueless horse owner. I’ve just never owned a hard keeper before. Even my old OTTB was fine on just hay and a pound of senior feed twice a day. This mare is not so easy.
I’m going to assume they are slowly switching over to adding a full ration of Pro Force Fuel and possibly the horse might not need a full ration to stay plump on, so they can top dress with the ration balancer to make sure horse is getting necessary vitamin/minerals until fully switched over.
I partially disagree with this. It’s true that a ration balancer can be used for a horse that does well on hay/pasture alone, and just needs a low calorie supplement that provides protein, vitamins and minerals that may be needed above and beyond what the horse is getting from the hay pasture.
But some horses need more than the average, and when you are in a weight gain situation, a ration balancer can help increase muscle mass and meet the increased nutritional demands of a horse that is working. When my race horses come home for r&r, I feed Triple Crown Senior at the recommended amount. Some of them gain weight, but don’t have the muscle mass I am looking for, which is usually evident along the topline at in the neck. So I will add TC 30% at the rate of 2 lbs a day, and that bump in protein really helps finish them before they go back into training.
OP did not mention how much Pro Force Fuel the horse is getting, but if the vet has her feeding below the recommended amount, keeping the Enrich Plus makes sense. The vet has seen the horse and and is better educated than any of us (unless someone wants to admit to credentials) so I’d follow the vet’s advice in this situation.
@MojitoMare - not sure why you would pay a vet to come out and look at your horse, then ignore the recommendations and go with advice from anonymous internet posters who have neither seen your horse nor stated their credentials.
1 Like
But you don’t feed less than the recommended amount of the nutritionally complete grain, do you?
I agree it would help to know how much Pro Force Fuel the horse is getting, and how much ration balancer. It seems to me if the purpose of feeding a ration balancer on top of a full ration of a complete feed was additional protein for weight gain, the vet would have explained this in their recommendation?
I only asked the OP “why” they were feeding some ration balancer and some complete feed? If she doesn’t know, maybe she should call her vet back, or talk to a feed rep?
Good morning! I feed according to the instructions, mostly because the instruction writers know more than me. BUT if a vet recommends something different, I’d make the change, of course after asking why. OP does not offer up much detail in any post.
What additional details would you like to know?
What you put in #30. It makes sense that the vet recommended a mix of the ProForceFuel and the Enrich Plus. If your horse won’t eat the recommended amounts of the ProForceFuel, she needs a bump with something more heavily fortified with protein etc, such as alfalfa hay and the Enrich Plus. Based on the information in #30, I’d adhere to the vet’s advice.
"Mare is thin through the ribs and is lacking topline in her back and neck. She does have some fat in her shoulder"
The fact that you are concerned, asking questions, and working with your vet, and are all indicators that you are a good horse mom! 
How much does this horse weigh? Or should she weigh?
The feeding amounts range from .25lb/100lb to 1.5lb/100lb, depending on if the horse is a “maintenance” horse, or a performance horse in intense exercise.
Performance at Moderate Exercise is .75-1lb/100lb, and Intense Exercise is 1-1.5lb/100lb.
For those wondering why the vet said reduce the Enrich - remember, she was feeding probably over 7lb of this stuff :eek: :eek: So yeah, it absolutely must be reduced a LOT
The vet’s tape weight for Mojito showed 1150, but we all agreed she doesn’t look like she weighs that much.
7 pounds sounds like a lot. I don’t think Mojito was getting that much Enrich. I may have been incorrect about the amount the barn is feeding her. I thought the scoop they were using was a quart but I might be mistaken. I can definitely double check. I’m going to get my own scoop for the Pro Force so I know exactly how much she is getting and can make adjustments.
Tapes are typically low, so she probably weighs a little more. But, it does depend on her body composition. I’d assume 1100 at least.
So that means she doesn’t need 10lb, that would be the higher end of the feeding rate. She can easily be ok with the nutrition in 5-10lb. In all honesty I’d probably add a fat supplement instead of a ration balancer to whatever end amount of the feed you can get her to eat.
7 pounds sounds like a lot. I don’t think Mojito was getting that much Enrich. I may have been incorrect about the amount the barn is feeding her. I thought the scoop they were using was a quart but I might be mistaken. I can definitely double check. I’m going to get my own scoop for the Pro Force so I know exactly how much she is getting and can make adjustments.
I was going by the 4 quarts you said she was getting.
For the Pro Force, I was going off of the recommended amount on the Nutrena website. For a horse weighing 1150, they recommend 10-13 pounds. I don’t think I could get Mo to eat that much.
What kind of fat supplement were you thinking? Like Cool Calories? Because my vet said I could quit giving her that, I was just throwing my money away for all the good it was doing Mojito. She will still be getting the 1/2 cup of corn oil per feeding.
I know you were going off the 4 quarts I said she was getting. But I think I’m mistaken about that amount. I’m not at the barn so can’t physically look at the scoop right now, but assumed it was a quart. I’m probably wrong.
I’ve never had to pay this much attention to feed before, and obviously am woefully ignorant about it. I’m trying to do better by Mo but I guess I have a lot of homework to do about correctly feeding a hard keeper. I think my vet has me started off on the right track. I’m hoping to see some progress soon!
What category are you putting her in - intense exercise? It doesn’t sound like she fits that criteria.
What kind of fat supplement were you thinking? Like Cool Calories? Because my vet said I could quit giving her that, I was just throwing my money away for all the good it was doing Mojito. She will still be getting the 1/2 cup of corn oil per feeding.
IMHO Cool Calories is a waste, given the feeding amount. Use a rice bran-based supplement like Nutrena Empower Boost, and others like it, or oil.
Do what your vet suggested as they have actually seen the horse.
1 Like
They sell scoops with weight measurements on them - pretty handy. I put it on a postal scale with my feeds and it appears to be accurate. Pellets on one side, textured on the other.
https://www.doversaddlery.com/surescoop-feed-scoop/p/X1-27701/
1 Like
My 2 cents from learning to deal with a similar horse.
Sucralfate until she stops being a picky eater, then use whenever anything is stressful.
Unlimited alfalfa. Don’t bother with grass hay if you can avoid it. She doesn’t need to be kept busy, she needs good quality forage that she will actually eat!
Canola oil (I feed 2 cups in winter and 1-1.5 in summer when she’s on pasture all day) I fed 3 cups a day when she needed weight put on. 1-2 cups a day is maintenance now that she is in good flesh. My horse is maybe 1150lbs with fairly heavy muscling for her fine frame. She needs a ton of supplemental calories!
Ration balancer weighed to the appropriate amount for the hay she is eating (weigh your hay so you know what percentage of her body weight she will eat in a day) AND to the amount appropriate for your geographical location/geographical origin of your hay. If your feed company’s nutritionist can’t help you do the math on that or doesn’t know why, find a new feed co.
Find a daily pro/pre-biotic and a good ‘ulcer’ supplement (I like Biotic 8 and Visceral) to keep her happy.
One thing I did with my mare was to take away the stress of feeding her when she had other things on her mind. Yours may be less fussy than you think and might need to have her daytime ‘grain’ feeds cut drastically. Mine prefers to eat late in the evening when the barn has settled and she has nothing else to do.
Good luck!
