Help, Please, Switching Feeds At Short Notice

[mojo7777]

Trying to make a long story short, my local feed store has once again received the weekly shipment that does NOT have the the promised Safe Choice Perform that I am feeding my hard-keeper TB. I now have only a few scoops left, enough for a couple of days, and no way to get Perform.

I’ve spoken to Nutrena, and they said they would have a dietician call me back, but so far no call call back.

My main question is whether it is safe to switch, relatively abruptly, to another Safe Choice (or other) feed with similar percentages. When I compare the Safe Choice Perform with the available Safe Choice Regular, Maintenance or Senior, I don’t really see much difference. The fat content may be 7% instead of 9%, while the protein content remains the same at 14%. Fiber content also not far off, but I don’t have enough experience to know how important these small differences are.

Could I start one of these feeds now, mixing the few scoops I have left of Perform for a couple of days, and feel safe enough that the transition will not make my horse sick? If so, which would you recommend?

Thanks for any help. My last TB was an air fern, and I am ramping up on hard-keepers. It has been a frustrating experience working with the feed store, to put it mildly.

[AKB]

I would mix 1lb of the new feed with your old feed today, 2lbs tomorrow, then 3lbs the next day.

[CatPS]

Yes, you can. Obviously it’s not ideal, but get something that is close and you should be fine. I knew a BO who bought whatever senior feed she could get for cheap and swapped the horses over without any mixing or transitioning. I was always horrified at this practice, but she never had any colics or otherwise adverse effects. I would never, ever, EVER do that, but it made me realize that it isn’t the end of the universe if you have to switch a horse over quickly when you don’t have another option.

[cutter99]

Mix what you currently have with what you can get gradually. Many horses go through much more drastic changes without issues. Try not to worry about it!

[Wonders12]

It depends on how much you’re feeding. 1 pound per feeding, and I’d switch them over in a day without worrying if I had to. 2 pounds per feeding, and I’d try to switch over 3 days or so. If we are talking 3 pounds or more per feeding and I’m looking at 5-7 days ideally. If don’t have enough to change over gradually for a few days (and you’re in the 3 pound of more category), you might want to double check with your vet. But a lot of the senior feeds recommend STARTING at 3 pounds per feeding, so I imagine most horses manage ok.

While you don’t want to throw 5 pounds of new feed at your horse, most horses (those without medical histories or conditions) can change over faster than many people think they can without issue.

(Contrary to a boarder’s belief who insisted we change over 1 pound of similar grain gradually over 14 days.)

ETA: There’s also nothing wrong with reducing your horse’s feed for a couple days until you can increase them back up to where they were before. If you need to.

[mojo7777]

Thanks so much for the replies and suggestions. He gets 10 lbs of feed a day, and I have about 10-12 lbs left of the SC Perform. I decided to switch to the SC Senior and will introduce it as gradually as I can, starting with a pound tomorrow in am and again in pm. Again, I really appreciate the input.