Horse Feed Queries

[ScarlettTrinity]

I have two separate horses I would love some advice on. One is my 28 year old horse, with PPID, who is still very active with arena work and trails. He’s currently getting TC Senior and TC Ration Balancer as well as rice bran and supplements. He mostly eats pellets these days to his displeasure but he also gets TC chopped forage and can still chew on some orchard hay. I’m worried that his NCS level is too high with the feed even though he isn’t getting a huge amount of feed. He does drop weight when he gets too little Senior feed. I’m wondering if there’s something more complete I can give him to keep those levels down? It’s currently “controlled” but I just want to make sure I’m doing right by him. I was looking at Purina Wellsolve L/S and Hygain Zero feeds.

The second horse is a new one to me. He’s only 5 right now and is still developing. He’s currently on Havens Natural Balance and Slobber Mash feeds. I’m going to try and keep him on it for a bit but I’m not sure if it’s the “right” thing to keep him on with continued work and body improvement. I’m also not sure how available the feed is to me in San Diego because they have a terrible website. I don’t have brand allegiance but I’ve always found TC to be more inclusive than other brands and you don’t have to feed as much to get great results. That being said, I was looking at something like the Ultium feed but there’s also TC Complete and Lite feeds. It’s been awhile since I’ve had to feed a younger horse so I’m not really sure what their needs are compared to an older horse like 10+.

Any advice, tips, thoughts, insights, etc. would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[PamnReba]

I’m no expert on feeds (others on here are and I’m surprised they haven’t chimed in yet), but I do believe in keeping things as easy on myself as possible. So to that end I would try to find something easily available and local, if at all possible. I and many others are big fans of Triple Crown Feeds, so if you’re already feeding that you should be able to find something in their product line that works for your younger horse. I think their senior feed would be good for him, especially since your older guy is getting it. You don’t mention if the horses get any grazing and for how long, and what about hay? What kind and how much?

I can’t speak to the PPID needs of your older guy, but will be reading others responses with interest. My mare was tested a month or so ago and came up borderline, and we’ll retest at the end of this month to see how the numbers compare. She’s turned out on pasture full-time, and I’m feeding her the TC 30% RB, about a pound of ground alfalfa pellets (for flavor), plus TC’s ground flax for some persistent skin issues. She also gets a thick flake of coastal hay at night (I don’t have a scale, sorry - I know “flake” is a dirty word, but it’s all I got), when she’s confined to a smaller area that is more like a dry lot than a pasture these days. I recently re-fenced the adjoining pasture to give her additional access to it, so she does have the opportunity to graze a little more at night. We haven’t started any meds for her yet, I’m taking a conservative approach and waiting until we check her again before deciding if I need to go that route. Is your guy on any prescriptions for his PPID?

[JB]

At 11.7% NSC it’s hard to get lower than that. There are some packaged forage products that are lower, though at a cost (and I don’t remember which ones offhand). Standlee does tend to have guarantees for their stuff, so some of their chopped/bagged forages may work.

Is there a particular reason you’re concerned, other than him being PPID? If it’s working and he’s healthy, I wouldn’t change. The L/S isn’t much lower. The Hygain is lower for sure, at least starch (they don’t list sugar)

Rice bran is high NSC, so if you’re concerned about that, that’s something I would replace. Coolstance is 11% NSC.

Ultium and TC Complete are both higher NSC than TC Sr. TC Lite is lower, I think, but has a much lower top feeding rate so you’re limited with calories.

[Scribbler]

11% NSC would be quite a respectable level in hay, and it’s very low for a bagged feed.