Five horse of different work loads and ages thriving on the same simple diet:
~ 17 yo Hanoverian competitive GP horse
~ 8 yo recently imported unregistered lusitano, hopefully on road to FEI dressage
~ 19 yo homebred TB mare ex prelim eventer/fox hunter, still jumping coursework regularly, trail riding, etc
~ 26 yo hol/tb (competed prelim and 4th level in his day, some jumpers, fox hunted), still in very regular work trail riding, some jumping, some galloping
~ 25 yo Percheron/tb (competed prelim, some jumpers, fox hunted in his day) still in regular work hacking and low jumps
(My interests changed from hunting and eventing, that’s why the last three aren’t doing those things any more.)
All I’ve fed for the last 4-1/2 years is:
• Pasture and/or grass hay (free choice in slow feeders)
• A flake or two of alfalfa hay twice a day
• Himalayan salt block free choice
• 1-to-2 pounds of dehulled soybean meal per day for protein/amino acids (usually 2-1/2 cups per day but the bigger and older ones get more to max of five cups)
• Fresh water
I feed Seminole mini alfalfa cubes for treats (no cookies or carrots or peppermints)
(I’ve also fed some Coolstance on two occasions for a couple months when one needed some more calories from fat in winter)
I’m so glad that I got my horses off of grains and grain byproducts, supplements, ulcer meds and preventatives several years ago. Life has been better for them, feeding has been simplier and streamlined and less expensive for me. Systemic inflammation that caused ulcers, stiffness, irritability and overreactions and impatience has gone away as I eliminated pretty much everything except grasses and legumes and naturally mined salt. If not for this diet there is absolutely NO way I’d ever have got the GP horse to that level.