Hi! I’ve been feeding my Warmblood mare Legends Carbcare performance. She has 15 acres to graze at night, and a mix of alfalfa and grass hay during the day when she’s in a smaller paddock (where there is still grass). She is ridden 5x per week. I’m not as knowledgeable about horse nutrition as I’d like to be, so what is the general opinion of this feed? Is it suitable for my situation? She doesn’t get much at all. (slightly over 1/4 scoop from a standard feed scoop.)
She also gets a handful of Lucerne chaff, a tbs of baking soda, and gastroade.
I’d love to hear thoughts…? What are your experiences with this feed? Is there a better feed similarly priced?
Ok, a couple of things - first, disclaimer. I can’t speak to the general opinion of this feed, because it’s not available in my area. Hopefully I can offer some help as far as suitability goes, though. I did some quick research, and in order for the average 1100lb horse to get the nutritional benefits, she needs to be getting at least 4lbs of it per day. Assuming you’re using a traditional 3 quart feed scoop, she’s probably getting considerably less than that (maybe a pound?).
How is your mare’s weight/body condition? If she maintains weight reasonably well, you might be better served using a ration balancer. They’re meant to be fed in smaller quantities (1-2lbs per day), and provide protein/vitamins/nutrients that may be missing from a primarily hay/pasture diet without adding many extra calories. Legends makes one, but I highly recommend the Triple Crown 30% balancer, if you have access to it.
If she’s a hard keeper, though, you might need to look into other options.
As for price - what do you pay for a bag? Need a reference point to suggest something that might be comparable cost-wise.
Maybe @JB can offer some additional insight?
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I feed Legends CarbCare Performance to a few of my horses and I’m very happy with it in that application. (Moderate keepers with good teeth.) On my scale, a full scoop (3 qt) is right on 3#. I would guess based on your description that you’re feeding about 1#. As @Amy3996 said, you’re well under the recommended minimum feeding rate. That raises questions about whether you’re meeting her vitamin and mineral needs. (With free-choice pasture + some alfalfa, I wouldn’t be so concerned about protein.)
If she were mine, I would consider changing to a ration balancer, which is designed to be fed at 1-2# per day. Legends makes CarbCare Balancer, which would likely be easy for you to get.
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Performance is a very good feed for a horse in the type of work you describe, but at the rate you are feeding, I’d go to a ration balancer (the one in the Legends Carbcare line is very good. It’s what my horse gets and he has never looked better, at 23), because if you’re not feeding the recommended amount on the bag (which for Performance is, I believe, a minimum of 5 pounds a day for an average horse, but I don’t have a bag handy), she likely isn’t getting the amount of nutrients she needs from feed. Balancer will take care of that. If you don’t want to go that route, ProElite Calorie Wise or Triple Crown Lite might be an option, as it’s fed at about 3 pounds a day for an average horse instead of 5-6, but they are getting what they need from that lesser amount. In general, feeding less than the recommended amount of a feed can leave holes in your nutritional program. At 1/4 scoop (roughly a pound) of feed, I’d go to a balancer pellet. Southern States and Agway (which sell Legends) have a program for employees to get extra training in feed–when you look at the Southern States website and click the find a store tab, look for a store that has a Certified Equine Consultant on staff. If there isn’t one in your area, ask to see the store’s equine point person, and that person can answer all those questions for you.
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Thanks everyone for the insight! She keeps weight very well, and is in great condition.
Overall she looks very healthy. She was being fed the same amount when I bought her over a year ago, which is why I never changed it but now I realize I should have done my research earlier. I think I will switch her to Legends Carbcare balancer after reading through this advice. She gains weight very easily, and I think feeding her 4lbs more than she is currently getting wouldn’t be a good idea.
Thank you all!
I’ve been feeding the Carbcare Balancer pellet to my horses for a few years now and they do fantastic on it. I love that they are getting what they need without all the volume.
