All “complete feed” means is that it is something you could feed as a sole ration if the horse cannot eat forage. There are recommended feeding guidelines including minimums for horses who do also eat forage. But that means that if you feed that ration, the horse should be getting its minimum requirements met nutritionally. But it cannot account for everyone’s individual water and forage supplies and forage feeding programs and environmental causes for things like skin or hoof problems. You may need to supplement some things to help with this. Certain conditions (e.g allergies, muscle problems, immune issues, gut issues) might also benefit from extra supplementation of certain ingredients. Most don’t need all in one type supplements if they are getting a full ration of a fortified feed.
It’s being fed as his sole ration. He can’t chew hay well, but does ok with grass for now. He lives out, but pasture quality isn’t great.
No hay.
He’s on Triple Crown Senior Gold and I’m trying to improve his hoof quality, which has led me down a nutrition rabbit hole. Had him on tri aminos (was reccomended equinety, but tri aminos had higher concentration), but switching back to farrier’s formula because I think the tri amino is making him crabby.
I submitted his info to a free online analysis and they said he needs to be down to 2 lbs tcs gold and a bunch of supplements. I get that they are a supplement company, but if the analyst has a PhD and knows their stuff, how in good conscience could they reccomend something so complicated? Maybe I’m just naive. I just want to do the best for my horse 
Also, thank you everyone for your replies!!!
Carriers formula has way less of the things that matter, copper zinc biotin, than many VMS. You can do way better for hoof health.
I can’t think of any reason why he would be deficient from an intake perspective if he’s eating a good 15lb of this. But he could be deficient as a result of an absorption issue
what company? Was the analysis run on the amount of TC Sr Gold he’s currently eating? How much is that anyway?
Run far far away from a company who not only says a horse like yours - who can’t eat hay - should be on ONLY 2lb of TC Senior Gold, and then add a bunch of supplements.
It’s labeled that way from a fiber perspective, and also to generally not create toxic overdoses of any nutrient if fed as the sole source of food.
But even 15-20lb of a complete feed doesn’t guarantee enough of every nutrient to handle all absorption issues. And, if fed in that way, it doesn’t matter where the horse is, since he’s not eating much if any forage.
I use Nu-hoof Accelerator as my hoof supp. It’s got all the right stuff in very good amounts.
Senior feeds… are supposed to be designed so that horses with less capable digestion can get what they need. Without knowing anything but what you’ve posted, I’d just add a good hoof supplement.
15lb of TC Sr Gold has:
Fe - 1193mg (most of which is intrinsic, not added, and a large % of instrinsic iron isn’t bioavailable)
Cu - 447mg
Zn - 1772mg
Mn - 954
An average 1100lb horse needs 400mg, 100mg, 400mg and 400mg respectively.
That’s also a ratio of 2.66:1:3.96:2.13.
That’s pretty darn awesome, and not anywhere close to deficient in anything.
The only ratio that needs to be considered in this area is cu:zn, which should be around 1:4, and it’s pretty right on the dot here.
3000IU Vit E, and since half is synthetic that’s more effectively around 2500IU, which is plenty for the average 1000-1100lb horse, if you’re aiming at the upper range of the 1-2IU/lb
There are zero deficiencies in any of the other nutrients I looked at - ca, phos, vit A, amino acids, and some others.
There are factors other than nutrition that affect hoof quality. One of them could be the living outside 24/7. While movement is good for feet, some factors to being outside might not be, especially if you get a lot of wet ground or frequent wet/dry cycles. Some horses genetically or due to chronic abnormal movement/compensation patterns will have worse feet than others, other factors being equal.
Not to mention, the trim 
What are the actual concerns about his hoof quality?
Something else that we’re only juuuuust beginning to recognize is how the individual microbiome can impact health and nutrition.
So you might have two nearly identical horses fed identically in identical environments that respond very differently because the microbes in their guts are different–eating different things and producing different wastes and signaling differently to their host.
When I try to understand how my very, very similar horses need such drastically different supplementation of copper & zinc, this is what I point to. There’s still just so much we don’t understand.
Is there another you would recommend?
Mad Barn. Yes, I had to enter his current amount, which is 12 pounds a day. They said his fat to protein ratio could be more balanced, among other things. I think they were assuming our pasture here is actually nutritious. I was befuddled by their suggestions, and sent them an email asking some of the same questions I mentioned here. Haven’t heard back yet.
I’m not inclined to take their suggestions. I make it a point to feed what I think is the best feed for my horse so I don’t have to add a million supplements!
Thank you for taking a look at that for me, I really appreciate it. I can get bogged down by the details sometimes.
Oh yeah it can get wet here, but his pasture is hilly, with the shed, water and feeding done at the top of the hill where it’s driest. The shed will get wet inside though, depending on how the rain is falling.
I’m actually considering moving him to a place where he can have a stall and am or pm turnout if I can’t get his feet healthy (ie, not sore or abscessing). He doesn’t like the stall, so this is kind of a last resort.
It seems like he gets abscesses way more than any other horse. I also started the thread about thin soles and trail riding, but started a different one for my nutrition questions.
We are going to try pads up front next week. He’s two weeks overdue because we were waiting for his abscess to clear up. He is barefoot behind. I’ll try to remember to take pictures after he’s done.
There is no fat:protein ratio. There are minimum requirements of each.
12lb of TC SR Gold is 790gm protein. That’s plenty for a 1320lb/600kg horse doing nothing. Unless he weighs a lot more, that’s not a problem.
It’s also way, way more fat than a horse needs from a health perspective.
tested for PPID? I do remember that thin soles/trail riding thread, I didn’t connect you to that, but I also don’t remember details over there
I went through this with two of mine after we moved to New England. What finally stopped it was a whopping dose of copper and zinc. They both get a full scoop of each of the poly copper & poly zinc products from Horsetech. I up that to a scoop and a half when they’re actively growing winter coat in late summer.
I don’t know why they need that. My others don’t. According to everything they should not. But supplementing like this has turned things around 180 degrees and I’m no longer battling what felt like near constant abscessing.
There is no established ideal “fat to protein ratio” for horses. This sounds more like a supplement company looking to make a sale than a legitimate nutritional consult to me. 
I have an M.S. in equine nutrition. You (or any poster) are welcome to PM me any time if you’d like to bounce ideas off or get some science-based answers to questions. Yes, I work for a feed company; no I won’t push any particular brand on you. I’m just happy to help any time/way that I can.
