Hey! So I recently bought a 7 year old OTTB mare. I am trying to build a good diet for her in order to keep her in the best health. I currently have her on sweet feed, hay and 12+ hours of turnout daily. I want to start her on supplements but am not sure what would be best. She has ok hooves but there is some cracking. Her coat is amazing. She starts stiff for the first 5 minutes or so of our ride but then works it out. She is also really sensitive to bugs. Any advice is appreciated!
Sweet feed isn’t great for any horse. What options do you have available? How is her weight?
If she’s a fairly easy keeper, a ration balancer could be a good choice. Several companies make good ones. If she needs more, there are all sorts of options, but something like Triple Crown Senior is popular and fairly available.
As for the stiffness, did you do a pre purchase exam? What did the vet say? If you didn’t do a PPE, a lameness workup would be a great place to start.
Have fun!
What exactly is the sweet feed she is on, and how many pounds per day?
Ditto on the sweet feed - no reason to be feeding that (assuming it truly is “sweet feed”). What Is the brand and how many pounds is she currently getting? (please don’t say “scoops” as that doesn’t help). Is the turnout on grass or a dry lot/minimal grass availble type of turnout? How many pounds of hay a day is she getting? What’s her weight now?
The stiffness would bother me especially since she is pretty young and has a lot of turnout. Has a vet seen her?
And welcome to COTH :)!
Agree on all the feeding questions and suggestions - we need to know exactly what she’s eating, and how much of each.
I’d be shocked if a 7yo OTTB wasn’t stiff 
Track life is really hard on bodies, so she really should have body work done, both chiro and massage, to see what’s what and get things sorted out.
If her feet are cracking, pictures would help to see if they are being trimmed well, or not, as poorly trimmed feet will make, and continue to make a sore body (and eventually worse things).
