Please help me choose a feed

[burnedout]

My horses are currently getting Ultium and alfalfa/timothy pellets to supplement not so great grass hay and a very weedy “pasture”. We are moving to a new barn this fall and I will be in charge of providing their grain. I’m on a budget, but would like to give them the best I can afford. I’ve tried several brands over the years, but TBH haven’t always been able to see a big difference. They are middle aged TBs who don’t always keep the weight I would like. I’m hoping that the lusher pasture at the new barn will help with that. The main things I worry about with these guys are ulcers, hoof quality and spookiness.

There are so many feeds and so much info out there that my head is spinning. Do I get one that is alfalfa based, soy based, wheat, beet pulp?? Ahhh! I don’t know. They are just “ok” on the ultium now…maybe I should just keep them on it? But I’d like them to look more than ok. Feed experts, what are your favorites? I have access to most purina, nutrena, and triple crown feeds.

[Scribbler]

The basic of horse nutrition should be the best hay you can find. If possible, get it tested to find out the nutrient levels, especially the protein and the undigestible fibre. If it is high-fibre, it can basically be not much better than straw.

Once you have good hay in place, feed as much as the horses will eat. See how they shape up.

Look at the mineral levels in your hay test, and decide what you need to supplement.

Once your horses are on an all they can eat buffet of very good hay, then you can decide how you need to tweak their diet. Are they still a bit ribby? You can can to a high-fat low-sugar feed with alfalfa and oil in it. Are they lacking energy? You can go to oats.

But no grain is going to make up for the nutritional deficits of poor-quality forage, because the forage by volume is most of the diet. Twenty or twenty five pounts of hay versus two or three pounds of grain? It really doesn’t make much of a dent at all.

You want to make sure the horse is getting enough protein, and enough minerals and vitamins, too, which could be done with a ration balancer or a vitamin/mineral supplement.

I would recommend Dr. Julie Getty’s book “Feed Your Horse Like a Horse” for a basic overview of current best practices in equine nutrition.

[Kodidog763]

You will probably want to wait to see how they react to the new pasture/hay situation. My horses are on drastically different grains/amounts now that they are at home and getting decent pasture and free choice hay. For example my gelding used to get 12lbs of a locally milled grain and I had a hard time keeping weight on. Now, he gets a pound of a ration balancer and looks great.

[bettyk]

My horse gets brome hay, but I’m also feeding him 1/2 lb. of Enrich Plus twice a day and 1/2 lb. of Purina Super Sport once a day. He’s a 900 lb. Arabian who was on Equine Senior. The difference this simple feeding program change has made is incredible! His coat is shinier, and he has an all-around smoother, healthier appearance. I’m also giving him two scoops of Quiessence per day as an experiment.

[Dani]

I’m a huge fan of extruded feeds. All the ones I’ve dealt with have been complete feeds and work wonders on rescues and healthy horses alike. I do not like Total Equine, it is not nearly what some of the others are. Progressive has a fairly detailed outline of the benefits of extruded feeds here http://www.prognutrition.com/pn/nutrition-information/benefits-of-extruded-horse-feeds/index.jsp

[JB]

Great pasture makes a huge difference. Sometimes not a difference we want :lol: but in your case, likely a welcome difference. So yes, I’d first wait to see how they do on that.

That said - where are you (generally, if you don’t want to list specifically)? I ask because “this Fall” may only have great pasture for a few weeks, but it could be a few months, depending on where you are.

TC Sr would be a great choice for middle-aged TBs. It’s got a fairly significantly lower NSC than Ultium which is a good thing for all the issues you are concerned about - ulcers, hoof quality, and spookiness. If those things exist now, they may improve. If they don’t exist, TC Sr is very unlikely to cause any of them. Personally, I’d switch to TC Sr anyway - it’s just an overall better feed than Ultium IMHO. Not that Ultium is a “bad” feed, but given the choice, TC Sr would always be my preference unless and until the horse said he didn’t do well on it.

As for the base of the feed - generally good feeds are forage-based - alfalfa or timothy or beet pulp. I would not use anything wheat- or any grain-based, as that brings NSCs with it.

[tazycat]

Triple crown senior,works for most horses and they look good.Wish i had access to it but don’t. With good pasture you might not need any grain,just a vit/min.

[Rnichols]

I fed TC Senior for a while and was really happy with it. My mare is a 4y/o OTTB and it didn’t make her hot or nutty at all. Most of the other people in my barn feed either TC Senior or TC Complete and have great things to say about it. I recently switched over to LMF gold which I also LOVE - I think I only like it more though because I like the smell of it (don’t worry, not the only reason ). LMF Gold is $8 cheaper for me than the TC Senior, which is one of the main reasons I switched.

I’ve fed Purina products before and have not been impressed. Where I live the Purina Ultium is around the same price as TC and IMHO TC has worked much better for me.