I have looking into different feeds and I have found out about TC feeds. I know this forum loves that brand and I was bit confused on the feeding directions. I am currently feeding ADM Primeglo and Juniorglo which is great for my horses but I am always looking to get the best bang for my buck. I was looking into the ration balancer and was confused on the feeding directions. I have a 4yr old mare who is about 900lbs, her 9 month old weanling and soon a 2 yr old colt that could use a little bit of weight. He came from the kill pen so he is in quarantine right now. If there are any recommendations on different products to use I would greatly appreciate it! It was either ADM or triple crown anything else is really hard for me to get. Even triple crown might be a little hard not sure. They sell it at Big R so I have to ask if they do ship to store for that feed. Thanks for the recommendations!! Does anyone have any insight on the feeding directions? Is it really one only lb for any horse or is that just adults?
If you’re looking to add weight, people don’t usually choose a ration balancer. They are typically to provide balanced nutrition without extra calories. So, for horses you want to lose weight or who need no extra weight.
Or, is that for the mare?
It was for all 3. I’m trying to put them all on the same feed if I can but with the 2yr old I know I need to feed something different for now but the feeding directions don’t say just adults and it was kinda vague for me. I’m used to looking at weight and a percentage or lbs per whatever.
Not just 1 pound per horse.
One pound for each 1,000 pounds of horse.
So, a 1,000 pound horse would be getting 10 pounds of ration balancer per day.
A ration balancer provides vitamins and minerals if you feed only hay/pasture that doesn’t provide the recommended levels… or if you feed only a little bit of a commercial mix and so don’t get the level of vitamins/minerals listed on the tag for that feed.
If you want to add weight, I suggest Triple Crown Complete. For horses that don’t need to gain weight, I like TC Senior.
Unless all the horses have the same needs–like all being easy keepers–it’s going to be tough to have them all on the same thing. You can’t just feed more of a ration balancer to a harder keeper, or you’ll overload that horse on vitamins and minerals.
A horse needing weight would do well on TC Senior, though. Maybe once he’s back up to a good weight he’ll maintain fine on the balancer.
You can feed it to all three, and add something else for the 2 year old. I’d feed a pound to the mare and 2 year old and 1/2 pound to the weanling, who I assume is pony sized (I think that’s what the bag says to feed ponies). Your mare is pretty close to the horse/pony line too. The low amounts are because this is pretty much just a vitamin/mineral supplement, so all that the horse requires will be present in the stated feeding amounts. Don’t feed more of the RB than that.
I have 4 horses, and feed TC 30 RB to all of them. The two horses get 1 lb, the two ponies get 1/2 pound. I also add Legends Show & Pleasure at less than that recommended amount to increase the calories a little for 3 of them (an additional pound per horse and 1/2 pound for the pony, 2x/day).
TC senior for the weanling? Or just the mare?
It may or may not be appropriate to feed both horses the same feed. In general you don’t want your two year old or foal to be too fat or to grow too fast, as that leads to developmental problems. Perhaps you could post photos of the horses so we could see the body condition. The weanling probably doesn’t need grain at all. I see that you have a foal product to feed the younger horses. Why do you want to change?
Specific questions about how the manufacturer intends the feed to be used can always be directed by e-mail to the company.
Keep in mind that a ration balancer provides the minerals and vitamins in a more concentrated form with fewer calories, while the “feed” spreads the nutrients out in a much higher volume of feed and of calories. Very good hay is the best way to put on weight especially if the horse has been going hungry in the past.
Googling I see the TC also has a product for foals.
anyhow, articulating why you want to change feeds will be helpful for you. Also having a look at the guaranteed nutrients of both feeds.
Calf manna is a good way to put some weight on a horse. https://www.mannapro.com/products/equine/horses
I feed TC Senior and add Calf manna for the older horses who need it to keep their weight over the winter.
Looking at your pictures I personally would get the best quality hay you can find and feed plenty of it. I don’t see where they need to gain a lot of weight , so a ration balancer with all the hay they want would be a better choice over bagged feed.
Yes I was thinking the same thing. I would go with a ration balancer, but I’m not what the difference is between that and what I’m feeding now?
It looks like you’d be able to feed less of the Triple Crown product–a pound versus 2-4 of the Primeglo. The TC is a more concentrated bang for your buck.
Yeah, good hay plus ration balancer. Their weight looks fine. They just don’t look very well nourished.
Why do you say they don’t look very well nourished? What would you change? My hay is not the best quality but I can not get anything better around here. I feed alfalfa pellets with the grain as well and they have some pasture since it has rained a little there is a little bit of grass coming up.
Well its winter. And she’s just had a foal. But big belly, not much muscle. Two year old the same. I meant if you fed a good ration balancer you’d be getting the vitamins and minerals without the calories. Feeding a smaller serving of a “feed” to cut calories will skimp on the nutrients. You could even just feed a good vitamin mineral supplement in an alfalfa cube or beet pulp mash.
Ok. I have been feeding the recommendations of both bagged feed but I guess it is not working as well as I would like. Maybe if I add a ration balancer to it this will remedy the situation.
No. You don’t add a ration balancer to a full feeding of fortified grain. That risks having an excess or imbalance of nutrients, in particular a selenium overdose which is dangerous.
If you really want to optimize nutrition you have to get your hay tested to see what the protein, minerals, calories, sugar, are. Then you choose a fortified feed, a ration balancer, or a vitamin mineral supplement to compliment that.
If you are in a high iron area you will need extra copper and zinc.
If your hay is low protein you will need to boost protein.
My point was really that the weight of all the horses was fine. I don’t see them needing 4 lbs of grain a day. But they don’t look really fit either. So I would make sure they are getting all their nutrients, enough protein, they are wormed, etc.
I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. I’ve wormed them recently and the hay was tested with a result of low protein. I have been adding alfalfa pellets along with the fortified grain to try to remedy that. They have just been out on pasture land since it is winter and I don’t have an arena and such. I’m not sure what else I can do since there is no other hay in my area that is affordable. The prices have skyrocketed recently.
If you’re unhappy with how your horses look, and would like some advice on how to remedy that, it would be helpful to share what all they’re getting (in pounds) plus any testing you’ve been able to get on your hay, and your general area. It’s also nice to know what brands you have available.
If you think your horses are too thin or just not thrifty on what they’re getting now, then it may be they just need more calories than what a ration balancer can offer, and they need something with more calories. That could be something like TC Senior. To get the nutrition you need, you need to feed the poundage that’s listed on the bag–which, iirc, is 6#s. You would feed only the senior and not the ration balancer.
If 6#s of senior is too many calories, but a pound of ration balancer isn’t enough, you can mix and match. Maybe a half pound of balancer and 3#s of senior will do it.
A subscription to FeedXL can help suss out what is “enough” and what is “too much” and identify areas where more supplementation is needed.
