I am trying to decide what to put my pregnant mare on this fall. She is “due” april 5, so I am planning to switch her over to one of the two in December. So far I am leaning towards TC, the ingredients look better (alfalfa meal is the first) and it is higher in protein and fat. I feed both Legends and TC feeds in my barn. I really love TC Senior. Any opinions on which is better? Mare is an 18 yo TB, fairly easy keeper, on 2 qts of Legends Show and pleasure pellets a day (6% fat, 10% protein, 12% fiber) and does great on that.
Both made in the same mill, but I would always go with TC feeds for the quality of ingredients and their Equimix http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/horseproducts-equimix-technology-horse-products
The Legends ESC + Starch is 20.6 and the TC Growth is 13.4 if that matters…
If I remember correctly, the fat content in both the Growth and Mare & Foal is 10%. But the protein content is different. Growth has 14% and the Mare & Foal has 16%. If you plan to keep the mare on the same feed after foaling, and then using it as a creep feed for the baby, bear in mind that a higher protein content lends itself to developmental problems in fast-growing horses like TBs, warmbloods, etc. Personally, if I had to choose, I would go with the TC Growth. Plus the Growth has beet pulp in it, which will help give a nice fiber source during the winter to your mare.
And since I work PT at a feed store, I can tell you that more customers buy the TC Growth than the Legends Mare & Foal. For what that’s worth… 
Ditto the TC Growth for all the reasons listed.
The Triple Crown rep by me told the Southern States store that the growth and Senoir where almost identical. Throw a mineral block in the field and good to go. So I feed TC senoir to everyone under the age of 3, and all pregnant mares (which covers everyone now). Seems to work for me.
Tim
Yes, they are nearly identical. One main difference is a bit more lysine and threonine in the Growth, as the growing and heavily pregnant and early nursing horses need a bit more.
Growth:
Alfalfa Meal, Wheat Middlings, Soybean Hulls, Shredded Beet Pulp, Cane Molasses, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil, Distillers Dried Grains, Whole Oats, Heat Processed Soybeans,
Sr:
Alfalfa Meal, Wheat Middlings, Shredded Beet Pulp, Soybean Hulls, Cane Molasses, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil, Distillers Dried Grains,
Growth:
Crude Protein(min.)14.00%Lysine (min.)0.80%Methionine (min.)0.20%Threonine (min.)0.50%Crude Fat (min.)10.00%Crude Fiber (max.)17.00%Calcium (min.)0.75%Calcium (max.)1.25%Phosphorus (min.)0.60%Magnesium (min.)0.30%Iron (min.)175 ppmPotassium (min.)1.10%Selenium (min.)0.55 ppmZinc (min.)170 ppmManganese (min.)115 ppmCopper (min.)50 ppm
Sr:
Crude Protein (min.)14.00%Lysine (min.)0.70%Methionine (min.)0.20%Threonine (min.)0.40%Crude Fat (min.)10.00%Crude Fiber (max.)17.00%Calcium (min.)0.90%Calcium (max.)1.40%Phosphorus (min.)0.60%Magnesium (min.)0.37%Iron (min.)175 ppmPotassium (min.)1.25%Selenium (min.)0.50 ppmZinc (min.)170 ppmManganese (min.)100 ppmCopper (min.)55 ppm
I have used TC Growth on all my youngsters and am VERY happy with it…beautiful horses with no DOD problems!!!
Are you using it at the recommended feeding rates or not?
Test your hay protein before increasing the grain protein. Most times good quality hay has enough protein that you do not need to feed a higher protein feed. My mares stay on a 12% feed all through the pregnancy and after foaling. I get a fantastic Alfalfa/Timothy mix. When I wean I mix the Legends 14 with the 12% and so far so good with 12 years of foals.
It’s rarely about getting enough protein, though the late term mare and early nursing mare likely just cannot eat enough hay, unless a good bit of it is alfalfa, to get enough total protein.
When an 1100lb mare needs 1500gm of total protein, then even a hay at 10% protein requires 33lb of hay.
It can very easily be about enough lysine though That same 10% hay at 33lb needs to be .77% lysine, and that’s often out of reach of many grass hays. Not impossible, by any means, but IME it’s not typical.
so yes, in the ideal world, you test your hay for both protein and lysine content.
