Although different horses have different nutritional needs due to temperament, being an easy/hard keeper, amount of physical activity, etc. I’m still curious what people are feeding their event horses and also what changes they make (if any) when they are actively competing vs. taking time off in the winter.
My horse is a chubby little air fern so he gets a handful of Purina Horseman’s Edge and some good quality hay. That’s about it :lol: He does just fine on that all year round, although we’re only at Training right now so nothing too strenuous. He works 6 days a week for 45 minutes - an hour all year round, jumps once every couple of weeks, has a conditioning day once a week during eventing season, and hacks out on hills at least once a week weather permitting.
After having one of the hardest keepers I now have an air fern. Hard keeper -TB gelding, 17h ate about 12lbs of Legacy 5qts of soaked beet pulp and 2 bales of hay a day. And grass. When he was competing he also got alfalfa dengie, oil and flax. And he was still lean. Pretty sure he had a metabolic or digestive issue.
Easy keeper: 2 cups of low starch grain by Nutrena, grass hay and grass In the summer. Lives outside 24/7. She is a 15 h 7/8TB mare.
I actually just switched my youngster’s diet. He was getting 6lbs Purina Senior with 3lbs of Strategy per day plus 3lbs of grass or alfalfa pellets and as much really nice grass hay as he wanted. He’s also on U-Gard pellets and Optizyme. Last weekend I started switching him over to Triple Crown Senior. I’m worried he’s one of those “low starch guys” so the TC Senior will be much better for him, plus a lower NSC will (hopefully) help his brain out.
He is a HARD keeper with all physical issues ruled out. I think he’s progressing well–I just wish he would gain weight like I do :(! He’s a 5yo OTTB gelding, currently not working due to weather (indoor is almost finished.)
Mine is a hard keeper but he is hot hot hot and so I have found through trial and error that this works best for us.
Am: 3lb tc sr, 1 3qt scoop (dry measure) beet pulp
Pm: same +1 cup ground stabilized flax
Free choice good quality hay. I am careful to keep him where he has grass to eat in the summer. Never alfalfa… it turns my somewhat manageable hot “hive of angry bees” into a full fledged rodeo bronc. He just loses his mind.
If he springs a rib or two I add up to 1 cup cocosoya oil. Its amazing and puts such a nice bloom on them he looks wet.
[QUOTE=Manahmanah;7394994]
Mine is a hard keeper but he is hot hot hot and so I have found through trial and eerror that this works best for us.
Am: 3lb tc sr, 1 3qt scoop (dry measure) beet pulp
Pm: same +1 cup ground stabized flax
Free choice good quality hay. I am careful to keep him where he has grass to eat in the summer. Never alfalfa… it turns my somewhat manageable hot “hive of angry bees” into a full fledged rodeo bronc. He just loses his mind.
If he springs a rib or two I add up to 1 cup cocosoya oil. Its amazing and puts such a nice bloom on them he looks wet.[/QUOTE]
Do you like cocosoya oil better than canola oil? I had my horse on canola oil with beet pulp for a while, but after a few weeks he refused to eat anything with oil on it. I’d really like for him to be on some kind of oil because it’s straight up calories without making him nutty.
Toby has been getting Fibergized Omega for a couple of years (with a brief stint on Triple Crown Senior while with my coach this fall). Right now, since he is on vacation, he gets about 4lbs a day. I would like to give him more, since he’s a little thinner than I like (he got VERY fit at the coach’s and came back on the trimmer side of my preference. I tend to keep him a bit more on the round side because he loses weight very quickly). BUT, because he’s not doing anything, I don’t want to add calories (Even though the FO doesn’t tend to make them hot) that may make him goofy…especially with me (maybe one day if the weather breaks) getting back in the saddle. He’s at max hay consumption for him and, when there’s no snow, also still picks at grass while out.
At his fittest last summer, when we were competing a lot, galloping every week, and working quite hard, aiming for a one star, he was up to 12 lbs a day. I HATE feeding that much, but he is not a good hay eater (hoping he improves on the hay he gets now). Like I said, I prefer to keep him a bit on the round side of things (not fat, in the least, but I like him to cover his ribs), and he wasn’t going to be able to do it without a bump in his feed.
He also gets an Omega 3 supplement from Smartpak (he was on Cocosoya oil, which was very helpful, but went off of it last year. Have I mentioned he’s also quite picky?), Quiessence, and garlic. He has hay in front of him 24/7, including the pasture, right now, and also has decent stuff to pick at if he can get to it.
I have used both but I do like the cocosoya better. It smells divine - I want to eat it myself! Honestly I am not fully convinced that it is worth the extra price tag. Mine always gets the cocosoya but I have bulked up boarders horses just fine with the other stuff.
[QUOTE=skipollo;7394955]
I actually just switched my youngster’s diet. He was getting 6lbs Purina Senior with 3lbs of Strategy per day plus 3lbs of grass or alfalfa pellets and as much really nice grass hay as he wanted. He’s also on U-Gard pellets and Optizyme. Last weekend I started switching him over to Triple Crown Senior. I’m worried he’s one of those “low starch guys” so the TC Senior will be much better for him, plus a lower NSC will (hopefully) help his brain out.
He is a HARD keeper with all physical issues ruled out. I think he’s progressing well–I just wish he would gain weight like I do :(! He’s a 5yo OTTB gelding, currently not working due to weather (indoor is almost finished.)
http://imgur.com/a/CbOlf[/QUOTE]
Don’t get too concerned about his weight, just yet. I think they can be tough at even up through their 6 year old year to keep up with. He looks like a rangy OTTB baby, right now, but I bet over the next 6 months to a year he’ll really change and blossom. And the TC Senior is a great choice (my second choice feed).
I was thrilled with the Cocosoya and Toby loved it for ages (and got quite a bit of it). It might be worth a try, but he may also just not like oily things. I would be inclined to give him a month on the TC Senior, though, before adding anything else. That way you can gauge what helps, and what doesn’t. I always hated it when my boarders would give me 50 different weight gain supplements to add to their horses feed, when all we really needed to do was just give the horse a chance to catch up on the higher quality feed.
[QUOTE=yellowbritches;7395026]
Don’t get too concerned about his weight, just yet. I think they can be tough at even up through their 6 year old year to keep up with. He looks like a rangy OTTB baby, right now, but I bet over the next 6 months to a year he’ll really change and blossom. And the TC Senior is a great choice (my second choice feed).
I was thrilled with the Cocosoya and Toby loved it for ages (and got quite a bit of it). It might be worth a try, but he may also just not like oily things. I would be inclined to give him a month on the TC Senior, though, before adding anything else. That way you can gauge what helps, and what doesn’t. I always hated it when my boarders would give me 50 different weight gain supplements to add to their horses feed, when all we really needed to do was just give the horse a chance to catch up on the higher quality feed.[/QUOTE]
Thanks!! That’s what I’m hoping will happen–he’ll round out quickly. I’ll wait on the oil. This is the first really big change I’ve made in a long while, so I have to be patient and not so anxious to get him filled out 
^^ agree with yellowbritches. Also keep in mind that the tc is 10% fat where purina is 5%, this is likely to make a difference just by itself.
[QUOTE=Manahmanah;7395017]
I have used both but I do like the cocosoya better. It smells divine - I want to eat it myself! Honestly I am not fully convinced that it is worth the extra price tag. Mine always gets the cocosoya but I have bulked up boarders horses just fine with the other stuff.[/QUOTE]
Just an aside, I prefer rice bran as a fat. I use Brooks EquiJewel and the horses love it, puts a bloom on their coat and good energy. Personally I avoid canola and soy in my own diet as these are GMOs…well, canola is and soy is unless certified organic. But in in general I have never been comfortable feeding oils to horses as I am not sure of their shelf life. I also avoid anything corn-based, such as corn oil, in a horse’s diet. Some horses can have allergic reactions to certain oils. That is just MHO.
It’s also almost impossible to put weight on in the dead of winter (especially THIS winter).
I am the queen of easy keepers. My guys live out 24-7 and have either good pasture or free choice hay all the time. They are self care and 45 minutes away, so they get fed once a day when I am out (6 days a week). I feed a modest amount of TCLite, adjusting for the season, plus a multivitamin. I’ve had my big horse prelim fit on this…my new perch/tb cross is a crazy easy keeper - he’s getting 4 cups of TCLite and is beefy even in the dead of winter.
It’s also almost impossible to put weight on in the dead of winter (especially THIS winter).
Ugh. Yes. This. Which is why I’m trying not to freak out over Toby’s sveltness right now! Spring grass (if it ever gets here) will help immensely!
Yes, spring grass! I can’t wait for that.
There have been many interesting responses thus far. I’m curious peoples’ reaction to the feed my horse got at his previous barn and what he is getting now. I am waiting to hear back from my vet on what she thinks, but in the meantime was curious the general reaction from other eventers. I’m feeding what the barn has, but I can choose other feeds for more $.
Previous barn:
Nutrena Safe Choice Original: 2.5 lb each feeding (2x/day)
(14% protein, 7% fat, max 15% fiber, starch 17%, sugar 5%)
2) When competing, he would also get Pennfield Gold Medal Enduro Eventer (10% protein, 10% fat, 12.5% fiber, not sure on the starch and sugar. pennfield didn’t say)
Horse did well on this. At the new barn he gets 2.5 lb (2x/day) of
Nutrena Safe Choice Special Care. They don’t have the “original” but this was the closest thing they had. It is 14% protein, 7% fat, 15% fiber, 11% starch, 4% sugar. Not feeding the Enduro eventer since we’re not competing over the winter and besides, the winter is so harsh, we can’t even ride outside let alone do a gallop or anything else.
When I evented, I had all my guys on Nutrena’s Legacy with rice bran oil and I LOVED it. Never had a problem keeping weight on my guys which were all TB or heavy TB mixes. Unfortunately they have quit making it (though they still show it on their website which is annoying). I have switched to Tribute Calm and Fit because it was the closest thing to the Legacy and all mine have done well on it. I have since switched to dressage though but I think it would still be very adequate as alot of the eventing people in the area are feeding it. Dont know if that is an option in your area but I give it a thumbs up.
I feed TC Senior to everyone this winter, along with soaked beet pulp and alfalfa cubes. I also add TC Omega as extra fat to all but the fat horse. Mine all have extra fat this year which seems like a good idea, given the temps. Hay is unlimited for all and is a 2nd cutting grass hay. I am big on keeping hay in front of them all the time.
My hardkeeper OTTB gets 13 lbs of TC Senior, 2 cups Omega, and 3 qts of Beet Pulp, and 8 qts of alfalfa cubes divided into two feedings. My conn/tb 4 year old who is in very little work gets 6 lbs of TC Senior, 1 cup Omega, 2 qts of Beet Pulp and 2 qts of alfalfa cubes divided into two feedings. Others are in between, with the exception being the really fat one getting only a handful of TC Senior along with beet pulp.
With the cold weather, I worry about water consumption so I am adding electrolytes to both feedings and I am adding extra water so each meal is sloppy and wet. I am also adding in Equisure to counteract any irritation that the electrolytes might add in.
I am also giving them warm water in addition to using bucket and stock tank heaters.
[QUOTE=Manahmanah;7395017]
I have used both but I do like the cocosoya better. It smells divine - I want to eat it myself! Honestly I am not fully convinced that it is worth the extra price tag. Mine always gets the cocosoya but I have bulked up boarders horses just fine with the other stuff.[/QUOTE]
While CocoSoya does smell delicious, it does NOT taste as good as it smells. Just a word of warning :winkgrin:
Free choice low sugar/low starch hay, beet pulp with a vitamin/mineral supplement that fills the shortages in the hay, and 2 oz of TC Rice Brain Oil Plus (rice bran oil/flaxseed oil mix)
OK, you’ll love this: 3 OTTBs, 1 1/2 TB, 1/2WB. Two are 29, one’s 24 and the competition horse is 13. They all get the same: alfalfa hay, scoop of alfalfa pellets & a scoop of Costco senior feed. They are alll fat, sound and healthy. Of course…I’m on the CA Central Coast & not worrying about subfreezing temps, etc. But, really, it does get down to freezing at night and they are outside. (I know, you think I’m a total wimp.)
