What do you feed your horse (volume, type, frequency) and why?

[Empressive_Award]

14 yr old TB mare doing 1st level dressage/ BN level jumping after last 3 years off doing mostly nothing. Ridden 2-3 times a week during winter as weather allows, lessons 2x/ month, will be 4-5x/week ridden, lessons 2-3x/month and showing once the weather breaks.

AM/PM 1lb Purina Ultium

• PM 1 scoop Actiflex 4000 (joint maintenance)
  1 scoop Stress Dex Electrolytes
  1 scoop Optizyme Probiotic
  1 scoop Equinety
  1 scoop U7 Gastric Aid (recently started due to increased stall time and mild reluctance to “go forward”.
  Free choice Timothy Orchard mix hay inside stall & outside in turnout, typically 3 flakes fed in a hay net with more if she finishes in her stall.

She used to be an extremely easy keeper and obese at my previous boarding barn where she was out 24/7 on 7 acres of fantastic grass pasture, except for feeding and inclement weather, so she lived in a grazing muzzle and only got 1 handful of TC 30% RB.

Now she is trim, doesnt look like shes 9 months in foal and on a complete grain to support her activity and condition since we dont have as much pasture, and she is in at night now. I chose Purina as its what my barn feeds, and after seeking advice on this forum on Ultium, decided to go with it, and have NOT seen the typical “hot” horse crazy come out. She’s happy to work, had stamina to attend a 2 day dressage clinic, and since adding the U7 is more willing to go forward, and has stopped chewing on her stall door. Once the workload increases, I’ll adjust her rations as needed.

I picked my grain based on the protein & fat content, and low NSC as shes an easy keeper. My supplements are the most bang for your buck for maintenance/every day feeding and work for her. I’ve taken her off the Equinety, and we had on/off soundness & muscle soreness issues, so she’s back on it and happy as a clam.

[klsunsnowluck]

My mare (coming 6 yr old TB, currently on stall rest) currently eats
AM:
3qt Hallway Fibrenergy (I believe about 3-3.5lbs)
3qt Alfalfa/Bermuda hay pellets (probably about 4 lbs)
Gastroade
Acti-Flex
Hoof Secret
STP pellets (natural anti-inflammatory, pain)
1/4 cup omega horseshine
2 oz cool calories

PM:
3qt Fibrenergy
3qt Alfalfa/Bermuda pellets
Gastroade
Perkalyte electrolytes
Tri-Amino
1/4 cup omega horseshine
2oz cool calories

For hay she has unlimited bermuda, shes not a big hay eater so right now we have a 100gallon water tank in her stall so that she can have free choice hay 24/7 but not spread it all over and waste it. She also gets 1/3-1/2 a flake of 3 string alfalfa per day. Currently also getting omeprazole to treat ulcers.

[Mukluk]

@dani0303

I have 3 horses. They’re all fairly simple. I live on the Front Range/High Plains of CO

19 year old Selle Francais mare. In full work as a 3’3-3’6 jumper. She’s naturally an air fern and lives outside on 40 acres with a herd of 15 other mares. They get free choice orchard grass hay and a ration balancer (Triple Crown Lite). It works super well for her.

17 year old TB and 26 year old Selle Francais geldings. Both mostly retired. Free choice orchard/alfalfa and 3 quarts (1x daily) of Triple Crown Senior with Smartpak Senior Ultra Combo pellets. Both in great weight and happy/healthy (aside from the injury/age that caused retirement). They live outside together on 15 acres but our forage is not good enough to sustain so hay is fed year round.

Wow… I bet your horses are very happy!!! Lots of room to run and play.

[Mukluk]

Two teenaged TBs

They live on about 1/2 acre (too small I know but that’s all I have for them) and have shelter if they want it. Mostly outside rolling in the mud.

Both get bermuda grass hay free choice (I put the whole bale in a net and they eat away 24/7).
they also get 1/2 to 1 apple every morning.
they both get 1 cup BOSS, 1 cup whole flax, 1 scoop platinum performance (the scoop that comes with the product) and 1 standard feed scoop of “senior” feed.

in addition
14 yo mare gets 1 standard feed scoop of timothy grass pellets

unknown age (perpetually 17?) yo gelding gets 1 standard feed scoop of alfalfa pellets and 1 standard feed scoop of beet pulp pellets.

[anicolle]

I have 3 horses. 10 year old TB, easiest keeper ever. No supplements. 4 year old APHA, also a super easy keeper no grain. 5 year old TB, hard keeper.

I now live in Montana, we have 20 acres that we summered them on. Since it’s started to snow here we buy a round bale, not sure exact weight but it’s 50/50 and we pay 80? Or 100? Not sure.

The 5 year old I feed like 3ish lbs of Purina gastric grain, MSM, and sometimes cool calories. I was using smartpak leg up and I really liked it. Once the snow melts we will be moving to a place with a house and a 4 stall horse barn on it +100 acres. The horses will probably not be happy that I will be living with them 24/7 haha

Back in California when I just had the 10 year old I fed 3 flakes of straight alfalfa 17$ a bale, a scoop of Purina enrich and that was it.

[BrookdaleBay]

24 year old TB, in work 3 - 4 days a week, depending on winter weather, but 4 or 5 days in the summer. He gets 6 lbs Purina Senior split over two feedings. For supplements, he gets Recovery, Biotic 8, DMG, and ground flax.

This week, he and a couple other horses started getting haylage (they got a botulism vaccine in preparation for this). He’s a pretty picky eater when it comes to hay and for a day or so he wasn’t so sure about it, but now he seems to be eating it fine.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

Cool Stance
Timothy Pellets
Triple Crown Naturals Golden Flax
Loose white salt (non-iodized)
California Trace (minerals)
Free-choice Timothy hay
Fescue pasture

Horses are in light work (dressage and trails)

Diet was recommended by my farrier, Pete Ramey, following Dr. Eleanor Kellon’s advice.
Cool Stance replaced the protein and calories I used to feed through straight alfalfa.

The results have been very positive, in terms of weight, hoof quality and overall condition, for all three of my geldings.

[Charliehorse01]

I put out 1400 bales with a slow feed net, they have 24/7 access. Really good mostly timothy/grass mix.
Usually use Hoffmans loose minerals but right now I have a different mineral lick block out.
One horse gets StepRight Step 8 high fat.

Horses are currently turned out for a break, that feed program stays the same unless we really start seriously training for something.

[MistAndMagic]

My horse, 14 y/o Appaloosa gelding, ridden 2-3x a week on average, 2x a week in the summer, more in the fall/winter, probably going to ramp it up soon to 5-6x a week on average with 1 jump school, 1 western/ranch horse school, and a hack/light hill work making up three of those days:
1lb Timothy pellets
1qt soaked alfalfa cubes
1.2lb Nutrena ration balancer
Supplements: SmartLytes, Smart Mane&Tail, Farrier’s Formula double strength

The retired 23 y/o TWH cross gelding with some joint problems:
1lb Timothy pellets
1lb Alfalfa-Timothy pellets
1lb Nutrena ration balancer
1 cup rice bran
Supplements: SmartLytes, Corta-Flex, SmartHood Ultra

The 17 y/o harder keeper, slightly more founder-prone, mildly anxious paint gelding, ridden fairly lightly 1-2x a week by a 13 year old:
1.5lb Nutrena SafeChoice Original
1 cup rice bran
Supplements: SmartLytes, Corta-Flex, SmartHoof Ultra, Smart Mane&Tail, 1 cup aloe juice/day to help ward off ulcers.

The list is the same for AM and PM so for daily total just double the amounts. They get supplements in the PM feeding. They’re all three turned out on a 2 acre pasture 24/7 unless it’s really hot or cold and rainy/windy, at which point they’re in stalls (12x14, weird dimensions but I love them), and they do have a run in shed. I feed Bermuda that I get from a grower right up the road and they all seem to love it- they get 1-2 flakes per horse AM and PM when they’re turned out regardless of the season, though if it’s quite cold they’ll get up to 3 flakes, and have free choice hay in nets as well as a flake or two loose on the floor when they’re inside. All of them get their food wetted down AM and PM.
I have a vested interest in equine nutrition, seeing as I eventually want to go to grad school for it, and I’ve read as many textbooks as I could get my hands on as well as taking a few 100 and 200 level animal biology classes in college. Also learned quite a bit through the 4H hippology program while I was in high school. They’re all doing extremely well on their individual programs- good weight, shiny, and plenty of energy. I somehow wound up with three with meh feet though- the paint’s were horrible when we bought him, thin walls and soles, two legged lame without front shoes, and now he’s doing great barefoot, the TWH tends to have fairly soft hoof wall and has issues with wearing it faster than he grows it, and my guy is prone to hoof cracks ¯_(ツ)_/¯ he’s only on the hoof supplement for the winter as an experiment to see if I can get them to grow out at all, lol.