AClark
Loving the herd life
That's basically what I feed too, 14% cattle ration (the horse ration from the same company is pretty equivocal on the bag) and mine are literally obese right now, in the dead cold of winter.
24 year old palomino gelding super skinny!!!
- Thread starter Sassysarah123
- Start date
That's basically what I feed too, 14% cattle ration (the horse ration from the same company is pretty equivocal on the bag) and mine are literally obese right now, in the dead cold of winter.
greybeard
Herd Master
If you are addressing me, it's this:
https://www.nutrenaworld.com/product/safechoice-senior-horse-feed
guaranteed analysis:
https://www.nutrenaworld.com/product/safechoice-senior-horse-feed#guaranteed-analysis-anchor
They also left me some kind of supplement in a very big ziplock type bag, with instructions to top dress it's morning feed with one little scoop which was also in the bag. I don't know what it is..some kind of what I would call 'crumbles'. Almost out of that so I need to call and find out what it is and where they got it.
I'll get a picture of the animal in a little while. A very nice and docile animal and gives me no trouble whatsoever. Gonna miss her when she goes back home.
She has the company of 2 of my momma cows and their 2 calves.
AClark
Loving the herd life
Either the OP or you or both. How tall is the mare (rough estimate) at the withers? I know you're a tall guy so might be harder for you to guess. Not sure what the top dressing is, probably some protein or crude fat stuff.
Safechoice is good stuff. Instructions say 5-7 lbs for a 1000 lb horse - I'd feed for the light work at 7-10 lbs a day for something that needs extra and should be around that weight. A bigger horse will need more, if she's 16+ hands tall (5'4" at the withers) I'd feed around the 1200 lb range at 8-12 lbs a day and all the hay she can eat.
Safechoice is good stuff. Instructions say 5-7 lbs for a 1000 lb horse - I'd feed for the light work at 7-10 lbs a day for something that needs extra and should be around that weight. A bigger horse will need more, if she's 16+ hands tall (5'4" at the withers) I'd feed around the 1200 lb range at 8-12 lbs a day and all the hay she can eat.
greybeard
Herd Master
56 inches at withers..I didn't measure girth or length. That=14 hands.
The feed I'm using weighs 3lbs per 3qt scoop=1 lb per qt and she's getting and eating 3 scoops in the morning (9 lbs) and 2 qts (2lbs) in the evening=11lbs per day. If it's real cold (upper teens) and especially wet, I'll give her a little more in the evening.
She is looking a lot better now than when she first came here. Ribs are barely visible now but were very pronounced upon arrival.
I have a horse blanket for her and will be putting it back on her when the weather turns cold again tomorrow.
AClark
Loving the herd life
She really doesn't look that bad and that's plenty of food for her. Her ribs have filled in which is good and means she's getting enough to eat, her neck isn't a "ewe" neck so that's probably filling in - hindquarters will be last to plump out. If you think she's having a problem chewing and needs a float, that Safechoice can be soaked for a short period of time - horses like mush.
A 14HH horse should be 800-900 ish lbs at most. I'd say she's around 700-750ish right now.
Long story short, you're feeding her plenty and she's going to bloom. Hard to feed them up when they get lean in the winter since they're already expending more energy to stay warm.
I don't use blankets, but she doesn't have much in the way of a winter coat so it would help her a lot.
A 14HH horse should be 800-900 ish lbs at most. I'd say she's around 700-750ish right now.
Long story short, you're feeding her plenty and she's going to bloom. Hard to feed them up when they get lean in the winter since they're already expending more energy to stay warm.
I don't use blankets, but she doesn't have much in the way of a winter coat so it would help her a lot.
greybeard
Herd Master
Most horses around here don't have much of a winter coat except the gypsy cob/vanner I cared for here last year. Just doesn't get cold enough year to year for the genetics to produce one I suppose.
The owner brought the blanket by right before the last real cold spell came thru and we put it on her and then removed it when the weather warmed.
He also said has some kind of arthritis in her hip, and I did notice she was walking a bit funny, but certainly not lame and doesn't appear to be in any kind of pain.
I really haven't watched her closely when eating hay, but she does really go after it when I put a new bale in. She, as opposed to cows, just gnaws a big hole in the outside and goes to town on it.
I hate leaving the bale out, but my bale feeder won't fit in that building between the posts or between the ground and roof, so I had to leave it where it is on the outside. Last bale he brought, we put it inside with no feeder and probably 1/2 of it was wasted, tho it does give her and the calves somewhere soft and warm to stay. Bales are tight rolled 5x6...maybe even 6x6 and my small tractor has all it wants to move one.
The owner brought the blanket by right before the last real cold spell came thru and we put it on her and then removed it when the weather warmed.
He also said has some kind of arthritis in her hip, and I did notice she was walking a bit funny, but certainly not lame and doesn't appear to be in any kind of pain.
I really haven't watched her closely when eating hay, but she does really go after it when I put a new bale in. She, as opposed to cows, just gnaws a big hole in the outside and goes to town on it.
I hate leaving the bale out, but my bale feeder won't fit in that building between the posts or between the ground and roof, so I had to leave it where it is on the outside. Last bale he brought, we put it inside with no feeder and probably 1/2 of it was wasted, tho it does give her and the calves somewhere soft and warm to stay. Bales are tight rolled 5x6...maybe even 6x6 and my small tractor has all it wants to move one.
Bunnylady
Herd Master
Horses' digestive systems are a bit weird. With us, when our stomachs start to get full, the stomach sends a message to the brain that says, "I'm getting full." Brain says, "stop eating." We are no longer hungry, so we quit eating (or at least, that's supposed to be how it works!) With a horse, when the stomach says, "I'm getting full," the brain sends back "run faster." The horse's stomach empties faster, and food passes through the entire digestive system faster. The more the horse eats, the less it actually absorbs from the food. Sometimes, when a horse has more than adequate amounts of food and still is thin, the answer isn't more food, but slowing down the rate at which it eats so it gets more time to digest and absorb what it is eating. A lot of people use "slow feeders" with hay - nets or other devices that have small openings that the horse has to tease the hay out of, rather than grabbing big mouthfuls and wolfing it down.
AClark
Loving the herd life
Grey, I use a round bale feeder or the waste is phenomenal. They'll walk over it, poop in it, whatever. We've only used slow feeders for horses that are gluttons and tend to choke because they inhale feed. You do what you have to do though as far as bales are concerned, I'm not about to try to unroll a round bale and feed it selectively - that will waste way more. I get small bales for the goats so I can handle it like that, but have to put in a feeder for htem because the dog wastes half of it trying to sleep in it and kicking it out.
Personally, what you're doing for that mare is working, she doesn't look horrible, just a bit on the lean side.
Personally, what you're doing for that mare is working, she doesn't look horrible, just a bit on the lean side.
greybeard
Herd Master
I've tried the unrolling thing before with the cattle. Works pretty good if you can gage how much they will eat at a short period of time but they still do waste some and right now, the ground is so soft I'd make a pretty good mess with the tractor. Other thing is, the cattle always bucked the bale as you were unrolling it and would knock it away from in front of the tractor. (I made a roller from old wheels/tires to unroll with and mounted it up front and picked the remainder of the bale up with the spear on the back of the 3pt)
Unless something happens to change things, I'll keep the current feed rate and once she looks pretty good will re-evaluate to a rate to try to maintain her weight and fleshiness. I do appreciate the input!! Not my animal, so I'm not going to change anything much without owner's say so anyway.
(I did look again at the instructions and that 1lb/100wt of horse is just to maintain, so I think I'm doing ok to feed for a target of about 1000lbs.)
Unless something happens to change things, I'll keep the current feed rate and once she looks pretty good will re-evaluate to a rate to try to maintain her weight and fleshiness. I do appreciate the input!! Not my animal, so I'm not going to change anything much without owner's say so anyway.
(I did look again at the instructions and that 1lb/100wt of horse is just to maintain, so I think I'm doing ok to feed for a target of about 1000lbs.)
Bunnylady
Herd Master
@greybeard - I agree, the mare is a bit lean for a Quarter Horse; I certainly wouldn't care to see her any thinner. But, owning a horse that was previously in a chronic state of founder from being too fat, I must admit that my eye has become less easily offended by thinnish horses than it once was. She looks good; the owner can't complain, that's for sure!
This statement really should have come with a warning. Horses have simple digestive systems, cattle are ruminants. Cattle feeds and horse feeds may look the same at first glance, but there are some additives in cattle feeds that can be toxic to horses. There have been several incidents when horse feed was accidentally contaminated with cattle feed, and horses died. Before you feed seemingly-same cattle feed to horses, read the entire label, particularly the ingredients list, to make sure it is safe for horses to consume.
http://www.equinews.com/article/dont-risk-poisoning-your-horses-with-cattle-feed
This statement really should have come with a warning. Horses have simple digestive systems, cattle are ruminants. Cattle feeds and horse feeds may look the same at first glance, but there are some additives in cattle feeds that can be toxic to horses. There have been several incidents when horse feed was accidentally contaminated with cattle feed, and horses died. Before you feed seemingly-same cattle feed to horses, read the entire label, particularly the ingredients list, to make sure it is safe for horses to consume.
http://www.equinews.com/article/dont-risk-poisoning-your-horses-with-cattle-feed
