13 Replies to “5 Myths About Feeding Your Horse”

  2. Have a horse that previously foundered. What is your lowest starch/sugar feed? Don’t you have a product specifically for the foundered horse? If so can you provide the label information.

    1. Hi Glorian,

      Thank you for your question regarding options for your previously foundered horse. Empower Balance is a low inclusion ration balancer product that would normally be fed at 1-3 lbs per head per day with forage/pasture. This has a starch max of 8% and sugar max of 6%. This has worked well to provide amino acids, trace minerals and vitamins for healthy hoof growth. If more Calories are needed and somewhat higher feeding rate, we would use SafeChoice Special Care with 11% starch max and 4% sugar max. Full product information is available at http://www.nutrenaworld.com

      Best wishes,
      Roy

    1. Hi Patsy, Great question! We’d suggest using Empower Balance while strictly monitoring hay/pasture intake to stay between 1.5 – 2.0% of bodyweight, and then increasing exercise levels.

      Empower Balance is a ration balancer product, that provides the protein, vitamins, and minerals your horse needs to stay healthy, without the level of calories that most traditional feeds provide. A 1,000 lb horse gets, on average 1.5-2.0 lbs per day.

      Hope this helps,if you have further questions, please let us know!
      Thank you ~ Gina T.

  4. I use your feed but my horse keeps losing weight and she is 3.5 years old and I cant figure out witch kind of your feed to use to help my horse gain weight.

    thank you for your help
    sincerely,
    Lindsey Hendrix

    1. Hello Lindsey, Thank you for contacting us! First, you need to ensure you are feeding according to the directions on the tag for the product you are using. For SafeChoice Original, for example, as a mostly-full-grown adult, she would likely need 4-7 lbs per day of feed, PLUS 15-20 lbs of hay per day. If you are using a product such as SafeChoice Original and are feeding within directions, then you can bump up to SafeChoice Perform, or try adding a product such as Empower Boost on top of her existing diet. If those don’t work, you could step up again to a product such as Pro Force Fuel.

      I hope this information is helpful – if you have further more specific questions, let us know!
      Thank you ~ Gina

  5. I have a 2yr old Trakehner filly and a yearling Anglo-Trakehner filly. I have them both on mare and foal. At what age should we switch over to adult 14%protein??

  6. I have asked the same question from you guys..and no response. I appreciate your busy schedule, but can I get at least a recommendation on who can respond?? Thanks as always
    Helen

  7. I have been told that Alfalfa is very bad for Morgan horses. Is this true? This was from a Morgan breeder and she said that a beautiful horse died from eating alfalfa hay. The owner didn’t believe it and in time the horse became sick and died.

    1. Hi Linda,
      Thank you for your question about feeding alfalfa hay to Morgan horses. Alfalfa hay is a very palatable forage that is good source of protein, Calories (energy) and minerals, particularly calcium, potassium and magnesium. It can be used successfully in a balanced diet for horses. Many Morgan horses are very easy keepers, so it is very easy to overfeed these horses with straight alfalfa, which allows the horses to become overweight very easily. As we know overweight horses are subject to a variety of issues that can be detrimental to their health. Alfalfa that is not grown and managed properly from certain parts of the country, may also contain blister beetles, which can be toxic to horses and other animals. Horses that are feed exclusively alfalfa hay for their entire lives, particularly if fed on sandy ground, may be somewhat more prone to enteroliths.

      The best recommendation is always to have hay tested so that the nutrient content is measured, then feed a balanced ration based on feeding appropriate amounts of the hay with other nutrient sources as needed, making sure that salt and water are available free choice. Intakes need to be adjusted based on body condition score and adjusted for work load, growth and reproductive status.

      Roy J.

  8. I have a very easy keeper that’d 13 yrs old. He is only a pasture buddy and can’t be ridden. He is very overweight but I can’t keep a muzzle on him, he’s Houdini, and I can’t keep him stalled for part of the day either. He’s pastured and only gets a big handful of pellets twice a day with the other horses, to keep him quite but always acts like he’s starving. I’m concerned with his weight, and if he’s getting enough vitamins and minerals. What kind of feed do you recommend?

    1. Hi Victoria,
      Thank you for your question about your very easy keeper 13 year old pasture buddy that cannot be ridden and that you are concerned about being overweight. If he cannot/will not wear a muzzle and confinement is not an option, then one course of action to provide vitamins and minerals w/o adding many Calories would be to use a ration balancer product such as Empower Balance at the bottom end of the recommended feeding rate when feeding him with the other horses. If you are feeding individually, you might put some large rocks in his bucket to slow down his intake rate so he does not finish his smaller portion and go to help out his buddies consume their feed. Salt and fresh, clean water should be available to all.

      If he has soundness issues so he cannot be ridden, is it possible to pony him when riding his buddies to introduce some exercise? Even some light exercise can help reduce the risks associated with being overweight. You may want to use a Body Condition scorecard to track his condition, here is a great blog on doing that: https://www.horsefeedblog.com/2010/06/how-to-track-your-horses-body-condition-score/

      Best of luck!
      Roy J.

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