Complete advantage

[Sarah Ralston <ralston@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU>]

Linda wrote:Susan,

>I talked to the Purina rep at AERC in Reno and liked what I saw/heard about
>Complete Advantage.  Since it is a complete feed, I am concerned that horses
>will scarf it up and then stand around too long with nothing to chew on,
as the
>would on hay.  Plus, does the roughage in this feed hang around in the
>intestines during a competition to supply the e-lytes, water, and VFAs
that hay
>provides?

The beauty is that you don't have to feed it as a "complete" feed-free
choice the hay and
feed the Complete Advantage in limited amounts! I use an extruded
"complete" feed for my guys-it's
a senior product but well balanced for the type of hay we can get around here
(poor quality timothy for the most part that averages about 7% protein.).
Fling gets a handful
(literally) just to keep her enzyme systems used to concentrates (and to
let her know I still 
love her<BG>) on top of her 1-2 lbs of AlfaMaize cubes (also contain a
little corn) and 
all the hay she can munch (limited pasture-two horses on 1 acre!) between
rides. Then at rides 
I'll up the extruded giving her TWO (!) handfuls per feeding and
occassional snacks.
At vet checks she gets anything she'll eat <VBG>. The beet pulp and ground
up forage in the cubes 
will pass a bit more rapidly from mouth to large intestine than hay and
also is more 
highly digestible (fermentation wise) than hay, so the VFAs theorectically
will be produced and 
available more rapidly than from hay.

My old guy, Charlie, on the other hand, who kind of gums his hay now, 
gets 3 to 4 pounds of the extruded and  3 to 4 lbs of the cubes, 
thoroughly soaked (takes about 5 min-love it) twice a day. He's 31 and,
despite twice a year floating, his teeth aren't real effective. But the
complete feed and cubes sure keep him in good shape for his age. He is
starting
to sag a little in the back, but still condition score of 5 with a shiny
coat and
bright eye-especially when I hop on him and we chase Fling around the pasture!


Sarah and Fling (please, Mom, could you give me more extruded feed? I
promise not to get too fat!)
           Charlie (Actually I dribble my mash onto the floor on purpose so
                   Sherlock, the dog can have some!)