I'd first like to note that the point was well taken on the posting of
commericial adds. I was just wondering:}
O.K. here goes, I haven't had a horse to feed in 11 years and I've noticed a
BIG change in the feeding of our equine buddies in that amount of time.
More pelleted diets and ALOT more supplements then there used to be. Let me
tell you how I used to feed a race horse who was doing LSD of 5 miles 4 days
a week, and then 1 day of 3 fast miles, and one day of racing. Then you can
tell me if its changed alot and what I would do differently.
We would feed a 1-lbs to 2 lbs coffee can (depending on the horse), of half
oats, half sweet feed, with Red Cell vitamins in their evening feed, 3X's a
day at 6am, 12 noon, and 5pm. Plus a good size flake of second cut alfalfa
with each meal and another at night when we would come back to check on them
if they needed it to make four flakes. All horses were administerd
electrolytes in their water dailey, and after races or workouts they would
recieve a hot bran mash mixed in with their feed after they were cooled out.
My concern is the more I read the less I know, I know. If that makes any
sense, and remember that diet is for a fully conditioned athelete naturally
my guy who is not conditioned or ever ridden for that matter won't be on a
diet like this for quite a while. I was reading in Equus that the
calcium/phosphorus ratio should be 2-to-1 for horses and that most alfalfa
grown in the USA is grown for cattle and that the ratios for this hay is
usually around 6-to-1. It said that to correct the imbalance owners must
increase the phosphorus ratio of their horses diet. I understand that this
can be done with oats. But how much? And what about the commericial grain
concentrates available now a days? Are they sufficient for a
performance/endurance horse and is their quality as good or do they put alot
of fillers like the dog food companies do? This article also states that
the best type of alfalfa for endurance horses is alfalfa cut from old stands
of alfalfa that have more roughage, and are more mature. The article is in
the Oct. 96 Equus page 78 called Hay is for Horses. So tell me what you
think all:}}
I want to do the best I can for my new horse who is coming the 3rd week of
Oct!!! YEAH! He isn't conditioned at all, and isn't broke to ride yet:}
More dang fun:} Thanks!
~~^** Cheryl Newbanks
~~}_ _~~ /\| Buckeye, AZ
( )__, ) ~ cnewbank@concentric.net
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