Re: feed question

[Susan Evans Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

Hi Becky, 

Personally, I'm not wild about wheat mids, as their digestibility isn't
as good as some of the other ingredients you mention.  I also don't like
milo a whole lot for horses---it's fine for cattle, they'll eat
anything, but it's not as palatable for horses (an important issue for
endurance horses) and very high in phytic acid, which is going to affect
phosphorus absorption.  Actually, I kind of liked the original mix and
think with a little fine-tuning, you would get a very nice mix.  For
example, I don't think you need to completely lose the alfalfa pellet,
maybe just cut it down just a little, along with decreasing the
soybean.  I'd be more concerned with the protein levels in the hay you
were feeding, since a much larger relative amount is coming from that
source---assuming you're not feeding 20 pounds of grain a day.  If you
are feeding a low protein grass hay, like bermuda or something like
that, then I don't have any problem at all with the 12% protein
contained in the mill's current standard mix.  

However, my suggestion would actually be to not try and come up with a
whole new grain mix at all---rather than trying to get too involved with
getting custom mixes (the disadvantage is that it often sits on the
shelf longer and isn't as fresh as the mix getting sold in higher
volumes), my suggestion would be to feed their current standard mix, mix
it in with some of your own beet pulp and add a squirt of your own fresh
corn oil (along with, of course, a good quality, low protein grass
hay).  Overall, probably less hassle than getting a custom mill order,
you know it's fresh, and still a good nutrition profile, possibly better
than the one your nutritionist is proposing using wheat mids.

By the way, if you did still want an overall 10% protein mix, with 8%
fat, you could mix 1 pound grain mix with 2 pounds beet pulp, add about
1/3 cup of fresh vegetable oil and shazam, there you have it.  You might
consider supplementing the vitamin e a little, but it's not critical.

Hope this helps.

Susan Garlinghouse


Becky Huffman wrote:

> Yesterday, I talked to a guy that is the nutritionalist for a small custom
> grain company that will make me anything I want, but with only 5 horses, I
> can only use about half a minimum order.  They have a 'standard' mix that I
> am going to try, 
> the current mix:
> protein 12%
> fat%    4%
> fiber   10%
> 
> main ingredients:
> cracked corn    21%
> oats            52%
> alf pellet      15%
> soybean 3.75%
> and has a balanced vitamin/mineral.
> 
> I told him take out the Alfalfa pellet, raise the fat and lower the
> protein.
> this is what he is thinking:
> 
> To use wheat mids, cracked corn and soy hulls and the main ingredients.
> and he wanted to know what yall thought about Milo. Apparently, he likes it
> for some reasons, but has questions about it, he didn't go into detail
> about that with me.  and (I think) he was talking about mixing with corn
> oil instead of molasses.
> He thinks he can get about a 11% protein and maybe 8% fat. with this
> combination of grains giving a steady, long-lasting 'burn'.
> 
> He said the soy hulls are almost identical to beet pulp and don't have to
> be soaked.  I could tell that this is an issue for him.  He thinks that is
> a good product, but it looks bad (cheap) in the grain.  He showed me some,
> it looks like crap off the floor. (but look at beet pulp)
> 
> I will print the recent relevant posts from the archives, but any
> additional, specific, information would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks, Becky Huffman & Shadowfax