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 Veteran
Posts: 240
 
Location: monroe louisiana | Thinking back when you could buy a bag of feed for $5, now I spend almost $20 a bag! Any recommendations on cheaper food for a fairly easy keeper that doesn't really do much of anything? Just some trail riding now and then. Right now I feed him Nutrena SafeChoice Maintenance for about $16 a bag. Lasts him about a week and a few days. I feed the performance for my others at $20 a bag which I like but if anyone has suggestions on something different on my performance horses as well. Thanks! :) |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
 
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | How much are you feeding? I would say nix the grain if not needed. My prospects sure don't need it per se, but I feed them ADM PrimeGLO at $30 a bag for a 50# bag. They get 1lbs a day so it lasts me 50 days. Mine is about 60 cents a day vs yours if it were to last 10 days is $1.60 ($16/50=.32 cents a pound x 5lbs a day=$1.60. 50lbs/10days is 5# a day) Just a rough estimate for you. |
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Veteran
Posts: 240
Location: monroe louisiana | wyoming barrel racer - 2014-07-23 4:39 PM
How much are you feeding? I would say nix the grain if not needed. My prospects sure don't need it per se, but I feed them ADM PrimeGLO at $30 a bag for a 50# bag. They get 1lbs a day so it lasts me 50 days. Mine is about 60 cents a day vs yours if it were to last 10 days is $1.60 ($16/50=.32 cents a pound x 5lbs a day=$1.60. 50lbs/10days is 5# a day) Just a rough estimate for you.
I give him 6lbs a day, 3 in am and 3 in pm. He is about 1500lbs. Hes not overweight, just a big horse. |
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Veteran
Posts: 227
Location: Heart of Texas | That seems like a lot of grain for a pasture ornament. If your horse doesn't need grain to maintain weight, I say don't give it, period. |
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Veteran
Posts: 240
Location: monroe louisiana | I do trail ride with him, maybe every other week, im not sure what to expect if I dont give him any at all. Thats how much the previous owners fed him so never really changed it up. Is there maybe a dif. Feed that I could do less and still get the same amount of nutrients? |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | What I want to know is why commodity prices are in the toilet, fuel is down from where it was, but feed prices haven't changed. |
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Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | lacowgirl6 - 2014-07-23 3:49 PM wyoming barrel racer - 2014-07-23 4:39 PM How much are you feeding? I would say nix the grain if not needed. My prospects sure don't need it per se, but I feed them ADM PrimeGLO at $30 a bag for a 50# bag. They get 1lbs a day so it lasts me 50 days. Mine is about 60 cents a day vs yours if it were to last 10 days is $1.60 ($16/50=.32 cents a pound x 5lbs a day=$1.60. 50lbs/10days is 5# a day) Just a rough estimate for you. I give him 6lbs a day, 3 in am and 3 in pm. He is about 1500lbs. Hes not overweight, just a big horse.
Oh I wasn't saying you were over feeding him. I usually try and go off what the bag says too, to get their vitamins and minerals. It's up to you, I would change brands. ADM says to feed no more than 2 lbs a day, I believe, of the PrimeGLO so you would still be at less than what you are feeding now even though the bag costs more. About $1.20 although if I were you and horse is in good weight, I would do the 1 lbs. I still keep out mineral and salt. |
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | I have a 1200+ lb. mare that I feed SafeChoice. She gets 3 lbs a day in two feedings and is fat and shiny. She is inside during the day ~ 10 - 11 hours with 2-3 hay flakes (and rarely eats it all), then out for the night on an excellent pasture. Your horse may be fine with less SafeChoice. I've found that once a horse is at their proper weight, the SafeChoice maintenance level required is not much -- as long as they have good forage. But, of course, we all know that good forage is key to horse health and maintaining our ponies. I feel your pain about increased feed costs, but I've found that sticking with a good feed - like SafeChoice has kept my feed costs down. I don't add any supplements since SafeChoice is balanced/fortified -- other than free choice salt so don't have that expense or concern. And I am religious about assuring my horses are worm-free -- I want all that precious feed going to my horse... not parasites. I feed a Bermuda hay. We keep our pastures mowed to about four-inches to avoid weeds so we do have good grass pastures. (My husband and I are obsessed about mowing.) I have also fed Strategy with very good results as it is a balanced / fortified feed, too. Of course... if you are working your horse hard the feed amount has to go up, but if you are only riding a few times a week lightly and running weekends, his caloric demand for the week is not that high -- just keep good forage in front of him via pasture or hay. Most hobby barrel racers who work at another job during the week are not over-working their horses during the week so there is no need for lots of high-powered feed. A happy healthy sound horse is the goal and it does not take a complicated feeding program to produce that. Simple but quality is best in my opinion. There are always exceptions though - there are nervous Nellie horses that fret off weight and they will need more feed, but when I've had those in my barn I have worked to add calories through forage as much as possible (adding alfalfa to their Bermuda hay) in order to not have to up their bagged feed a whole lot and tried to find ways to soothe their soul to help them be calmer... sometimes with success... sometimes not. I don't own any of those types of horses anymore. It's on my check-list... NO nervous wackos who are their own worst enemy.... regardless of how talented and pretty. Because they suck the life out of me and themselves and tend to find ways to stay injured.... Oh well... I've rambled enough. I'm just a simple kinda gal with some really pretty and nice horses. Keepin' it real. Less is more in my barn. |
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 A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
Location: NC | A ration balancer type feed is a concentrate. Designed for easy keepers. You feed 1-3lbs a DAY. They're more expensive per bag, but you're feeding a whole lot less so you're saving money.
I've used Triple Crown 30% and Buckeye Gro N Win. I wouldn't recommended Purinas version. I've had several people tell me their horses were crazy on it and they lost too much weight. But to each their own. |
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The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | He may be just fine with forage and a balancer (it's a "feed" that just provides the necessary vitamins and minerals -- you jst feed a bit of it.) Nutrena and Purina offer "balancers". Or you may just want to put an equine "lick" tub out for him (they have the vitamins / minerals in them.... this is what I did for some of my horses and it worked great - fat, shiny and happy. If all I was doing is trail riding and had great pasture, I'd go with a lick tub. |
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Veteran
Posts: 240
Location: monroe louisiana | I forgot all about those lick tubs! Im going to look into a dif feed that I can feed less, get a tub and slowly take him off the feed, see what happens. Thanks yall for all the advise! |
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 Horsey Gene Carrier
Posts: 1888
Location: LaBelle, Florida | I am feeding the Safechoice Maint along with mineral. I had to cut my 3 year old filly back to 1.5 lb 2x a day because she was chunking up. I'm not really riding now because this far south the weather is miserable hot and/or raining by the time I get home from work. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1150
Location: LaCygne, KS | Three 4 Luck - 2014-07-23 5:08 PM What I want to know is why commodity prices are in the toilet, fuel is down from where it was, but feed prices haven't changed.
3 4 L, You always were the "wondering" kind.. lol.. Actually, I have "wondering" the same thing. JT |
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Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | Why not feed natural grain like oats or rolled barley? ALOT cheaper and you feed a heck of alot less and you know exactly what they are eating. Then just add your vit. minerals suppliment of your choice or a lick tube. 1 bag of grain lasts me about 2 weeks and I'm feeding 3 horses grain and let me tell you, my horses are FAT. |
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| ThreeCorners - 2014-07-23 11:02 PM
Why not feed natural grain like oats or rolled barley? ALOT cheaper and you feed a heck of alot less and you know exactly what they are eating. Then just add your vit. minerals suppliment of your choice or a lick tube. 1 bag of grain lasts me about 2 weeks and I'm feeding 3 horses grain and let me tell you, my horses are FAT.
I like the idea of this too but worried about the high carb content of grains like oats. I don't ride my horses much so I wouldn't want them hyped up by anything. How many pounds of oats do you feed per feeding? Does barley have a high sugar/carb content? How much barley per feeding? |
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 Friendly horse swapper
Posts: 4122
Location: Buffalo, TX | Three 4 Luck - 2014-07-23 5:08 PM What I want to know is why commodity prices are in the toilet, fuel is down from where it was, but feed prices haven't changed.
Hey, I see you sold your mare...congratulations!! |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | wyoming barrel racer - 2014-07-23 4:39 PM
How much are you feeding? I would say nix the grain if not needed. My prospects sure don't need it per se, but I feed them ADM PrimeGLO at $30 a bag for a 50# bag. They get 1lbs a day so it lasts me 50 days. Mine is about 60 cents a day vs yours if it were to last 10 days is $1.60 ($16/50=.32 cents a pound x 5lbs a day=$1.60. 50lbs/10days is 5# a day) Just a rough estimate for you.
This is exactly what I was going to suggest! I pay $26/bag, but it lasts a long time due to lower feeding rates. Since it's concentrated, I know they're getting all the proper nutrients, but I don't have to feed a ton of it. |
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 Vodka for Lunch
Location: Lala Land | I want to know why the heck oats is up to $17/ bag?? |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Cindy Hamilton - 2014-07-24 10:22 AM
Three 4 Luck - 2014-07-23 5:08 PM What I want to know is why commodity prices are in the toilet, fuel is down from where it was, but feed prices haven't changed.
Hey, I see you sold your mare...congratulations!!
Thanks! She got a great home with knowledgeable people and Lilly got an awesome horse to learn on. Everything worked out like it was supposed to, I think. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Prehistoric - 2014-07-23 8:52 PM
Three 4 Luck - 2014-07-23 5:08 PM What I want to know is why commodity prices are in the toilet, fuel is down from where it was, but feed prices haven't changed.
3 4 L, You always were the "wondering" kind.. lol.. Actually, I have "wondering" the same thing. JT
Seeing September corn in the $3.50 range when one's break even price is about $4.25 will make you do quite a bit of wondering... LOL |
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| What kind of hay are you feeding? With a good quality hay and mineral blocks or protein tubs you could probably go without grain. We feed alfalfa to the horses that are being ridden regularly and they get a small amount of grain (1lb twice daily). If they aren't being ridden hard they don't get any grain and if they aren't being ridden they are turned out to pasture. We do not have a problem keeping weight on. In fact our biggest problem is getting weight off. And they all have plenty of energy. We keep trace mineral blocks out for the horses that are being fed hay, and horses on pasture get the mineral blocks and protein tubs or liquid supplement if they are out with the cattle. |
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| bump... |
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Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I'm just going to comment about the lick tubs. I have seen very very few that aren't made up of a ton of molassas. I hate that stuff and so do all the vets around here. I really don't think it is that great for them and the lick tubs we have tried that are low or have no molassas, the horses won't touch. If they do, they eat them up like they are candy. These are horses in good grass, 800 acres and given continuously for several months. They never back off of them like they are supposed to. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1284
Location: Oklahoma | Most of our mature horses in light training stay fat and nice looking on good hay alone. My appendix mare requires 5 lbs of TC Sr to stay at the weight I like and keep good rib coverage. We also have an older broodmare that needs the TC Sr to stay at a good weight. The young horses, my other barrel horse and the other broodmare are on empower balance ration balancer. I just moved from PA to OK and I was feeding TC 30%, but the emp. bal. is much easier for me to get here, and more cost effective. Of course, each horse only gets 1 lb of the emp. bal., so overall, we don't feed a lot of "grain." |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Free choice grass hay/pasture.
1 lb rice bran 2x daily.
3 lbs alfalfa pellets 2x daily.
Mineral block, Forco.
If still not holding, gaining, etc, add 1 lb Ultium for a week. Then go to two, etc.
Everything I've got looks amazing on rice bran and alfalfa pellets. I've got one getting over bleeding ulcers that gets free choice alfalfa, 2 lbs rice bran, and 1 lb Ultium for the day. He wasn't looking real swell until I started the Ultium two weeks ago, it gave him that nice little kick on calories.
I've got one mare that gets 15 lbs of coastal hay, for the whole day. She gets sloppy fat on free choice. She gets 1 cup of rice bran 2x daily for her supplements, which are DePaulo Essential, Excel, 1/3 cup of Purinas amino acid/protein, and Forco. I supplement her since she's not eating as much.
This has been kinder on my pocket book.
I do alfalfa pellets rather than feed alfalfa hay because I have zero waste, and know exactly how much everyone gets, it's uniform,, and takes up much less space. |
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 Crazy Chicken Chick
Posts: 36132
| I feed ADM Patriot Performance 12/10 and pay $15.25 a bag. It's good stuff. I don't have grass so they have round bales. |
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![](<a href="http://s1191.photobucket.com/albums/z470/alicat0909/?action=view¤t=yellaandcalf.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1191.photobu) Heeler Hater
Posts: 3014
Location: Texas | wyoming barrel racer - 2014-07-23 4:39 PM
How much are you feeding? I would say nix the grain if not needed. My prospects sure don't need it per se, but I feed them ADM PrimeGLO at $30 a bag for a 50# bag. They get 1lbs a day so it lasts me 50 days. Mine is about 60 cents a day vs yours if it were to last 10 days is $1.60 ($16/50=.32 cents a pound x 5lbs a day=$1.60. 50lbs/10days is 5# a day) Just a rough estimate for you.
OMG Im so glad Im not the only one who ads up what it costs per day to feed my horses lol!
It cost me .44 a pound to feed ADM Senior Glo. Starting august first it will cost me $2.64 a day to feed one horse and ill have three on that feed. That will go down with time but right now I am following their recommended feeding rates until they are back to a healthy weight (both of mine are thin because of lack of care from previous owners, I just bought them and one is a foster.)
It costs me $160 a month in alfalfa cubes for my stallion. He cant have hay because of bad teeth so he gets soaked cubes. Thats feeding a rate of 15 pounds a day.
It costs me $38 a month in alfalfa hay to feed my mare and the foster. Their mouths is in much better shape and can eat hay instead of mush.
They also get a daily loose mineral in their feed and since its so dang hot out right now they are also getting a daily electrolyte in their feed.
I no longer feed coastal hay due to no need for it. They have pasture and since Im feeding a complete feed to three idle horses the grass just keeps them busy.
Sometimes cheaper isn't better!
ETA: I forgot I also feed FORCO! It costs me .44 a day to feed them the FORCO :)
Edited by Alicat0909 2014-07-26 1:07 PM
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Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| wyoming barrel racer - 2014-07-25 2:14 PM
I'm just going to comment about the lick tubs. I have seen very very few that aren't made up of a ton of molassas. I hate that stuff and so do all the vets around here. I really don't think it is that great for them and the lick tubs we have tried that are low or have no molassas, the horses won't touch. If they do, they eat them up like they are candy. These are horses in good grass, 800 acres and given continuously for several months. They never back off of them like they are supposed to.
My husband has done the research and gets our tubs. I believe that they are cooked or baked or something so they can only consume so much at a time. I agree that there are some tubs that have so much molasses the horses eat them until they're gone. We've started using a liquid supplement because it is more cost effective with the cattle. They are able to bitter it and control how much the animals consume. |
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 The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
| wyoming barrel racer - 2014-07-23 4:39 PM
How much are you feeding? I would say nix the grain if not needed. My prospects sure don't need it per se, but I feed them ADM PrimeGLO at $30 a bag for a 50# bag. They get 1lbs a day so it lasts me 50 days. Mine is about 60 cents a day vs yours if it were to last 10 days is $1.60 ($16/50=.32 cents a pound x 5lbs a day=$1.60. 50lbs/10days is 5# a day) Just a rough estimate for you.
Holy smokes!! 30 for prime glo....you will die it's 18 for a 50 # bag here. |
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Horse feed....is it just me???