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Posts: 42
| Anyone get feed mixed at the mill? If so, what do you have for a recipe? Any ideas on what's best? Would like to get some mixed but not sure what to have done. |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
  
Location: Jersey Girl | We just took the tag from the commercial feed and gave it to the mill. They mixed based off of that. We had them add beet pulp, flax and soy. |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
 
| The only mill that did custom work in my area quit a couple years ago. He said he couldn't afford to pay out $50K on a $50 dollar horse if something was found in the horse feed that panicked an owner.
That being said - he found a source of clean milled COB and is now offering it at a very reasonable cost. I have to add fat and vitamin to make it a 'horse' feed, but I'm used to adding fat and vitamin to up the numbers on commercial feeds anyway, so now I'm processed-free. It even doubles as a good chicken food with calcium and grit added, at a cheaper price than typical chicken scratch! |
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Expert
Posts: 1314
Location: North Central Iowa Land of white frozen grass | Mine is made at the mill that my local elevator owns. Let me see if i can find the mix. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
Location: IL | I switched from commercial feeds last year and now get all my grain from my local feed mill. I pay $35 for three 50lb sacks of my mix of grain. My mix contains a 12% protein pellet, whole oats, and a little bit of cracked corn. They also add in a vitamin pack and a mineral pack for me. I have them mix in some liquid molasses for flavoring but also to help the powdered vitamin/mineral supplement stick to the feed better. I also add beet pulp to their buckets when I feed.
I can can adjust the ratios of the mix whenever I want too which is nice. I like the freshness of the grain, not only does it smell fresh, but it just looks better than the bagged grain I was getting.
After switching my horses to feed from the mill, I can't believe how they blossomed. They both filled out and their coats look great, even in winter. My hard keeper TB looks the best she ever has in the 4 years I've owned her since switching.
I attached a pic of what my mix looks like.
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| TACKyPaints - 2016-02-06 1:55 PM
I switched from commercial feeds last year and now get all my grain from my local feed mill. I pay $35 for three 50lb sacks of my mix of grain. My mix contains a 12% protein pellet, whole oats, and a little bit of cracked corn. They also add in a vitamin pack and a mineral pack for me. I have them mix in some liquid molasses for flavoring but also to help the powdered vitamin/mineral supplement stick to the feed better. I also add beet pulp to their buckets when I feed.
I can can adjust the ratios of the mix whenever I want too which is nice. I like the freshness of the grain, not only does it smell fresh, but it just looks better than the bagged grain I was getting.
After switching my horses to feed from the mill, I can't believe how they blossomed. They both filled out and their coats look great, even in winter. My hard keeper TB looks the best she ever has in the 4 years I've owned her since switching.
I attached a pic of what my mix looks like.
Essentially you stopped feeding a commercial feed and created your own JMHO. Molasses, corn, and artificial vitamin and Mineral packs are very damaging in my opinion. Just my opinion. I have gone from commercial feed to a whole grain natural diet. Unlimited high quality forage. Horses were not meant to digest molasses and if provided high quality forage, should not need a vitamin and mineral pack. |
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Location: Tenn. | We get our feed mixed at a mill that is about 40 miles from us. You can PM me for more info b/c I would have to dig up all the info on it. It is mostly oats and barley, with some alfalfa pellets, rice bran, and a little corn oil to add fat. Our horses look great on it and we pay right at $11.00 a bag.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
Location: IL | FLITASTIC - 2016-02-06 6:29 PM TACKyPaints - 2016-02-06 1:55 PM I switched from commercial feeds last year and now get all my grain from my local feed mill. I pay $35 for three 50lb sacks of my mix of grain. My mix contains a 12% protein pellet, whole oats, and a little bit of cracked corn. They also add in a vitamin pack and a mineral pack for me. I have them mix in some liquid molasses for flavoring but also to help the powdered vitamin/mineral supplement stick to the feed better. I also add beet pulp to their buckets when I feed.
I can can adjust the ratios of the mix whenever I want too which is nice. I like the freshness of the grain, not only does it smell fresh, but it just looks better than the bagged grain I was getting.
After switching my horses to feed from the mill, I can't believe how they blossomed. They both filled out and their coats look great, even in winter. My hard keeper TB looks the best she ever has in the 4 years I've owned her since switching.
I attached a pic of what my mix looks like. Essentially you stopped feeding a commercial feed and created your own JMHO. Molasses, corn, and artificial vitamin and Mineral packs are very damaging in my opinion. Just my opinion. I have gone from commercial feed to a whole grain natural diet. Unlimited high quality forage. Horses were not meant to digest molasses and if provided high quality forage, should not need a vitamin and mineral pack.
There is hardly any molasses in my mix. You can smell it but you can't feel it or see it. The grain is very loose, doesn't stick together like a commercial bagged sweet feed mix, and there is no sticky residue if you run it through your hands. Would I like to feed them a high quality straight alfalfa hay? Of course I would, but I can't afford to feed them that. We are on a tight budget. I do have them add a vitamin and mineral pack to my mix because we dont always have access to the best forage. My horses get a grass/alfalfa mix hay but I am aware that its not the very highest quality, so I supplement the vitamin/minerals in their grain. I don't see it as any different than adding loose vitamin/mineral supplement that I purchase elsewhere or having a free choice mineral out in their pens. There is also very little cracked corn in the mix and I only have that added in the winter months. Once spring arrives, I will remove the cracked corn from the mix.
I understand everyone has their own opinions on what to feed and what not to feed. To each their own. My horses are very healthy, feel good, and look the best they have so what I'm feeding them must not be too damaging.
I do my best to provide my horses with proper nutrition but unfortunately due to income and my location, I am not able to feed what I would LIKE to feed. Not everyone has access to certain feeds or an open pocketbook.
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 Saint Stacey
| Before considering a local mill, you really need to go in and ask if they mix feed that contains ionophores like Monesin or Ruminsen. If they answer yes, run away fast. The risk of contamination is too great IMO.
What I've done is found safe feeds, buy what I want separate and mix it in a big trash can. |
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Member
Posts: 42
| Did you find the ration? BS Hauler?
Edited by Canchaser532 2016-02-07 5:39 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1314
Location: North Central Iowa Land of white frozen grass | 1,200 # Whole Oats
300 # Cracked Corn
200 # High Protein Soybean Meal
100 # Alfalfa Pellets
20 # Mineral
100 # Soybean Oil
20 # Trace Mineral Salt
10 # Feeding Lime
100 # Beet Shreds
15 # Vitamin mix
$ 412.00 / ton
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 Veteran
Posts: 274
| I creep feed my broodmares on a mix we have done up at a local mill.
265lbs of Soybean Meal
140lbs of Alfalfa/Oat Pellet
60lbs Mineral
200lbs Salt
This is a 33% salt range meal.
675lbs is roughly 130$ |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| I just switched to a feed we used at the boarding stable I grew up with. The owner is a vet and designed this feed a long time ago. You have to call and request his feed.
It is corn, whole oats, soy bean meal & oil, calcium Fre Flo, Dical Phosphate, ESE and a tiny bit of molasses.
I ran horses on this feed all my life and they did well and looked good. It is very reasonable as well except I have to buy it in bulk which will get trickier when it gets warmer out. I did notice a bit more molasses this time around, not bad but more than I prefer so I will need to keep watching it as this is only my second batch. I want to make sure we keep it consistent. I was feeding strategy but my horse was needing so much of it, it was becoming very expensive and I was getting uncomfortable giving him much more without trying something else. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| I feed a feed from a a local mill and have fed it for about 6 years. They do make cattle feed but have made feed since 1930 without incident. My horses look terrific and the feed is reasonably priced. I know what he ingredients are and TAMU rates in as one of the highest at testing out that their nutrients match the bag.
Edited by streakysox 2017-02-06 2:39 PM
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | SKM - 2016-02-07 5:15 PM Before considering a local mill, you really need to go in and ask if they mix feed that contains ionophores like Monesin or Ruminsen. If they answer yes, run away fast. The risk of contamination is too great IMO. What I've done is found safe feeds, buy what I want separate and mix it in a big trash can.
This^^^^ Thats why I use Bluebonnet's Natural Blend Performance feeds.. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2258
| We use to have a mill here that mixed for us but they closed several years ago and the one mill left is very dirty so we never use them. I stopped feeding all soy products and since it is so hard to find products with out soy I started mixing my own. I bought a barrel mixer and just mix as I need. I use whole oats, alfalfa or mixed hay pellets, peas , pumpkin seeds, hemp seed oil or uckleles 4:1 oil and I have a couple of herbal mixtures I use depending on who I am feeding . So far the horses are doing really well on it. I am getting set up to start mixing it for sale as I have a few friends and such that want to give it a try. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I wanted to mix my own but our mills also make medicated cattle feed. They will tell you it's not medicated, but I buy for the show heifers so I know better. To my knowledge it's not ionospheres, but it is antibiotics and I don't want to accidentally have any residue of that in my horse feed so I don't feed a mix anymore. They look just as good if not better than when on a grain mix. |
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 A Barrel Of Monkeys
Posts: 12972
Location: Texas | I feed oats and alfalfa pellets, with free choice grass hay. I put out a mineral tub and call it good.
I'm from the era that you didn't buy pellets because you didn't know what was in them. I remember when Strategy was formulated as a broodmare feed. Now everyone wants to feed a pellet and the feed companies tell us thats what we need.
I don't want to feed my mares soybean mean (highly estrogenized), and I'm not crazy about corn. So this is what works for me.
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 Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| Southtxponygirl - 2017-02-06 2:56 PM
SKM - 2016-02-07 5:15 PM Before considering a local mill, you really need to go in and ask if they mix feed that contains ionophores like Monesin or Ruminsen. If they answer yes, run away fast. The risk of contamination is too great IMO. What I've done is found safe feeds, buy what I want separate and mix it in a big trash can.
This^^^^ Thats why I use Bluebonnet's Natural Blend Performance feeds..
I like the BB natural blend... got my 2yr old on it, my other gelding is on omega force and my older semi retired gelding on the horsemens elite. Love that BB feed. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2674
Location: Silver Lake, MN | I feed whole oats and flax seed. I have yearlings and a 9yo gelding and they look fantastic. They have grass hay 24 hours and I also feed a high quality alfalfa 2x a day. I'm loving it plus its cheap. |
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Never Named
Posts: 1837
Location: Southern Alabama | BS Hauler - 2016-02-08 2:19 PM 1,200 # Whole Oats
300 # Cracked Corn
200 # High Protein Soybean Meal
100 # Alfalfa Pellets
20 # Mineral
100 # Soybean Oil
20 # Trace Mineral Salt
10 # Feeding Lime
100 # Beet Shreds
15 # Vitamin mix
$ 412.00 / ton
I would like to know more about this.. could you PM me, please? :) |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 808
| TURNNBURNCOWGIRL - 2017-02-08 10:06 AM
BS Hauler - 2016-02-08 2:19 PM 1,200 # Whole Oats
300 # Cracked Corn
200 # High Protein Soybean Meal
100 # Alfalfa Pellets
20 # Mineral
100 # Soybean Oil
20 # Trace Mineral Salt
10 # Feeding Lime
100 # Beet Shreds
15 # Vitamin mix
$ 412.00 / ton
I would like to know more about this.. could you PM me, please? :)
Me too please |
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