Question for all of you that dont feed grain.

I'm thinking of providing a hay only diet this winter, depending on how well my colt keeps weight. I plan on providing a white salt block, red mineral block, & one of those purina vit/min tubs. They already have these things available to them daily.

My hay is great quality 50/50 grass/alfalfa rounds. One very easy keeper and one so-so. Is there anything else I really should provide? In the past, I was using Purina Enrich over the winter months. Do they really need that if they already have all of the above?

I used to run 100 head  of stock cows and we never used mineral or salt blocks.. They are too expensive and just make their tongues sore if they are that short.  Even more horses are on just loose salt and mineral. 

The only reason that I have the feed mill make up my horses feed is because it is how I know that they are getting their correct daily amounts of what they should have.

I base this off of them getting 2# of horse feed a day at once a day feeding.

This also trains them to come to me any time they see me with a bucket.

 Mine are on pasture 24/7  and they come running as soon as they see  me.

Check out Stride 101 by  Blue Bonnet. Mine are hay only and I feed this to make sure they get all of their vitamins and minerals. Seems like that would be important especially for your colts!

I would highly recomend supplementing with Stride 101

I'm not sure why or where the idea started that high quality hay does not provide all the vitamins and minerals a horse needs? 

If you are going to go hay only then the highest quality hay you can possibly find is the only way to go. I feed western alfalfa and timothy. Depending on the proportion of each any one horse is getting they get my balancer stuff to offset the high calcium. I have my 25 yo broodie who is getting pelleted feed and beet pulp shreds because she is lactating, but that will be cut back after weaning. Other than that no grain, no sweet, and a very, very healthy crew. My yearling is over 15hh, my weaner is a little butterball, my in-foal mare is a tanker, and Zan is just plain fat right now - with dapples in August and no fly sheet! 

Remember that a horse digests almost 100% of the nutrients from hay and only about 60% from bagged feeds. That's how nature made them.

That is the kicker part -- if you can find "good qualityh hay" especially here in Oklahoma and the area that I am in.  No one knows how to keep a pasture for good quality "horse" hay.  I supplement my hay with the Omega Complete cubes.

Also those that feed the beet pulp shreds, where do you get them?  

I get my shreds from Southern States, but have seen them at Tractor Supply and even the coop where my western hays come from. 

Unless you live in CA, UT, WY, CO, MT, or eastern OR and WA, i.e., the western high plains, you will be hard pressed to find local hays the same quality. The great hays are expensive, but per pound they are just about the same as high quality bagged feed, and the horse can get more (everything) out of hay than bag. My feed cost per head has dropped about 10% since I went western hay only. I pay more per bale by A LOT than a couple years ago when I was using local hays, but I spend the whopping $150 or so at Southern States per month now instead of $600-$800 per month that I was before. 

We get ours at local feed store.   Before we switched brands of beet pulp we bought at TSC 

I generally get mine from TSC but they seem so dirty.  I did get a bag from Bluebonnet but it had molasses in it and I have one overweight horse and one that the molasses probably would not hurt.

Remember, if you are feeding a growing horse, the total protein for the diet needs to be 15%. If your hay does not test at least that hay, you will need additional protein. For mature horses you will be fine around 11% protein.

I guess we are the lucky ones as we get wonderful bermuda hay up by miami, okla. These people are hay growers.  They have the 3 x 3 x 8 bales. The big bales work best for us cause we have 10 horses. We have been doing buisness with them for alot of years. Always quality hay, no stems, no junk, no trash in any bale. And our horses look great & are all very healthy 

Almost all our horses are on a hay only diet in the winter. The babies, old ones and if something starts falling off we'll bring them in. 

We used to feed then lick tubs, and they looked good on them but they would paw them and tear their feet up so we stopped feeding them. 

They run on 80 acres and will paw for quite a while if the snow doesn't get deep and crusty. So hay only is doable. 

Yep - the young'uns get twice the alfalfa ratio than the elders.  The alfalfa I get is guaranteed at 20% protein so the youngsters get 2/1 alfalfa/timothy, plus balancer. Zan (the only non-pregnant non-lactating full grown horse) gets 1/2 alfalfa timothy and I don't worry about him getting balancer.