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Expert
Posts: 4766
   
Location: Bandera, TX | FLITASTIC - 2013-11-26 3:09 PM My vets have always told me to avoid bermuda grass hay because it causes lots of impaction colics. Any truth to this?
There is truth to this if the horse is staying well hydrated. | |
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  Ms. Potato Head
Posts: 9162
Location: BFE, Idaho | During the slack time of winter, alfalfa/grass mix hay, a basic 3 way molasses mix, and access to two kinds of salt blocks. I have had two different people that have know him all his life and not seen him in a while comment on how awesome he looks. My farrier also said his feet are wonderful.
When he goes back to work and getting ready for the show season, I will add calf manna. That will be it.
My biggie is always fresh clean water in a metal tank, in the winter I do not add a heater until it gets really cold, as the water gets to warm and he does not want to drink as much. Then I turn it on and off instead of full time.
(I do not like plastic tanks, I have tasted the water myself out of both in the summer and winter and the plastic tanks taste yucky)
I tried the name brands and the hoopla for years, I like the way he looks going back to the way my dad fed and I fed for years. | |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Enjoying reading your comments. 32 years ago I had the horse of a lifetime. He had a simple diet of Crimped Oats, Calf Manna, loose mineral and salt. He was not allowed out to play with others and was kept in his paddock with coastal hay. A true road warrior. No bute, no joint injections, no colic, no bleeding, no stomach issues. Only care he got was rode hard and massage and stretching after his rides. He was competive at a top level-winning for 13 years.
I can't fathom the $ I've sunk into supplements, vitamins, minerals, probiotics and the such in 30 years of trying to have another stellar horse.
The more I learn about soy the more I want to get away from it. I've feed the rice bran supplements and products for about 20+ years on colts so that they would hold weight during training but just can't wrap my head around a diet of something that the horse wouldn't be able to find in his "natural" setting, as the base meal.
I have a cool colt in the barn that I believe will make a super horse. His brother this year had issues with stomach problems and I want to prevent any foreseeble issues. My husband however just hounds the heck out of my feeding program for 4 different types of horses. Broodies, youngsters, young competition horses, and older competition horse. | |
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