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| more fat....ish. The mare I have is not skinny but she just needs that little something to push her over the edge.. I don't know if I need to be adding fat to what she eats or protein or... basically she is eating 1 and a half pounds of renew gold a day, 2 flakes of alfalfa and 2 flakes of coastal hay, plus turned out 24/7. She's never had that topline that all my other horses have. She's every bit of 16 hands and has a really high croup and withers. Really stout. I would post a picture but i can't figure it out. She isn't ribby but there isn't that much fat on her ribs if that makes sense. She also doesn't really have that much energy.. shes kinda slow (but i blame that on the time she had west nile lol)
I was thinking of adding oats? Help me  |
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Blessed 
 
Location: Here | flax |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 863
| Your description sounds just like a gelding of mine. I just started him on Purina Amplify 3 weeks ago, and also just bought some Nutrena Empower today. This should help! |
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Fire Ant Peddler
Posts: 2881
| More feed |
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| Wild1 - 2014-04-02 10:40 PM
Your description sounds just like a gelding of mine. I just started him on Purina Amplify 3 weeks ago, and also just bought some Nutrena Empower today. This should help!
How much is the Empower? |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | The thing with coastal is how hard it can be to digest. If your horse is not chewing the coastal well there will not be enough surface area to it to let the enzymes in the hind gut to break it down properly. I am not talking about the teeth being bad enough that the horse is dropping feed, it just needs to be bad enough that he does not chew as much as he should because it irritates his cheeks. Check this out before you change diet. If the teeth are fine, the easiest answer is to just add a pound or so of stabilized rice bran. Your program sounds OK, if the horse can digest the hay complety. This is a bigger problem with coastal than with most other hays. |
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| winwillows - 2014-04-02 10:59 PM
The thing with coastal is how hard it can be to digest. If your horse is not chewing the coastal well there will not be enough surface area to it to let the enzymes in the hind gut to break it down properly. I am not talking about the teeth being bad enough that the horse is dropping feed, it just needs to be bad enough that he does not chew as much as he should because it irritates his cheeks. Check this out before you change diet. If the teeth are fine, the easiest answer is to just add a pound or so of stabilized rice bran. Your program sounds OK, if the horse can digest the hay complety. This is a bigger problem with coastal than with most other hays.
How do i know if she is chewing it well enough? She very recently just had her teeth done. And should I add rice bran or flax? Because I know rice bran should be soaked etc. and my parents are the ones feeding for me since im in college so lets just say the simpler the better |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | Don't soak stabilized rice bran. No need or reason. Flax can work well if stabilized or ground fresh. If not you are better off with the stabilized rice bran. If teeth have been done you should be good there. Should be an easy fix. |
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| Thank you so much for all of your help! I will ask my feed store which one is available/cheapest! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1165
Location: California | I would personally add a digestive aid. It sounds like her diet is balanced. IF she isnt chewing the coastal enough and the result is it hanging out longer in her system and "bogging her down" so to speak, then a digestive aid will help. I use EquiPride/EquiLix which has digestive stuff in it but since you feed a good grain I'd suggest looking into FORCO. I plan on getting my coming 2yr old on it to see if it helps more with the grass belly he always has. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I would feed more alfalfa.
I would look for a complete pelleted feed, feed as directed, plus add 1 cup of whole flax ground up immediately before feeding.
You could also look at consulting with an equine dietician from your area for suggestions |
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