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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
  
Location: Missouri | For those who pasture your horses 24/7 and have them on a round bale what is your grain regime? Do you still grain and how much?
I have a mare on a round bale 24/7 and she is grained 1 time a day because I live about 30 minutes away (Wish I could feed twice a day). I am worried because she has a hay belly but you can still see a little bit of ribs and I would really like for her top line to fill out. She is an appendix but not hot.
What grain do you recommend or supplements to really make a horse blossom, or if you do not grain or make your own what is your daily routine?
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 Canine Carryout Queen
 
Location: Oklahoma | Absolutely!!! 14% protein, 7% fat ... two times a day ... probably 3-4lbs each feeding. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
Location: Missouri | I can only feed once a day because I do not live on the property. Her feed is a 14%. Maybe I just need to feed more?
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 World 4D Champ
Posts: 28264
Location: PA | I have my horses in my backyard. They are out 24/7 on a round bale, and I only grain once a day. Been doing it for years, and they all look great! I feed a 12/12/12 feed, beet pulp and flax. My one appemdix is also on THE. I've never had any issues feeding once a day. |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | Mine are on round bales 24/7, and I feed grain once a day. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
Location: Missouri | Would a supplement like muscle mass help fill a horse out in her situation?
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
Location: Missouri | BRcwgrl81 - 2013-11-25 11:16 AM
I have my horses in my backyard. They are out 24/7 on a round bale, and I only grain once a day. Been doing it for years, and they all look great! I feed a 12/12/12 feed, beet pulp and flax. My one appemdix is also on THE. I've never had any issues feeding once a day.
How much beet pulp and flax do you feed along with the grain?
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 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25351
Location: Bastrop, Texas | I use round bales free choice and there's quite a lot of alfalfa mixed in. If I'm not really working them very hard I don't grain them until it gets into the cold winter months like January-March. Then I grain them all once a day. In the warmer months, I only grain the ones I'm conditioning and competing on regularly. |
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 Strong Willed Woman
Posts: 6577
Location: Prosser, WA | Maybe she needs to be wormed? The ribs showing with a big belly can be a sign of worms. |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | I have four horses that are turned out on a round bale 24/7. Two of those are fed outside and they split one scoop of 12%sweet feed and one scoop of rolled oats twice daily. They both stay fat (including top line) on that ration. The other two come in for more chow, because one is old (32) and the other is somewhat of a hard keeper. |
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Veteran
Posts: 172
| I'd be careful about bumping up her feed, unless she is on a very small amount already. Horses are designed to eat slowly all day, and their bellies can't take a large amount of grain (which is "unnatural") at one time. Ideally, you want to feed your grain 3 times a day, but if you can't do that, I would maybe think about putting out a better quality hay/round bale to help her fill out. |
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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | Rdcreations - 2013-11-25 11:13 AM I can only feed once a day because I do not live on the property. Her feed is a 14%. Maybe I just need to feed more?
how much fat is in your feed? with ribs showing sounds like she needs more calories. |
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World 4D Champ
Posts: 28264
Location: PA | Rdcreations - 2013-11-25 12:24 PM
BRcwgrl81 - 2013-11-25 11:16 AM
I have my horses in my backyard. They are out 24/7 on a round bale, and I only grain once a day. Been doing it for years, and they all look great! I feed a 12/12/12 feed, beet pulp and flax. My one appemdix is also on THE. I've never had any issues feeding once a day.
How much beet pulp and flax do you feed along with the grain?
I soak about a half a scoop of pellets, and split between my 3. That gives me about a scoop soaked each. They each get a cup of flax, ground. And then I add their grain to that. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 667
| mine are out 24/7 on round bale. I grain once a day. I use Total Equine. Love it and they all look great. I also use Equipase and Lubrysin as supplements. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
Location: Missouri | HorsesNHarleys - 2013-11-25 11:34 AM
Rdcreations - 2013-11-25 11:13 AM I can only feed once a day because I do not live on the property. Her feed is a 14%. Maybe I just need to feed more?
how much fat is in your feed? with ribs showing sounds like she needs more calories.
9% crude fat. She gets a full scoop of the grain a day and then I put healthy coat on top of her grain.
She is getting about 4lbs of grain a day but I looked up on the Safe Choice Perform's feed calculator and it says for light work (Which is what she is getting now) is 4-6lbs. Maybe try 6lbs?
Or would adding in another item such as flax or beet pulp instead of upping the grain be better? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
Location: Missouri | Anyone try this before?
http://www.nutrenaworld.com/products/horses/empower-supplements/emp... |
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Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | Maybe you could try a complete feed high in fat like Triple Crown Complete or Triple Crown Senior. Then you could safely give more at once yet have the high fat. I would gradualy increase of course. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 540
Location: My own little world :) | My horses are on pasture throughout the growing season and then in the winter months I feed hay....obviously. Haha. They also get grained once a day but I do it more to give them their supplements rather than for the calories and what not in the grain. My horses seem quite happy, my vet always says they look nice, and they don't get hot on my feed plan but that could be because they are in a huge pasture and can run and play as much as they want.
I don't like feeding round bales but maybe that is because of the way I was feeding it. I was peeling it off with a pitchfork daily...sometimes a few times a day. I found it really hard to gauge how much hay they were getting but then if I just put a whole bale out with them they would make a huge mess and waste a lot of it. I didn't have a feeder.
As for my grain/supplements I try to give them the best while being very conscious of my pocketbook. I feed rolled oats with wet cob and I only feel maybe two cups of each. Then I put in rice bran meal, platinum performance, gelatin, and a liquid mixture of apple cider vinegar, honey, lemon juice, and water to bind everything together. I've also done a lot of research about equine nutrition and it is best to not feed them much grain and let them eat constantly. Free grazing is truly the best option for horses but that is not really plausible for everyone. I also feel like feeding the fancy grains are kind of a waste of money. They cost a lot and on the package it seems like the manufacture suggests you feel a large quantity...like I think I read one and it said 6lbs daily.
Through this summer I was pregnant so instead of feeding my grain mixture everyday I turned them out in a big pasture and just supplemented with a selenium block and an equilix tub. Then the horses can free feed and get the supplements they need when they feel like they need them. I like the equilix tubs a lot and think they worked great with my horses but my favorite supplement is platinum performance. I take it as well. The equilix tub makes supplementing very easy and simple. |
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  A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
Location: NC | Horses will have a "hay belly" for one or both of two big reasons (there are others, but these are common):
1. Lack of protein. If the horse isn't getting enough protein, their bellies will look bloated, but you can still see ribs. Make sure you're feeding the MINIMUM recommended amount each day of the feed you're feeding. If she's not in work, & usually an easy keeper, try a ration balancer. I DO NOT recommend the Purina version, as it is complete junk. But if you can get your hands on Triple Crown 30% or Buckeye Gro N Win, they are both awesome choices. You only feed 1-3lbs a day of it & that's all they need. You can add fat to it if you like whether you use the Healthy Coat oil for that or add in a rice bran supplement. Sounds like a ration balancer would be the best bet for your situation. It is NOT a good idea to feed more than 3-4lbs at a time to a horse. And if you can't feed the full 6-10lbs more feeds require, you're just wasting feed.
2. Junky hay. Really stringy hay or dry/not so lovely hay takes a long time to digest, so it stays in the gut longer, causing a horse to have a hay belly. Most round bales are grass hay, & not always kept nicely after being in the field, so that's usually what does it. Junky hay is fine, as long as you're not trying to win a beauty pageant. And most horses lose it when they're in good work. Exercise aids in digestion.
ETA: A ration balancer has a minimal amount of fat, so it's not good for harder keepers. A higher fat feed, like Triple Crown Senior, will give a good amount of fat without all the extra starches & other things. But again, you NEED to feed the minimum if you're going to see any difference.
I used to feed 1-2lbs of the 30% ration balancer along with about 2lbs of the Triple Crown Senior to my easier keepers who needed a little extra fat. The 30% is about $30 a bag, but you're only feeding 1-3lbs a DAY. Same with the Senior. So it ends up being pretty cheap in the long run.
Edited by hlynn 2013-11-25 12:02 PM
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9991
Location: Kansas | I stopped graining now for the winter since I'm not riding. I do however feed a flake or two of alfalfa per horse during the evenings. |
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