1. “I have done the math and it is cheaper for me to mix my own grain.”..
2. Is there any other supplement that you know of that helps horses with hoof cracks. …”
3. “Once he gets to California are there supplements or feed you would suggest to help with the transition to no grass? …”
4. “Should I feed him hoof supplements?”1. “I have done the math and it is cheaper for me to mix my own grain.”..
5. “We are trying to transition her to pasture feeding, and are concerned about colic and foundering…”
6. “We were advised by our veterinarian that he should be getting at least 8 pounds of sweet 16 a day and to top dress with Mare and Foal pellets…”
7. “Can I give her as much hay (Coastal) as she wants to eat without hurting her?”
8. “What is your opinion on adding unfiltered apple cider vinegar to horses grain?”
9. “Will horses eat lespedeza hay?”
10. “We recently bought some land, and we plan on getting some horses in a year or so…what kind of vegetation should I sow for the horses to eat?”
1. “I have done the math and it is cheaper for me to mix my own grain.”..
With hay prices and grain prices skyrocketing I have done the math and it is cheaper for me to mix my own grain. I plan on doing so using alfalfa pellets and beet pulp. I have considered adding oats to the mix but probably won’t at first. My question is would ADM’s GroStrong minerals give them all the vitamins and minerals they need? Would Formula 707 Daily Essentials be a better product to use?
I was told beet pulp is not good to feed to foals. I have a 3 month old colt that is still nursing (wont be weaned till 5-6 months) and was planning on switching to feeding alfalfa pellets and beet pulp. Is beet pulp bad for my foal?
Dr Bill Schurg’s Answer:
It may appear that it is cheaper to mix your own combinations but I can assure you that because of the individual costs of ingredients and the lack of needed nutrients you may not realize the savings you anticipate. You do not indicate the age and use of your horse. The type of forage feeding and grain you have been using. If you are just mixing beet pulp and alfalfa pellets you are not creating a “grain”. The alfalfa pellets is really hay and beet pulp is a by-product of the sugar beet industry (it is a very good source of energy). You don’t indicate the proportions and/or amounts you intend to mix but I suspect it will fall short of meeting all the nutrient needs of your horse. The additional of a supplemental mineral/vitamin mix is commendable but actually will be somewhat costly. So, I really think you may be better served by purchasing the best quality longstem hay you can find and use a balanced premium feed supplement. If you feed both at the right amounts you should meet the horse needs and not have to add other costly supplements. Beet pulp is an excellent feed ingredient, I usually soak it to improve palatability. The age foal you have told me about can be fed limited amounts of beet pulp in the diet. At levels of 5-8% of the total daily intake you would not likely have any problems. I would not feed high levels of beet pulp without using other ingredients to balance the nutrient needs of a growing foal. Best of luck.
2. Is there any other supplement that you know of that helps horses with hoof cracks. …”
I recently bought a horse with cracks on both front feet from the coronet band to the toes. I am feeding her an alfalpha/timothy mix hay, and Farrier’s Choice biotin. Is there any other supplement that you know of that helps horses with hoof cracks. Vet says ignore the cracks because she is not lame. Farrier says the cracks are surface and will grow out.
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
The use of the biotin supplement is one effective approach to resolving this issue. With the help of your farrier it may take several months for you to get rid of the cracks as the foot grows about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch per month. I have used some Flaxseed soaked for a couple of hours and poured onto my feed or a carrier like wheat bran. The fatty acids available in the flax has shown some benefits to both hair and hooves. The nutritional approach and frequent farrier work should prove successful in resolving your cracked hooves. Best of luck.
3. “Once he gets to California are there supplements or feed you would suggest to help with the transition to no grass? …”
I have a 6 year old Friesian – Arabian cross gelding. He is currently boarded at a dressage training facility in GA where he is on grass pasture 5 hours a day and receives Timothy hay the rest of the day as well as buckeye pellets and a vitamin supplement. One night a week he receives a small hot bran mash. In the four years he has been at the GA facility there has never been a horse with colic. At the end of the month I am moving him to the Los Angeles area where there are no grass pastures. The new facility offers either 3-way hay or alfalfa. I’m concerned about his long commute – the haulers feed alfalfa in route. My current facility can transition him to Alfalfa for the trip.
Once he gets to CA are there supplements or feed you would suggest to help with the transition to no grass? What would be the better hay to feed – alfalfa or 3-way? He has never had any colic issues and I want to keep it that way. Any suggestions you could make for the trip andthe diet in his new desert home would be much appreciated.
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
First have you discussed with the haulers about providing timothy hay along the way to California? You may find that if you provide the hay your hauler may be inclined to use your feed and transition the horse across the country. If you can take some of the forage which you have in Georgia and have it available for your horse once he gets to California you could gradually shift to the new hay. It is probably best to use the three way hay as it will have texture and nutrients similar to what your horse has been receiving. Depending on what the buckeye pellets are (hay pellets or a concentrate type pellet) you will likely be able to find something similar in California. Hopefully the new facility feeds several times per day rather than a traditional 2x per day. That may help your horse in transition as well since no pasture is available. The last thing is that your current facility can transition your horse to alfalfa and that could be a good option as well. Regardless of which way you decide to go you should transition the horse slowly to the new diets (minimum of 7 to 10 days).
4. “Should I feed him hoof supplements?”
We have an 8 yr old gelding, Palomino, that does western pleasure and HUS shows with my 14yr old daughter. He has had quarter cracks, once in Nov and once in June that were repaired by Rusty Freeman (quartercrack.com) His past farrier work has been every 4 weeks. 2 new farriers say he needs longer hoof to prevent multiple nail holes that weaken the hoof. The cracks were on the inside fronts on both right and left and up to the coronet band. Does length and diet play a part? He gets 6 flakes of alfalfa/mix hay and 3 lbs of sweet feed per day. He is 15 2 and an easy keeper. Should I feed him hoof supplements?
Thanks for any help on this.
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
I do believe that hoof quality and diet can be related. I find that there may be several ways you can go relative to supplementation. There are several hoof supplements on the market and I would look carefully are the guaranteed analysis and ingredient list to be sure that the product contains both methionine and biotin. The use of hoof supplements in many cases helps a horse over a 2-5 month period of time. Another approach that I have been seeing some good results with is the use of soaking flaxseed (2-4 Tablespoons soaked in enough water to more than cover) for 2-4 hours and then pouring this mixture onto the concentrate. The use of this fat source has improved some hooves among horses I see in the drought conditions in Arizona. There are some supplements out there which contain a combination of rice bran, flaxseed etc. which can do the same thing without the labor intensiveness of personal preparation. The improved hoof quality and hair coats of horses fed this type of supplement seems to show improvement at somewhat a faster turnaround than some of the straight hoof supplements. However, each horse is an individual and you may need to use a trial and error approach.
5. “We are trying to transition her to pasture feeding, and are concerned about colic and foundering…”
We bought a mare about 2 weeks ago. She’s 11-13 years old and is a mixed breed if you will. My question is this:
Her previous owners fed her alfalfa cubes and sweet feed only. We are trying to transition her to pasture feeding, and are concerned about colic and foundering. She weighs about 800 pounds and is currently about 200 pounds underweight but otherwise in good health. Can you please offer any suggestions?
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
Any time you are going to transition a horse from one type of diet to another it should be done gradually. Usually slowly reducing the cubes as she eats more pasture. You may find that if the horse is underweight you will need to continue feeding both the cubes and sweet feed along with pasture until you get her up to a desired weight. Once she is at the desired weight you may be able to go to a maintenance supplementation program with the pasture. I would at least initially continue using some of the products she has been use to as I achieve my goal weight and condition.
6. “We were advised by our veterinarian that he should be getting at least 8 pounds of sweet 16 a day and to top dress with Mare and Foal pellets…”
Our colt is just over 4 months old. His mother rejected him when he was born and we have been raising him as an orphan. He is doing extremely well in that regards and he is also interacting with the other horses. My concern is this. We were advised by our veterinarian that he should be getting at least 8 pounds of sweet 16 a day and to top dress with Mare and Foal pellets. We have been doing that since he was 2 1/2 months old. However, someone else told us that was way too much grain and we should just feed no more than 2 pounds of a 14% pellet feed per day, plus all the hay he wants. He is also on pasture 24/7 with the other horses, but we do split the grain/pellet feeding into 2x daily. He seems to be growing very well; he is about 11.5 hands now. Both his mother and father are 15.5. We were told he was wasting a lot of the grain and he would get more benefit from the pellets instead of the sweet. He seems to be doing wonderfully except he always seems to have the “big” under belly. You can feel his spine, but he is starting to fill out or flatten around the spine, however, the middle sections of his ribs are visible. We were told that by putting him on the 14% pellets and only give him 2 pounds a day, that he would lose the big under belly and start filling out over the ribs. I should also mention that he does have 24-hour access to hay if he wants it that the other horses cannot get to. It is 2nd and 3rd crop hay. He also has access to a salt block, and a mineral supplement block for horses. We have also been putting Electrolyte in his bucket of water that only he can get to. However, he can also drink out of the main water tank the other drink out of. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
This foal with the available access to pasture and hay probably cannot get all the nutrients that he needs so that he can grow. A 4-5 month old foal needs about 16% crude protein along with enough energy, minerals and vitamins that he should easily get with the combinations that your veterinarian has recommended. Unless you are trying to prep him for a show in a weanling class I would not change the diet at this time. The 14% pellets fed at only 2 pounds per day would not allow the foal to get the needed nutrients that would allow him to grow effectively. It sounds to me at this time you are feeding this orphan appropriately.
7. “Can I give her as much hay (Coastal) as she wants to eat without hurting her?”
I have a mare approx. 13 yrs old, I feed her 2 flakes in the morning and at night along with a scoop of oats. She also gets vitamins. My question is, she is a little underweight and is only ridden a couple of days per week as I am a novice rider. She is in a rather large paddock and we are going to fence the rest of our property in and then she will have free run of it. Am I feeding her enough? Can I give her as much hay (Coastal) as she wants to eat without hurting her? Thank you so much for your help.
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
The flakes of Coastal hay probably are not adequate to meet the maintenance needs even though you are feeding a scoop of oats. If your horse weighs about 1000 pounds or so, she would need about 20 pounds of total intake each day. More if she needs to gain some weight. I would encourage you to weigh the hay out and the oats to see if you are giving somewhere near 20 pounds of total feed each day. If not you can easily add more coastal hay to the point where your horse begins to leave some of it. The other alternative is to continue the 4 flakes of hay and increase the amount of oats being fed. Also, the addition of rice bran (2-3 cups) each day or adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flaxseed oil or another fat source may be useful. There are several fat supplements that are being marketed that may work for you.
8. “What is your opinion on adding unfiltered apple cider vinegar to horses grain?”
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
The use of apple cider vinegar has been considered to aid in the reduction of stones (enteroliths) in the digestive tract of horses. In horses that may be prone to stone problems many have used the addition of 1/2-1 cup added to the grain mixture daily. Keep in mind that if the horse has large stones it will not likely have any positive effect on stone reduction.
9. “Will horses eat lespedeza hay?”
Is it hard to get them started on it? With the hay shortage I’m looking into more readily available hays in my area and lespedeza is one of them. My horses are used to brome do you think I’ll have a problem. I do have some bales of brome to possibly mix with the lespedeza to bring them along slowly.
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
I have not fed lespedeza hay, as it is not available in my area, however I know others have fed it successfully. You will likely have to give your horse a good adaptation period and slowly mix brome with lespedeza until your horse becomes acclimated to the new hay. Some horses may take longer than others to adjust.
10. “We recently bought some land, and we plan on getting some horses in a year or so…what kind of vegetation should I sow for the horses to eat?”
Bill Schurg’s Answer:
The type of pasture or forage that you will plant will depend on where you live, the soil type, and environmental conditions. Do you have adequate water available or are you in an area that gets adequate rainfall? I would suggest that you contact your local Cooperative Extension Service office. They will be best equipped to advise you of the most appropriate type of plant to use for your area.
