if you search 'feed' there are 220 pages. they include facebook feed, twitter feed, feed lot, and lots of stuff not related to what horses eat. after 10 pages I decided to start a thread.
My guy with horses does it as a hobby. Like golf or fishing. He races horses but really doesn't make any money at it. I still think it is a mental illness/
He has his own custom feed milled by a close Amish guy. Because he runs thoroughbreds in races he runs 10% fat. Mostly from corn oil but also rice bran.
From the reading, corn oil causes inflammation. Probably not a great thing for race horses. While soy bean oil is anti inflammation my other associate says it will burn up their kidneys.
Thing is the Amish guy is talking about moving. Not sure what happens to his milling operation.
So give me some ideas on the ideal thoroughbred race horse feed.
The first question would be if you made your own feed do you only feed pellets or a combination of pellets and hay? I kinda understand all pellets and no hay, if just to cut down the dust.
I kinda like Equidyne Complete, but i'd have to top dress it with oil to get the fat content up.
https://lakinmilling.com/products/
But if you were going to have custom feed made what would you put in it?
Nothing is out of bounds
fish oil
cilantro
mac and cheese
I look forward to any responses.
feed questions
Moderators: Roguelet, hpkingjr, WaveMaster
Re: feed questions
1. Yeast
Re: feed questions
A lot of big name guys use Purina Race Ready.
So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....
Re: feed questions
I love the Mac n cheese idea!
The Purina Race Ready is beet pulp based. That's a good idea and there are many other feeds with that approach. Southern States sells Pro Elite Performance that is similar to the Race Ready but with higher fiber (which I like.)
At home (breeding stock and retirees) I feed a mix of oats, alfalfa pellets, rice bran, flax seed, and a vitamin supplement. But my horses in training have done well on Race Ready or Pro Elite Performance.
There's another Purina feed I've been less impressed with (can't remember name) -- one of their other high fat feeds always smelled rancid to me. So do a sniff test. Rancid fats are really bad to feed!
The Purina Race Ready is beet pulp based. That's a good idea and there are many other feeds with that approach. Southern States sells Pro Elite Performance that is similar to the Race Ready but with higher fiber (which I like.)
At home (breeding stock and retirees) I feed a mix of oats, alfalfa pellets, rice bran, flax seed, and a vitamin supplement. But my horses in training have done well on Race Ready or Pro Elite Performance.
There's another Purina feed I've been less impressed with (can't remember name) -- one of their other high fat feeds always smelled rancid to me. So do a sniff test. Rancid fats are really bad to feed!
Re: feed questions
I understand Purina makes good feed,
But I read to much , which is a problem.
First question I asked was all pellets or pellets and hay on the side. No one really answered that.
Been readying about yeast. Sounds very interesting.
Right now I'm a stock broker that works as an un paid groom after work. Yeah, I know, I'm having trouble processing that too. But I take my own beer.
Which is probably the biggest problem. I think there might be a correlation between the amount of beer and if I ever end up with a race horse. Surprisingly after after a few months my wife already seems resigned for me to do something stupid. (it's happened before)
But I read to much , which is a problem.
First question I asked was all pellets or pellets and hay on the side. No one really answered that.
Been readying about yeast. Sounds very interesting.
Right now I'm a stock broker that works as an un paid groom after work. Yeah, I know, I'm having trouble processing that too. But I take my own beer.
Which is probably the biggest problem. I think there might be a correlation between the amount of beer and if I ever end up with a race horse. Surprisingly after after a few months my wife already seems resigned for me to do something stupid. (it's happened before)
Re: feed questions
About hay. Horses need about 50-60% fiber in their diet. A race horse in training will require 3-4% of its own body weight daily in feed. The easiest way to achieve that is by feeding hay. Then there is the boredom factor. Racehorses will delight in pretending the hay is forage. Some will spread it all over the stall and spend hours picking out their favorite strands. Generally they will eventually eat it all up. If that time was idle with nothing to do they might start cribbing as a new adventure.
I am fortunate to have a good feed mill near my farm so I buy fat oats and a good quality 12% sweet feed dirt cheap. I add soaked beet pulp and alfalfa cubes to the dinner. I also add fresh ground flax seed and a bunch of other stuff. The fancy bag formulated stuff like Race Ready costs a lot - and Purina particularly is fixed nutrient not fixed formula so no two bags may be alike. Not really a great idea if your horse is picky. Horses like to eat the SAME thing every day. Anything new or different should be added gradually.
I am fortunate to have a good feed mill near my farm so I buy fat oats and a good quality 12% sweet feed dirt cheap. I add soaked beet pulp and alfalfa cubes to the dinner. I also add fresh ground flax seed and a bunch of other stuff. The fancy bag formulated stuff like Race Ready costs a lot - and Purina particularly is fixed nutrient not fixed formula so no two bags may be alike. Not really a great idea if your horse is picky. Horses like to eat the SAME thing every day. Anything new or different should be added gradually.
So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....
Re: feed questions
I would always feed hay. Part of it is just letting them be a horse and do what horses do, chew grass even if dried. The benefits regarding the gut are obvious
jm
jm
Run the race - the one that's really worth winning.
Re: feed questions
OK, but now we're talking about feeding questions. Not really feed.
Both of the horsemen I associate with are actually allergic to straw. So they use oak sawdust as bedding, and they say it's cheaper. It isn't the finest stuff I've ever seen but it isn't big chips either. They feed hay on the ground. Yes some horses spread it around, some leave it in a pile in the back.
They say the current Vet recommendation is to feed it off the ground so if the horse has any nasal discharge or foreign bodies in the nose they might come out naturally. I'm not sure I agree with that if you are using sawdust as bedding.
Reading I have done says the foaling shed should be bedded with long strand straw as to not go up a foals nose. IMHO , I don't see how feeding horses hay off the ground covered in sawdust is a great idea, especially for race horses.
If you want the horse to lower his head often, put the water closer to ground.
I was thinking something like this, and it isn't out of the Secretariat movie.
https://www.pedigreequery.com/photos/IM ... 1516138492
Both of the horsemen I associate with are actually allergic to straw. So they use oak sawdust as bedding, and they say it's cheaper. It isn't the finest stuff I've ever seen but it isn't big chips either. They feed hay on the ground. Yes some horses spread it around, some leave it in a pile in the back.
They say the current Vet recommendation is to feed it off the ground so if the horse has any nasal discharge or foreign bodies in the nose they might come out naturally. I'm not sure I agree with that if you are using sawdust as bedding.
Reading I have done says the foaling shed should be bedded with long strand straw as to not go up a foals nose. IMHO , I don't see how feeding horses hay off the ground covered in sawdust is a great idea, especially for race horses.
If you want the horse to lower his head often, put the water closer to ground.
I was thinking something like this, and it isn't out of the Secretariat movie.
https://www.pedigreequery.com/photos/IM ... 1516138492
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Re: feed questions
There are feed bags shaped like big pillows available online. It lets a horse lower its head to graze while keeping the hay from getting soiled by manure or getting sawdust everywhere. They also need patience to get the hay out, so a horse can't chow down all at once and spend the next 6 hours bored and whiny.
https://www.thehaypillow.com/store/p2/S ... illow.html
https://www.thehaypillow.com/store/p2/S ... illow.html
Re: feed questions
Nice idea for outside but not in a stall situation.
Re: feed questions
Water buckets need to be high so the horse can't paw in them and get hung up and hurt. Typically we clean and bed the stall and then put the hay the corner on a mat that does not have sawdust on it. Horses have a relatively primitive lung - airway set up and they are grazing animals. The physiology is set up that they can clear the airway of nasal discharge, caused by the dust in their environment etc., with their head lowered. This discharge seems to be more prevalent when they are eating. Horses do not eat from trees. They can get pneumonia from having their head tied up - on long distance trailer rides with the head tied high next to a hay bag this happens. When the horse arrives and the resulting fever etc breaks out it's called shipping fever. I know a trainer who paid $80K for a horse from Louisiana (a nice race filly) - when she got to KY two days later she got shipping fever and died. The trailer got delayed truck broke down etc.
So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....