How much to feed????

[Anonymous]

My brother is keeping 3 horses in my barn. All three look too skinny to me. I can see all of their ribs and hind quarter's. He told me that's what they loog like but I have a hard time believing that. I raise cattle but I've never seen any breed of horse where thier ribs show. I think thier saddlebred/quarter horse mix and an Arabian. How much should they be feeding them? I know they feed them twice a day. About two leaves of hay and a few pounds of grain twice a day. Could they have worms of something? I think I'm going to have my vet for my cow's check them next time he comes out. Big brother never wants to listen to little brother. Any help would be greatly appreciated.....Thank's

 

[Anonymous]

first of all, you should always be able to see a hint of the ribs when a horse is moving, never when it is standing still.

if you can grab the last couple of vertebrae on the back (it's like the tail has an extension going up into the back), you're in big ttrouble. horses are severely undermuscled and possibly underfed, although your ration seems pretty high. Make sure they always leave some hay, that's an indication that they are satisfied. give some extra minerals and protein feed next to the corn as well.

there is a good chance for worms, so make sure you check them for lung and bloodworms as well as giving them a general dewormer. bloodworms are extremely dangerous, so don't turn your horses out on pasture. the worms can't pass on to cattle, but they will pass on to other horses very quickly and your pasture stays infected for at least one year.

Also make sure the horses get enough exercise (walk them, trot them a bit), but do not make them sweat. it's too cold, and the horses are basically too weak.

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[Anonymous]

If you raise cattle, you probably have a pretty good eye for when any large animal is in good or poor condition.

Mike's advice is very good. Ideally, horses should be wormed every other month, rotating wormers during the year so the parasites don't build resistance to the meds.

Other considerations are the quality of the hay being fed. Approx. 20-22 pounds of good quality hay fed per day keeps our full grown horses in good condition. We have a 23 year old Tennessee Walker/Saddlebred cross, a 6 year old Arab, a 5 year old Morgan, a 6 year old Saddlebred, and a coming two year old Quarterhorse filly.

How old are the horses? A very young horse pretty much needs free choice hay available all the time.

Horses also often need to have dental work done so they can chew their food properly. Their teeth can grow to the point where they can't utilize the feed given them. An exam by a vet does sound in order.

It's odd that all three of them seem to be underweight - if that's the case, I would look at the feed and parasite situation first, but don't ignore the potential for dental problems, either.

We live at high altitude, where it snows and gets below zero in the winter. Our horses do well with with a straight hay diet, although we might feed just a big of grain in the coldest weather.

I'm telling you what we do so you can have a general idea of what passes for normal or usual horse care and feeding.

Good for you for watching out for the horses under your roof. It would be interesting if you could post here and let us know what the vet's opinion is.

> My brother is keeping 3 horses in
> my barn. All three look too skinny
> to me. I can see all of their ribs
> and hind quarter's. He told me
> that's what they loog like but I
> have a hard time believing that. I
> raise cattle but I've never seen
> any breed of horse where thier
> ribs show. I think thier
> saddlebred/quarter horse mix and
> an Arabian. How much should they
> be feeding them? I know they feed
> them twice a day. About two leaves
> of hay and a few pounds of grain
> twice a day. Could they have worms
> of something? I think I'm going to
> have my vet for my cow's check
> them next time he comes out. Big
> brother never wants to listen to
> little brother. Any help would be
> greatly appreciated.....Thank's

 

[Anonymous]

Feeding the horses Fastrack Probiotics would help them absorb as much nutrients as possible from their feed. All of my horses are on Fastrack and they look great and are very healthy. I have even been able to cut back on grain. It is good for cattle also.

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[Anonymous]

Feeding the horses Fastrack Probiotics would help them absorb as much nutrients as possible from their feed. All of my horses are on Fastrack and they look great and are very healthy. I have even been able to cut back on grain. It is good for cattle also. I raise Peruvian Pasos. Joan



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