Moonlit Pastures asked what’s in your feed bucket? Since my feed, er, program is more complicated than it should be, I figured I’d devote an entire post to it. After all, no one eats the same thing. Because, that would be EASY. I don’t do easy. Nor do my picky horses…

Nay Nay:

Nay Nay probably has the most complicated feed routine. He’s picky AND soy intolerant. Granted, his pickiness likely comes from the soy intolerance. Add in chronic hindgut issues (hind gut ulcers/colitis) and you’ve got a problem child. He came to the right place… I put up with a lot.

In terms of hard feed, he gets Tribute Wholesome Blends Senior. He gets 5.5 quarts (I cannot remember what this weights) at night split between his mash and his feeder. He’s had the performance but the senior has less sugar and seems to work better for his hind gut. At night, he gets smartgut ultra and smartvite as well. Plus Simplyfly. Morning he just gets just under 3 quarts. And carrots and peppermints mixed in both meals. Because.

His mash base is Fibre Beet. I cannot say ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS STUFF. It saved him when is gut was in crisis. It is low starch/sugar and is the only soaked feed Nay will touch. Now that it is summer, he’s getting about half what he got in the winter, but he still gets it. It is $$$$ but worth it. Good for ulcerprone horses and laminitic horses. He likes grain mixed with it. Plus carrots/peppermints.

He gets free choice orchard grass mix outside and has a net in his stall (not a small hole inside). Plus a bag of western alfalfa inside. But, when is gut was bad, we discovered chopped hay. He likes Triple Crown Alfalfa Forage Blend. That stuff is gold. When times were bad, he was eating 15lbs/night. Now he’s down to 5-8lbs/night. I’m budgeting his chopped, but still giving it to him as he doesn’t eat much hay inside. I bought a leaf mulcher and chopped his alfalfa and some orchard and he ate almost 15lbs of that mixed with his TC last night so I think we can make a bag of the TC last a week now. I don’t mind buying it (I refuse to stop with the chopped since it is key in keeping his gut healthy and happy), but 1 bag/week please!

Plus 1 tube of succeed each morning. The final piece of Healthy Nay Gut.

Subi:

Subi used to be my tricky horse. Now he’s easy next to Nay.

At night he gets one bucket of Alfalfa Cubes.

A mix of Omolene 200 (performance not RT, he doesn’t like the RT as it sticks to some of his teeth) and Equine Senior mixed with carrots and peppermints. 3 quarts of each at night, 1.5 of each in the morning (no one finish feed in the morning if they get as much). And simplyfly.

A feeder filled with orchard grass mix. A hay net of western alfalfa. For a while he stopped eating the alfalfa. A year? 2? Then I started feeding him when I got this batch. He’s been inhaling it. And put on so much weight my farrier was shocked. So yeah. Alfalfa is here to stay for as long as he’ll eat it. Once he can’t eat long stem hay, I can start chopping it, but he’s doing OK for now. He sees the dentist next month and we’ll see how his loose tooth (teeth?) are doing.

Jiminy

Oh Jiminy. He’s still growing out his feet from his founder episodes. They’re starting to look like feet again. His weight remains perfect so there’s not that much I can do. He gets orchard grass mix which is the same hay he’s been on for years. He foundered last August so it could have been a weed. And again in the freaking winter so who the heck knows. He’s at the age where they’re most susceptible to metabolic issues. He wears his muzzle any time he’s turned out even if he’s just eating hay.

At night he gets a large handful or 2 of Fibre Beet, soaked. I mix in a cup of Triple Crown Balancer which is one of the lowest NSC balancers out there and remission and simplyfly. The Fibre Beet has a strong flavor so he doesn’t mind the remission. Mornings he just gets the balancer. This seems to be working well compared to either alfalfa pellets, timothy pellets, or plain beet pulp.