I have a 19 year old, 15 hh, quarter horse gelding that I am trying to choose a new feed plan for. He is retired and has the field to roam, but I don't work him any.
He usually is fine on just pasture and hay. But now that it is getting cold, he is just getting free choice hay. This is the first winter I have noticed him loosing a little weight with that diet, I guess his age is finally starting to show.
Today I went out and picked up some shredded beat pulp, more alfalfa pellets, and planned to get some whole oats but they were out.
Tonight I mixed about 1 1/2 cups of dry beat pulp and 2 cups alfalfa pellets. I covered them with water to soak, and fed it about an hour later. This is the first time he has gotten this mix, so it still gives me time to play around with it some. Planning to add some whole oats to that mix once they are back in stock at the feed store. Will most likely do that mix twice a day until I can see how it works and start tweaking it some.
What do y'all give your hard keepers or seniors? What would you reccomend changing in the feed I just started using? What amount of each type would you give?
I have always just fed a regular horse feed if I ever need any weight gain. But in my area, it is cheaper to mix my own, so I wanted to give it a try.
He usually is fine on just pasture and hay. But now that it is getting cold, he is just getting free choice hay. This is the first winter I have noticed him loosing a little weight with that diet, I guess his age is finally starting to show.
Today I went out and picked up some shredded beat pulp, more alfalfa pellets, and planned to get some whole oats but they were out.
Tonight I mixed about 1 1/2 cups of dry beat pulp and 2 cups alfalfa pellets. I covered them with water to soak, and fed it about an hour later. This is the first time he has gotten this mix, so it still gives me time to play around with it some. Planning to add some whole oats to that mix once they are back in stock at the feed store. Will most likely do that mix twice a day until I can see how it works and start tweaking it some.
What do y'all give your hard keepers or seniors? What would you reccomend changing in the feed I just started using? What amount of each type would you give?
I have always just fed a regular horse feed if I ever need any weight gain. But in my area, it is cheaper to mix my own, so I wanted to give it a try.