Advice on Feeding

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fitzaud2

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18 October 2009
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I have an 24 year old mare, 16.2hh, still active, being lightly ridden, about 5 days a week, mostly trotting, some cantering and the odd gallop. She loves being ridden, and is totally bombproof. I ride her on a busy road, and she is teriffic. She's in great condition, and nobody believes me when i tell them her age. Anyway, my question is am i over feeding her. She gets 2 scoops of oats, 1 scoop of coarse mix, 1 scoop of soaked beet pulp, and i add the following to it. Milk thistle, cod liver oil, garlic and cider apple vinegar. She also gets ad-lib hay. She is out during the day, and in at night. She's not over weight, and without the feed, she dosn't have the same energy levels. Am i crazy?
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Your scoops could be any size, so unless you actually say what weight of feed you are giving her, it is hard to say. It sounds like plenty of hard feed, but then she is an old girl, and will need more fuel than a younger horse. If she looks well and is happy to be ridden, then what is the problem ?
 
Well, there isn't a problem really and i know that scoops come in all sizes. It's a fairly big scoop. Only reason i'm asking is that i was was at the riding club showjumping final last night, and was talking to an instructor that was competing. She has a huge 18.hh coloured mare, 8 year old, that is quite broad as well as tall, and she only gives her 1 scoop of coarse mix twice a day, and hay morning and evening. It just got me thinking that if a mare that big can do so well on that amount of feed, then maybe i'm over feeding her, but as you said, if it ain't broke, dont fix it. Thanks
 
The thing is horses have very different appetites for hay plus as horses get older their teeth tend to deteriorate so it takes them longer to chew forage so might not actually get through as much hay as a younger horse. My daughter's 14hh pony can get through twice as much hay or haylage a night as my 16hh veteran mare! So even if given adlib hay, some horses won't eat enough to maintain condition, so you need to top up with bucket feed as well. If it works well for your girl I wouldn't worry too much, but do ensure she doesn't get overweight by checking that you can still feel her ribs easily.
 
Thanks, I have her teeth done every 6 mths, as her teeth were inan awful state when we got her. She seems to munch away okay on her hay, but can be fussy. Some bales, she loves, others she says no thanks.
I love the photos. Defenite all-rounder. Beautiful horse,
Haven't figured out how to add pics to signature yet. I'm not so good with modern technology.

Thanks for the reply, I feel alot better now.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I love the photos. Defenite all-rounder. Beautiful horse,
Haven't figured out how to add pics to signature yet. I'm not so good with modern technology.

[/ QUOTE ] Thank you! That is my daughter's pony, a real all-round superstar - my daughter is a very lucky girl!

If you want me to do a signature banner for you, just PM me some pics and I will put something together for you.
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