Feeding

Question
Hello

9 months ago i brought a 16.3 x point to pointer he was
under weight, all winter i was struggling to maintain his
weight let alone put any on. It is now summer and he has put
on a lot of weight and is doing great as he is out on grass
and gets fed apple chaff and high fibre nuts daily. through
the winter he is rugged up and fed alfara oil, high fibre
cubes and sugar beet. I was wondering if you have any
suggestions on what to feed him this winter without blowing
his head off as tj and haylage is a no go! thanks hannah x

Answer
I would make sure you start packing the pounds on in the fall by feeding free choice hay (if you don't all ready) and a high fat grain. If you can't find a grain that contains at least 6 percent fat, then I would supplement with at few ounces of oil. I prefer soybean oil, but vegitable oil and others are just as good. Through the cold months, a horse must take in more calories to keep warm. If you do not add calories to the diet, the horse will burn it's own stored fat and muscle. Many horseman choose to add corn to the diet, since corn is dense in carbohydrates and doesn't require large quantities. About 10 to 12 pounds of high fat (6%-8%) grain, a day, for a 1000 pound horse should be a starting point for feeding in the winter months. This is assuming you are still working the horse and feeding free choice hay. This may be cut back if horse will be inactive and blaketed and stalled out of the weather. I am not sure of your current feed quantities and content, so I am just giving you a guide so you can adjust as needed. I don't think you should feed any less than 8 lbs of grain if you have a good fat content and good quality hay.

Hope this helps.

Christopher Crocker

Crocker Racing Stable Inc. and thoroughbred horse racing partnerships.