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  Discussion on 2year old Percheron (What to feed drafts)
Author Message
Member:
Jeff

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 11, 2003 - 9:55 pm:

Hello,
I have a 2 year old Percheron that is 17.2 hands and about 1300-1400lbs a big boy. I would like your advice on feeding. I read almost every article I could find on your web site and the more I read the more lost I was. We live in Florida where we have grass about 9 months out of the year and it is bahia and plenty of it. I have heard that the bahia seed heads can be full of protien and should be mowed to prevent founder. Do you know if this is true? My Percheron is out on a lush green pasture 24 7 and his wieght is great I'm not sure if he should be getting any feed at all. He did have septic in his hocks as a foal and if he gets running around to much they do swell but never any lameness. I'm always worry about to much protien but I'm not sure if he needs extra protien to grow? During the winter I fed him a good quality T&A as much as he wanted free choice and I was feeding him a 14% protien pellet to keep his weight good. I just judge his weight and add feed when he would looked like he was slimming down. I think if I just leave him out on the pasture he will keep his weight fine but is that enough protien for him?

I also feed a free choice mineral by ABC and they always have fresh water and salt.

Thank you so much in advance.
Jeff and Donna
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jun 12, 2003 - 7:31 am:

What you need to know about feeding is summed up in one paragraph Donna: reread the golden rule in the Overview of Nutriton and realize everything else is just detail.

Excessive protein is not a cause of founder. See the article on founder for more on the causes of founder. Grass should be mowed before it seeds out for a lot of reasons, but it does not become a problem due to excessive protein.

By 2 years of age horses no longer have a need for elevated protein levels, your horse should be able to get plenty of protein on good to excellent quality grass pasture. Regular mowing to a height of about 4 inches keeps the quality up.
DrO
Member:
Cassey

Posted on Thursday, Jun 12, 2003 - 8:07 am:

Hi,
Another good information site for feeding of drafts is www.ruralheritage.com. Very interesting reading.
Member:
Jlmule

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003 - 2:17 pm:

Drafts are not really any different from other breeds except they are bigger and, when fully grown, their work levels may be considerably greater. As a long-time breeder of Belgians and Percherons we have found they really do not require anything special and do well on the "conventional feeds". They just require more of it. Sometimes people have a tendency to overfeed the carbohydrates in an attempt to provide more calories. This however may contribute to laminitis. We have found when we need to put more flesh on any of our horses, adding oil is better than adding grain. I generally have a big "industrial-sized" jug of vegetable oil in the barn (I have my local hospital dietary department order some for me from their supplier.) A very helpful person to discuss drafts with is Dr. Beth Valentine. She contributes to the Rural Heritage site as well as to the Draft Chat Board.
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