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  Discussion on 12% complete horse feed and foundered mare
Author Message
Member:
mleeb

Posted on Monday, Sep 8, 2008 - 5:49 pm:

Hi
I have a mare that has been foundered a few years ago, and we are able to maintain her quite well by eliminating all alfalfa or grain from her diet, and keeping her on pasture turnout for 12 hours on, and 12 hours off while the grass is growing. We are actually able to turn her out 24/7 when the heat kicks in and the grass quits growing, and the same in fall when it is cool. She doesn't wear shoes, and she competes in pretty much everything, has great gravel crunching feet. She has been successfully maintained like this for 4 years now, and has never foundered since.

So, here's my question. I also have an old boy with no teeth (but everything else in excellent working condition) who lives quite well on a 12% complete horse feed. At various times it is an extreme juggle to have the horses with separate diet requirements in different places, so am I going to have to worry about this mare if I put her in with the old boy and she also eats complete feed? The mill which makes the feed won't release the recipe -- a secret right up there with the Colonel's Secret Recipe apparently -- but they did allow me to know that less than 1/3 of the content of the pellets is alfalfa, and some grains are used. They wouldn't say a word on anything else. The label lists the crude protein, fat, fibre, etc, and describes the feed as being complete and designed to be fed without any extra hay.

So, safe, not safe, or there's really no way to tell?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 9, 2008 - 7:15 am:

Hello Michelle,
Is it OK to start feeding your horse, that is presumably in good condition and may be predisposed to founder, unknown amounts of concentrate of unknown composition? Hmmm...I would have to say that is unknown. The devil is in the details but horses should be fed concentrates separately under most conditions.
DrO
Member:
erika

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 9, 2008 - 9:08 am:

Michelle, I had the same situation until this spring when I lost my old gelding. He ate pellet mush, and the mares would always chase him away and eat his. (I have a laminitis prone mare, too.)

I finally had to just bite the bullet and separate them for the sake of all.

Another friend solved the problem by training her horses to come to a halter that was fixed by each feed bucket. They would stick their heads in, she would feed them, then they would wait patiently until everyone was finished. Then she would remove the halters and everyone would wander off.

If yours tie well, it might be a solution for you.
Erika
Member:
mleeb

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 9, 2008 - 9:28 am:

Ahhh, I was wondering if it would work out like that. Knowing the percentages of fat, fibre, and protein is not the same as knowing what ingredients supplied them.
Member:
mleeb

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 9, 2008 - 9:37 am:

Erika,
I usually just keep the old boy separate at night, feed him as much as he can eat, and then turn him loose with the others during the day so he has a social life. Even as old as he is (30+), he thinks he's the man, and the mares tend to agree with him, so they are all happy when he arrives. This system works pretty good, but there are days when due to rain or me being gone when he stays separated from the others for a long period of time, and it's nice to give him a buddy, and his best friend is the mare who tends to founder. Then, of course, there is also the ocassional shortage of places to separate everyone. Sounds like your friend has a very good idea going on, but I need one that is more long term -- several days long.
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