I live in North East Florida.My horse is worked 4-5 days a week and is we are showing then I will cut out schooling(i.e.no matter what my horse ins't ridden under 4x and not over 5x a week)He is a Warmblood and we do the Hunters(not jumpers) Which hay should I choose.I know I want to use Strategy by Purina Mills for grain. ALSO I dont like to feed lots of grain(concentrates) because it can cause ulcers and it is estimated that 80% of show horses have ulcers because they arent out on pasture enough and they are getting too much concentrate so I want to only use a little bit of strategy and mostly hay and grass I also plan on having a salt suppliment...hope this helps u help me! lol =]] Its not really the grain that causes ulcers as the horses activity that is more the culprit. As long as your diet is balanced, grain shouldn't be the problem.
Stress plays a major role in causing ulcers in horses. Horses are stressed when they are transported over long distances in horse trailers; when they are subjected to over crowding or a warm humid environment; when they are forced to consume poor quality feed; when they develop an acute or chronic illness; and when they are forced to undergo sustained hard training.
All the anti-inflammatory drugs-especially aspirin, butazolidin, and banamine- can produce ulcers. The risk and occurrence of ulcer disease increases with the duration of NSAID usage.
The only way to really diagnose an ulcer is with a gastroscopic examination.
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a common condition seen in approximately 80 to 90 % of race horses & about 50 to 60% of non-racers. Symptoms of ulcers in adult horses can include weight loss, poor attitude, loss of appetite, diarrhea, recurrent colic, poor coat & body conditions, and poor performance. Interestingly, 52% of horses examined that did not show any clinical symptoms of digestive disturbance, had ulceration in their stomachs. Horses are designed to be continuous grazers and only secrete alkaline saliva during the chewing process. It is this saliva that buffers the acidic pH of the stomach in a grazing horse. In reality, most horses are not maintained in situations where continous forage is available; therefore adding natural buffers to the diet can often be beneficial.
Now that you have more knowlage about ulcers here is what I would reccomend, assuming your horse is boarded and not on pasture.
Strategy GX (the grass based one, as opposed to the AX which is alfalfa based) is a good, high quality pelleted feed, that will provide the calories and protein required to repair muscles and enhance endurance. Proper levels of vitimans and minerals to support the demands of high performance and has added fat to help your horse work longer and with less fatigue. It will also improve hair coat and body condition. Just be sure to follow the reccomended feeding on the bag so your horse will recieve all the benifits.
As for hay, it really depends on what is available to you. I would stick with a grass hay and supplement with a legume. Something like grass in the am and pm and a lugume for lunch. I like timothy and bermuda. If I have a horse who wont eat the bermuda I will put them on timothy. Bermuda doesnt have a lot of "flavor" for the horse, so they tend not to eat it as willingly if they have been on alfalfa or other grasses. Timothy has much more flavor to them but it does tend to cost more as well. The nutrition value, as an average, on timothy and bermuda are:
Bermuda: 800 calories per pound, 2% fat, 8.50% protein, 0.30% calcium, 0.15% phosphorus, 1.50% potassium.
Timothy: 800 calories per pound, 2% fat, 9% protein, 0.40% calcium, 0.20% phosphorus, 1.75% potassium.
(there really is not a whole lot of difference as you can see.)
Alfalfa (legume): 900 calories per pound, 2% fat, 15% protein, 1.20% calcium, 0.20% phosphorus, 2.50% potassium.
Additionally, if you want a supplement to help with ulcers and protect your horse I suggest Allay by Adeptus. It has magnesium-calcium carbonate which can aid in neutralizing excessively acidic pH in the digestive tract. Magnesium and calcium are minerals that have calming effects on the nervous system too. (Great for the hunter ring.) Licorice extract is commonly used as a dietary ingredient to nutritionally support stomach mucosa. Yeast cultures provide nutrients for the natural microbial papulation in the digestive tract, thus enhancing overall digestion. Yeast is also high in calming B-vitamins. (Also great for the hunters.) This supplement is highly palatable and most horses willing eat it with out added sweet feeds or mashes. You can just toss it in with your Strategy.
So, baised on what you told me about what you are doing with your horse here is the feeding I would reccomend:
For a 1200 lb horse (you said warmblood so I am guessing he is a bit larger then your 1000 lb horse.) doing the work you described, he would need 24,000 calories a day to maintain his current weight and activity level. If he is over weight, feed less, under weight feed more.
14.5 pounds of hay a day. Seems like not a lot but they are also getting nutrition from the pellets. If you feed more hay, feed less concentrate.(Obviously break that down into smaller meals throughout the day or if you only have 3 feeding then about 5 pounds each feeding, pounds not flakes.)
8.5 pounds of Strategy GX. (Again, break it down and never feed more then 5 pounds of concentrates at one time.)
Top dress with the Allay
If you do feed the alfalfa for lunch, then subtract one pound of Strategy for ever pound of alfalfa fed. Also, I would only feed 4-6 pound of alfalfa for lunch. In my area, that comes out to about 1.5 (6 lbs) flakes alfalfa and I toss in a flake of grass which averages about 4 pounds.
Hope this helps and good luck with your showing. I use strategy and I like it - I used to use milled "sweet" feeds - since switchng to Strategy they seem calmer and healthier - like they are using the feed more efficiently and effectively. Cost wise- I've compared to others and it seems comparable and I have deemed it a good value as well. I have heard people say "that's what the polo ponies use, it'll make 'em hot" to which I think they're just kinda ditzy because unless you know a horse and what supplements they get, making a general statement like this shows ignorance.
The type of hay probably depends on how effectively he digests his food. I chose to use a hay that has a little alfalfa in it - maybe 30-40% in the hay we grow. There's a lot of soft brome and orchard grass in it - this seems to stay soft and green for a long time, which is easier on their teeth - they seem to like the stuff from the field we planted as a hay field with orchard grass, brome and a bit of alfalfa compared to the other field we cut which was intended as pasture and contains mostly timothy, clover and alfalfa.
Clover dries much slower than grass or alfalfa, so I tend to stay away from the clover (red and white) because it often causes the hay to be moldy unless it's been cured just right.
The 2nd and 3rd cutting hay I use to control each horse's individual needs - for example, I have 3 elderly/nervous horses who need more alfalfa to stay healthy than the fat young ones with good teeth and good digestion. So when they come in at night, the needier ones get a good flake of 2nd/3rd cutting hay while the others get grassy first cutting hay. Then, when I turn them out, I put down grassy hay for all so there are no squabbles.
The grassy hay can be used with less chance of digestion or behavior effects in differing quantities - it's more forgiving since it has less protein content, getting too much won't hurt as readily as too much alfalfa hay can. If the horse gets most of the nutrients they need from concentrates (grains and supplements) they really only need the hay for roughage to keep their systems operating smoothly - if they get lower quality concentrates, they need higher protein hay - likewise, if you feed higher protein hay, they don't need as many concentrates.
I understand Warmbloods use their feed naturally more efficiently than the stock type breeds so they need less concentrates as a rule more than our stock horses, correct?
Horses are made by nature to have forage running through their systems constantly and they are intended to move along physically constantly too - so any time you put a horse in a stall, feed them small amounts of highly concentrated feeds, you are going against nature - the more often you can feed lower concentrated feeds with higher bulk the better - this is why mine are out 24/7 with shelter except for the hour or so I allow them to be locked in to control who gets the higher contentrated hay.
Good luck! |
