Horse people (Becky, others..) is she too fat?

I don't really have a clue, I've never heard of my wife talking about raising the amount of feed but then I sometimes tune out that stuff :) I know she has to blanket horses under a certain temp to retain heat.

I will ask her tonight...she does it for a living so I'm pretty sure she will have a bunch of info on the subject. Or...maybe I'll wait and have her just look at the post and reply. That way I won't have to try and remember the undoubtedly long spout of info :)

I don't know much about horses but my boss owns 5. We wouldn't say she's fat....just pleasantly plump.

Nah, not fat, but I would cut out the sweet feed and the alfalfa. Good way to get them to founder and too many useless calories. Mine is on a good-quality pelleted feed that is manufactured at a local mill(I'll have to find the ingredients, my boarder has a bag somewhere), fed twice daily(I'll find the formula we use to measure how much each horse gets per day- so many pounds) and free choice good-quality hay. Alfalfa is rare, and they sometimes get the cubes, but not often.

Get a good quality pelleted feed and good quality hay(no alfalfa) and you should be good to go. Check around with other local people and ask what they have good results with and what they don't. The feed we use has around 14% protein I think, and a different source of fat that is broken down easier. A friend of my boarders has used this feed for 25-30 years with her own horses(she raises paints and QH's) and hasn't had one colic in that long. All of our horses look great on it, they've filled out(especially mine in the hip area), their skin/coats are shiny and not flaky. They just look so good.

I'll get you the ingredients and you can compare those to what you have local. You should be able to find something worthwhile. Omolene 200? is a good one to get, but it can get a bit expensive. Purina's are ok, but a little lower quality(same with dog food).

Nah she isn't fat.

My friends horse is FAT! People think she is pregnant when really she isn't!
[img=http://thumb12.webshots.net/t/26/27/0/57/97/2477057970031435112xknpNV_th.jpg]

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I'll get you the ingredients and you can compare those to what you have local. You should be able to find something worthwhile. Omolene 200? is a good one to get, but it can get a bit expensive. Purina's are ok, but a little lower quality(same with dog food).

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I was actually wondering about this.. I really dislike using the sweet feed, it is just a holdover from what they used to eat at the other place they were at. I want to think out of the box more now.. I would love to see a list of ingredients so I can check at our mill and see if they have something similar; I prefer buying in larger bags and mixing it at home; I hate buying "brand name" feed because it seems like a waste of money in smaller bags, but if it'd cause less waste, and be more economical that way, I would.
Our mares have never foundered or colicked in the last year that we have had them, but I would like to eliminate the sugar; do you think doing this would help to calm their attitudes a little? They are fine for the most part, but I would love to have them on something better since I am starting to learn that sweet feed is not at all necessary. I want to build a feeding program from the ground up; I have good hay, it is just that I need a grain that'll keep on weight for our bitter winters. Cuesta tends to have moist- ploppy stools too which I think is from the feed.
Is cracked corn bad for horses? I know someone who uses it in their mix, but I do not.

Cracked corn is for cattle who can actually use it. For horses, all those carbs and sugar make them unnecessarily hyper and they just use up the energy they just ate! Probably why Miss Emma is a bit too rambunctious :)

I prefer the pelleted feeds and good hay. In summer, they get less hay and more grazing, less pellets too. I'll try to get that ingredient list by the weekend, so you can start looking around. It'll be alot less waste feeding a pelleted feed with everything added, rather than having to mix stuff together and risk not having enough of some nutrients.

Thanks. I don't use the CCorn, was just wondering..
The feed is actually a mix itself; there are sweet molasses pellets, oats, etc. but I am just afraid that it is too sweet. I mix it with the basic alf pellets.. but yer right, it is scary not knowing exactly how much nutrient content is..

Evidently I'm in the minority. Unless we were fitting for halter or had a hard keeper my lot kept their weight and health up on grass hay. I rarely offered grains and I actually liked my horses a bit plump for winter. And this was in northern Indiana.

This is TekWarren's wife, just putting in my own 2 cents.

I can't really tell a lot by the pictures but I will tell you to read up on body condition scoring. You can tell if they are too fat if they have a channel or divet where their spine is supposed to be. If they have fat pockets by the base of the tail or around their shoulders. You should be able to feel ribs, just not see them.

As far as feeding goes I agree...get rid of the sweet feed and that alfalfa. A little alfalfa is ok, but if the horse isn't acutually in work and burning those calories off she will just get store it all as fat and what doesn't get stored just goes out the back end. Feed a good quality grass hay and a balanced pellet. I highly recommend the Kent Dynasty feeds. But if that isn't available in your area you can find something similar. A 12% feed is all you should need unless you are going to breed her again. If you did need to add more weight I would stick with more oil based fat than carb base calories. The free choice grass hay outside is what I use as well. I usually feed all grain split up into 2-3 meals per day and give 2 flakes of grass hay for night hay. If I have a hard keeper in the winter I blanket. If the horse doen't have to work so hard to stay warm they keep the weight on better.
Hope some of this helps.

i've had my share of fat horses...This is hope, my first mare.
(click on it)
http://thumb16.webshots.net/t/64/164...4DuuARv_th.jpg

she was HUGE...at first i was leasing her so i didnt have controll over her feed, but then for a whole summer, and a while after that she was off feed, she really neeeded to loose some pounds, which she did. She is a beautiful horse though.