My new draft horse.....

Question

Bubbs  

Gentle Giant   I have just purchased a draft/cross his previous owner says he weighs about 2000 pounds he is about 17h he is 4 years old.  They are feeding him grass while hes turned out (but I don't really see much grass left in the turn our area) hay, and oats.  He is healthy and looks great.  I am moving him from Iowa to Missouri, close to Kansas City, I will pick him up and bring him home Oct.1 2012.  I have been reading and it seems like everything I'm reading is telling me to limit grain, add oil, watch out for sugar...it seems like what he is currently being fed is lacking in proper nutrients and yet he looks good and is meaty.  At the stable where I am taking him he will have a stall and be turned out for 8-10 hours a day with the same little bit of grass he gets now, he will be fed by the stable a scoop of pellet grain twice a day and 3 flakes of hay twice a day.  Is this ok? If not what should I add to it or do away with.  I adore this animal already and want to give him the very best nutrition including supplements if it will give him a better life. I am reading alot about EPSM, should I be worried? How common is this and how can I prevent it? Thanks so very much! Concerned Kate

Answer
Hi Kate,

Thank you for your question.  Confusing, isn't it?!?  There are a lot of opinions available on how to feed horses, and some of them are very misleading.  So the simple truth is that horses are designed to eat forages.  That means they are designed to eat pasture and hay.  You really only need to feed anything else if the pasture and hay they have is lacking nutrients or if the horse is working so much that the pasture and hay is not enough to help him maintain condition.  So my recommendation is always to feed them as much pasture and/or hay as they can eat.  For you this means that he can eat all day when he is out and always has hay in front of him when he is in.  If the barn you are moving him to is used to feeding 3 flakes of hay twice a day per horse, please remind him that this guy weighs 2000 pounds, twice that of a regular horse.  A horse Bubbs size should eat at least 38 pounds of hay a day...probably more than those 6 flakes weigh.  Less than that may not provide enough energy to help him maintain his body weight.  

Horses don't need grain, they need enough nutrients.  Forages provide all of the nutrients; energy, protein, mineral and vitamin...although sometimes not enough.  If the forage (pasture and hay) doesn't have enough energy, protein, mineral or vitamin then he may need grain.  The type of grain he gets really should depend on what nutrients are lacking in the forage.  If the forage doesn't have enough energy then you can feed something like fat sources (oil) or oats.  If the forage is missing protein, choose a high protein feed.  If the forage is only short in mineral or vitamin just feed a mineral and vitamin supplement.  

I'm not a fan of feeding starch to horses unless you need to, and in some cases you need to.  But again, you shouldn't feed any grain unless your hay can not meet the horses nutrient requirements.  Having said that, some horses can eat starch without ever having any digestive or metabolic related issues where some horses can't even look at oats without getting sick.  It sounds like your guy deals with starch just fine, but that doesn't mean that you have to feed it.  Only feed what grain you really have to.

I hope that helps.  BTW, he is soooo cute and I'm more than a little envious :)

Thanks, Corlena