My draft cross Kates Feed

Question
Kate will be 4 on April 29, she is 15" 3 and is 1/2 Percheron, 1/4 TB & 1/4 Holsteiner.  She recently went through a big growth spurt since October 08.  Her head grew approx. 3 inches, she has gained 120 lbs.  I currently feed her 12% grain 7 lbs. a day and six flakes, she gets 1 1/2 cups of Buckeye Gro-n-Win.  I have only owned her since September 08.  She is going great, growing, learning, and just as sweet as can be.  My vet and my trainer are impressed with her overall condition.  Recently a good friend informed me about watching the sugar in her diet being draft.  Im concerned now a bit about not having enough fat and protein in her diet.  I ride her about 3 days a week for anywhere from 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.  She has minimal turnout in the winter but goes all all Spring and Summer into Fall all night long.

Could you please suggest or let me know if her diet is too high in sugar or too low in fat and protein.

thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Julie and "Kate"

Answer
Dear Julie,

You are right to be concerned as Drafts are prone to muscle myopathies such as EPSM and also insulin resistant both of which are effected by sugar and starch in the diet.  However, increasing fat may not be the way to go either.  I would be happy to help you with this question however I don't know what products you are feeding so have no idea of the starch/sugar or fat content.  The hay is the biggest part of her diet and that is where she will get most of her protein and carbohydrate so knowing what type of hay etc is also important.  The easiest way for me to help you with this would be for me to do a phone consultation and potentially a diet analysis.  You can find out more about these by looking at my website.

I look forward to helping you further with this question.

Best regards,

Clair Thunes, PhD.
Independent Equine Nutritionist,
Equilibrate Equine Consulting,
www.equilibrateequine.com
clair@equilibrateequine.com