Feed qty for 12 yr - 17Hh Dutch Warmblood

Question
I am frustrated from hearing my trainer tell me my 17H 12 yr old Dutch gelding is too fat.  My trainer keeps saying I should see the outline of his ribs; however, whenever I look at FEI dressage horses, I can't see their ribs. My horse is extremely broad and has a beautiful conformation.  I calculated his rations using 3 different methods/sources/formulas based on a light workload (5 hours of dressage work per week)to determine his mcal/protein/roughage rqmts with the proper calcium/phospherous ratio -- no easy task.  I am feeding him 3-3.5 flakes of timothy (approx. 15 lbs) and he gets just enough adult formula grain to get some hoof and joint supplements down.  The grain is about 1 quart in the AM and another quart in the PM. I am generous with his favorite - carrots.  I recognize he's an easy keeper but I keep hearing "hay belly."  I have refused to feed him less than 3 flakes of timothy per day because he needs to get at least 75% of his energy requirements from forage.  My frustration is that my trainer's advice does not jive with my own research/calculations.  If my trainer had his way, I'd feed him only 2 flakes of alfalfa per day.  I had to take my horse off alfalfa completely because the over-protein-ing was making his behavior spooky/goofy...and my calculations show that he's getting 103% of his protein rqmts from the timothy alone; plus the behavior issues are gone.  Can you recommend a good equine nutritionist in the Del Mar, CA area with whom I can consult to fix this issue once and for all?  My vets say his weight looks good and dressage horses are usually preferred a little more rounded.

Answer
Dear Pam,

What a frustrating situation and kudos to you for all your hard work in trying to work out what he actually needs based on science.  I'm not sure how much your horse weighs I'm guessing around 1300-1400lbs based on his size and breed and he should get at the very least 1.5% of his body weight as dry matter a day.  I don't know how much a quart of your grain weighs but if he were getting hay alone that would be around 20lbs of hay.  So it may be that he actually needs more feed.  If they get fed too little their metabolism slows down and they will actually hold weight.  The best way to know if he is over weight is to body condition score him.  This involves feeling certain regions of his body and evaluating how much fat cover they have and awarding them a value.  It is more accurate than just looking at the horse and it takes into account more accurately breed and build differences.  As a rule though your trainer is right, you want to be able to see a very faint outline of the ribs and you should definitely be able to feel ribs covered by a small layer of fat as you run your hand over them.  A lot of dressage horses are over weight but they are also breeds that tend to be "round" by design.  Frequent condition scoring and use of a weight tape will help you know whether he is getting over weight or not.

I do not know of any independent nutritionists in the Del Mar area.  I am up in Sacramento and do consults by phone and would be happy to provide you with a dietary analysis.  I look at your horses entire situation, work load management etc his condition and weight and what he is eating now and compare that to what he needs and make recommendations for improvements as necessary.  If needs be I can also create formulations for custom supplements in order to create a fully balanced diet.  To find out more you can visit my website www.equilibrateequine.com

Let me know if I can be of any other assistance, and again kudos to you for being so on top of your horses diet.

Best regards,

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