natural feed

Question
I have a 10 year old Hannoverain X Thbd mare, light work, pasture.  I am currently feeding Poulin 10:8 Pro max feed (sweet feed)  I would like to switch her feed to a natural feed such as oats as I want to add a very powerful supplement that cannot be used in fortified feeds. I have been told to add 1/3 corn to and 1/8 soy to the oats, but I am very afraid of upsetting her digestive system or not giving her the nutrients she needs.  I would appreciate any advice.  Thank you, Karen

Answer
Hi Karen,  Without knowing what this 'powerful supplement' is its hard to say what foods would agree with it.  

I would certainly avoid corn, your horse doesn't need it and probably would fizz with it.  Your horse is only in light work, it doesn't really need grain.  Good quality lucerne/alfalfa hay will provide the majority of nutrients that he requires.

As a feed I would suggest  50% chaff mixed with a little rice bran and maybe 100 -200g of oats a day.  Your horse isn't really working that hard - too many oats and they are likely to fizz.  If you're feeding lucerne/alfalfa you shouldn't need soy, but if you think the protein is a little low I'd add max 100g of soybean meal a day.  Do not add more than 5% soybean to feeds otherwise it creates palatibility problems.

A word on supplements - does she really need it?  If a supplement is that strong that it can't be mixed with a commercial sweet feed then I would definitely have a think about it before adding.  Nice and simple is the way to go.

Good luck