[mftx4]

I understand completely. I raised 4 of my own. They both look like nice little horses that need the opportunity to have good homes. They're at a very good age to begin good ground work as they start to come back into nice condition. Horses are what you train them to be. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I have 4 horses and moderate pasture or I'd jump on them. I also have friends that train for a reasonable fee, but they are to far away.
Take chance. You can see they will be very nice when finished. The paly has beautiful color and the sorrel has gorgeous, soft eyes.

[Equine747]

Well I really like Codee and will take him in a heartbeat if I knew that my son could handle him without a problem. I also have a mini horse that I really would like to place in a new home that I rescued 9 months ago before getting a new one but I could work around that IF I needed to.

[X3cuppycakeX3]

Does anyone have any opinions on what I can add to their diets? I don't want them to go to new homes in poor condition.

We just switched from Purina to TC and we are picking up more hay tomorrow.
I am going to put up a portable corral for a bit of grazing in the yard.

I have tried things from bran to BOSS in the past, but what do YOU all consider the best additive.

Flax?
Bran Mash?
BOSS?
Weight Supplement?


Any ideas are greatly welcome. We are also picking up out feed-through wormer tomorrow to see how it works.

[mftx4]

I know there are many on here that would disagree but I've had a couple of horse that I got that were underfed. I bought 12% mixed sweetfeed, a pelleted 'generl' horse feed and whole oats and mixed the 3 together well and started with a 1# coffee can 2x a day and all the hay they could eat, what ever they are used to having. I increased the grain, over several weeks, up to no more than 3 cans per feeding. Salt and mineral blocks and water at all times. It isn't fancy with all the fancy feeds, but it works. I worm 3x per year. March, June and again after the first killing frost with something for bots and always rotate. Once the weight is gained, then I cut back on the grain, till I can see they're maintaining. Since they are both young and growing, you'll have to adjust their feed according to what they each need. I have 4 horses and not all of them need to be fed the same way.

[X3cuppycakeX3]

thank you so much for that. Which wormers do you use? I know that over the years some brands have become virtually useless.

[mftx4]

They've become useless because,IMO, because people over use them. Brand names don't mean much to me, it's what's in them. Compare ingredients. Each type can be effective as long as the ingredients are a bit different. It tells you on the lable what type of 'bugs' they're good for. By late Fall all after a good killing frost, as long as it works for bot flies, I'll use it. I've never had a wormy horse after I get them. One mare I had, I had to worm her twice in 2 weeks and she never had any again. With all the 'fancy stuff' that people do with their feeding and 'special' care, they take the horses own natural health defences away. We do shots and coggins every year because we travel to several states. To me, that's simple, self defence.
Wild horses eat dirt to get minerals that they need, mine get mineral block. They don't need mineral in their feed too. If they work hard, they get fed a bit more feed. If they are being 'pasture puffs', they don't need much more than hay. They'll eat grass hay before they''ll eat the 'good' stuff by choice. Our pasture here has grass but it is sandy, so they get Sandclear once a month, whether they need it or not.
Sorry so long, but IMO, people over do their care of riding horses.
Many people over think what a horse needs. I say, keep it simple, they do just as well.

[jumper_pie]

sweet feed is a good cheap fattener, however when they get a nice size i would recommend a better pelleted feed with ingredients suitable for their "jobs". as for the wormer, its best to rotate wormers, so i used different brands and diff types depending on the season. this chart should help with that.

http://www.getrotationright.com/unde...ngrotation.asp here is the link in case you cant see the chart. i hope i was of some help to you good luck with your horses

[X3cuppycakeX3]

thank you so much all.
We are getting more hay delivered today, so these two are going to be swimming in it =}
I have someone coming to look at my little pali next week, and one of my great geldings found a home in a wonderful program.

I'm getting down to just the horses that are in training and show horses, which is where I need to be.

Thank you all again for your help.

And if anyone knows anyone that is very experienced that needs a project pony, please pass this on.

[Alliekk]

WilsonF just started her yearling colt on Alfalfa a couple weeks ago and boy did he lose that belly and gain some bum! Start them on small morsels of Alfalfa. Don't let what others say scare you, it's not going to make them stupid.

[X3cuppycakeX3]

I actually have a bag of alfalfa cubes that I can start them on. Thank you