[tophorsejumper]

i need help finding a proper feeding ration for my yearling stud colt! i understand that growing yearlings should have a proper combination of feeds to help them grow to reach their full potential, but, unfortunately, i am unsure of the feeds i should be feeding my yearling. he is now on one coffee can of strategy pelleted grain, w/ 4 oz. of equshine every day morning and evening. i am thinking of putting him on a junior feed to really help him grow but i am unsure of what else i should be feeding him!
OR how about when feeding ration balancers to horses do u need to feed any extra supplements on top such as equshine, vits/mins, jump start, daily start, beet pulp, EMC etc??
and how does it work w/ forages such as what i currently feed my horses now like alfalfa/grass hay and 12 hour pasture time?
PLEASE HELP!!
thx sooooooo much!!

[MyBelgianAzzy]

You and me both... this is no substitute for new advice of course, but let me dig up my thread about this so you can get a few opinions from there as well.

[MyBelgianAzzy]

Feed Q.- 18 Mo. Slow Grower

[tophorsejumper]

OMG u r truly the best MBA! thank u sooooooooo much i really appriciate it!

[tophorsejumper]

when feeding ration balancers to horses do u need to feed any extra supplements on top such as equshine, vits/mins, jump start, daily start, beet pulp, EMC etc??
and how does it work w/ forages such as what i currently feed my horses now like alfalfa/grass hay and 12 hour pasture time?

[imacowgirl2]

Originally Posted by tophorsejumper

when feeding ration balancers to horses do u need to feed any extra supplements on top such as equshine, vits/mins, jump start, daily start, beet pulp, EMC etc??
and how does it work w/ forages such as what i currently feed my horses now like alfalfa/grass hay and 12 hour pasture time?

With ration balancers you won't need any extra supplements, though depending on the horse you may need more calories from beet pulp, BOSS, etc.

You feed as much forage if you can...free choice is ideal for most horses...and then you buy the ration balancer that complements your forage -- if your forage is mostly alfalfa, you use the alfalfa ration balancer, and if its grass, you use the grass one. Each ration balancer company has an alfalfa and grass product.

[tophorsejumper]

Do u think the Triple Crown Brand ration balancer world be sufficient for feeding to my horses? and if so are there guidelines available on how much to feed to each horse, especially if their forages vary? ex. some only allowed on pasture, others only grass hay and some a grass/alfalfa mix. I am sorry about being such a pain in the u know what but i just want to try to get my head around how to properly feed a ration balancer to different horses! Thank you very much for all of the information u hav supplied already!

[imacowgirl2]

Originally Posted by tophorsejumper

Do u think the Triple Crown Brand ration balancer world be sufficient for feeding to my horses? and if so are there guidelines available on how much to feed to each horse, especially if their forages vary? ex. some only allowed on pasture, others only grass hay and some a grass/alfalfa mix. I am sorry about being such a pain in the u know what but i just want to try to get my head around how to properly feed a ration balancer to different horses! Thank you very much for all of the information u hav supplied already!

I'm not familiar with the TC ration balancer...however, their feeds have a pretty good reputation, so my bet is it would be adequate. After taking a look at their website -- I'm looking at the 30% (ie. grass RB) page -- the ingredient list does indeed look good. Also, just as a note, TC calls their RB a "supplement"...the 12% and 30% supplements are their two RB's.

If most of your horses are on grass hay/pasture, and the ones that are on alfalfa are also getting some grass hay or pasture, I'd think you would be fine feeding the grass RB to everyone, as the companies usually recommend the grass RB for horses on mixed diets. If you want to verify, you can either call the company or PM Sue B or Dawn or someone...they should know for sure.

The bag will have feeding directions on it...the website says -- again, this is the 30%...but the 12% (alfalfa RB) is the same -- 1.5 lbs/horse/day. If you have a growing horse or a broodmare who is pregnant and/or lactating, you can increase the amount. The TC website says 2 lbs for these horses, but my RB says 3 lbs for growing weanlings/yearlings...you can always adjust it as long as you stay fairly close to the recommended amounts.

And you are NOT being a pain in the butt I asked a bazillion questions (and still do at times for different situations) when I first heard about RB's...I (and my horse's health) am very glad I stuck with learning about it and switched feeds.

Feeding RB's sounds really confusing on paper, but once you put it into practice you will find it is actually easier, or at least I did. The reason it is easier is that it makes a diet SO easy to adjust...you leave the RB at the same level for the most part (exceptions being growing horses and broodmares/stallions who go through phases) and then if one horse has a lifestyle change (ie. more/less work, injury, etc.) , you can adjust other feeds (ie. rice bran, beet pulp, BOSS, etc.) to meet his caloric needs without having to worry about sacrificing his nutrition, since his nutrition is in the ration balancer, and not the calorie feeds you add...and just because you change the feed of one horse doesn't mean you have to change the feed of the whole herd or buy a bazillion different types of feed and/or supplements.

[tophorsejumper]

thanks again u have helped me out tremendously!