Question about Spring & Summer feeding

CrazyHorse · 06-09-2006, 01:25 PM

If you had a couple of horses that are easy keepers & are on 90 acres of pasture 24/7, would you feed them grain?

Chaz · 06-09-2006, 01:27 PM

if there is alot of grass i wouldnt feed them

CrazyHorse · 06-09-2006, 01:30 PM

Mostly grass, a few "mini" trails, two ponds. Thanks chaz!

JBandRio · 06-09-2006, 01:35 PM

Grain should ONLY be fed if all the forage a horse can/wants to eat is not enough calories to maintain a body condition where you can easily feel, but not see, ribs.

Easy keepers generally don't fall into this category

Easy keepers likely need to have a muzzle on with that much pasture, unless it's sparse pasture and they have to do a good bit of moving around to get the grass.

CrazyHorse · 06-09-2006, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBandRio

Grain should ONLY be fed if all the forage a horse can/wants to eat is not enough calories to maintain a body condition where you can easily feel, but not see, ribs.

Easy keepers generally don't fall into this category

Easy keepers likely need to have a muzzle on with that much pasture, unless it's sparse pasture and they have to do a good bit of moving around to get the grass.

Plenty of grass in the pasture, so I will probably end up having to muzzle the Mustang, Ben. (Added pic of him

) The other horse is a 15 year old Palomino mare I just acquired (Traded Jesse for her, but that's another post after I get pics of her) She's a good weight right now, can't see ribs but can feel them, but I'll keep an eye on her. Thanks JB!

BTW, Ben had to be taken off grain where we had him boarded because as you can see, his neck is huge & he was getting way too fat, & I didn't want him to founder.

Chaz · 06-09-2006, 01:56 PM

when the grass starts to go down alot you could add hay to there diet instead of grain if there easy keepers and add a vits and mins with a field supplement that you could get from here

http://www.smartpakequine.com/Produc....aspx?CATID=13

nice horse by the way, he looks lovely

CrazyHorse · 06-09-2006, 02:02 PM

Thanks! They will get plenty of hay when it starts to turn cool & the grass starts dying off. The hay is baled next to the property they're on.
Thanks for the compliment on Ben! He's a sweetheart & you couldn't ask for a more "polite" horse. We adopted him from the BLM 1 year & 5 months ago. (That's my hubby standing next to him.)

Trace · 06-09-2006, 02:17 PM

When I lived in Colorado we always kept our horses on pasture 24/7 - we only grained when we rode - and we only grained mainly to get them in becuiase the pastures were really big.

We only hayed when we couldn't see the ground for snow.

06-09-2006, 01:25 PM	#1
CrazyHorse Senior Member+ Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Florence, Mississippi Posts: 6,328 Images: 375	Question about Spring & Summer feeding If you had a couple of horses that are easy keepers & are on 90 acres of pasture 24/7, would you feed them grain?

06-09-2006, 01:35 PM	#4
JBandRio Senior Member+ Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NC Posts: 23,440 Images: 143 Blog Entries: 12	Grain should ONLY be fed if all the forage a horse can/wants to eat is not enough calories to maintain a body condition where you can easily feel, but not see, ribs. Easy keepers generally don't fall into this category Easy keepers likely need to have a muzzle on with that much pasture, unless it's sparse pasture and they have to do a good bit of moving around to get the grass. __________________ - JB Acres, owned and operated by Dynamite animals. - It's a wonder horses as a whole don't just kill us all and be done with their misery. - Keep your voice soothing and low - even when things get western (buck1173) - Rio feels good - he bounced an in-and-out

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06-09-2006, 01:27 PM	#2
Chaz Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: England Posts: 570 Images: 2	if there is alot of grass i wouldnt feed them

06-09-2006, 01:30 PM	#3
CrazyHorse Senior Member+ Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Florence, Mississippi Posts: 6,328 Images: 375	Mostly grass, a few "mini" trails, two ponds. Thanks chaz!

06-09-2006, 01:56 PM	#6
Chaz Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: England Posts: 570 Images: 2	when the grass starts to go down alot you could add hay to there diet instead of grain if there easy keepers and add a vits and mins with a field supplement that you could get from here http://www.smartpakequine.com/Produc....aspx?CATID=13 nice horse by the way, he looks lovely

06-09-2006, 02:02 PM	#7
CrazyHorse Senior Member+ Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Florence, Mississippi Posts: 6,328 Images: 375	Thanks! They will get plenty of hay when it starts to turn cool & the grass starts dying off. The hay is baled next to the property they're on. Thanks for the compliment on Ben! He's a sweetheart & you couldn't ask for a more "polite" horse. We adopted him from the BLM 1 year & 5 months ago. (That's my hubby standing next to him.)

06-09-2006, 02:17 PM	#8
Trace Senior Member+ Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: CT, but from England originally Posts: 1,498 Images: 6 Blog Entries: 3	When I lived in Colorado we always kept our horses on pasture 24/7 - we only grained when we rode - and we only grained mainly to get them in becuiase the pastures were really big. We only hayed when we couldn't see the ground for snow.