Well
from chatting with Kathy and the other experienced folks as well, we discovered
my flakes are the small ones 1 weights 1 lb. So I have been feeding her 4 lbs of
alfalfa a day. Not bad! And also feeding her 4 lbs of grain as
well. Sounds like I may a bit high but still close to what the max is. I will
try adjusting down the alfalfa to 2 lbs and the grain to 2 lbs as well and
gradually switch the grain to something like beet pulp/rice bran/ flax or Ultium
so I don't have to worry about a supplement.
Thank
you all for your expertise, I'm glad to have came to a conclusion for an
adjustment.
-----Original Message----- From: Kristen A Fisher
[mailto:kskf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 11:23
AM To: LaBrake, Denise A Subject: Re: [RC] Bucking under
saddle
Oh yeah - we feed alfalfa as a supplement only
too so yes, 4 flakes a day sounds like a LOT - ours get maybe one a day if
they are lucky. We free feed it at rides to keep them eating [sometimes they
prefer it over grass hay]. The Garlinghouse articles she mentioned have good
info on why you shouldn't make alfalfa a staple.
I feed grain twice a day never right before or
right after a workout.
She gets all the grass she wants. She had 3 acres
of bluegrass, red clover, timothy all to herself.
I feed her 2 flakes of alfalfa in the am and 2 in
the pm.
Does this sound like a
lot?
Denise,
First you wrote about feeding your 10 yo
mare 14% protien in her grain and 12 - 14% protien straight
alfalfa. Then you write about how she bucks under
saddle.
The two are probably related. Your breeder doesn't
ride this mare, you do.
I suggest you read Dr. Susan
Garlinghouse, DVM's webpage about feeding endurance horses. Read
everything here:
http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/index.shtml
Get her feeding right and then
start thinking about the rest of it. You very well could have a
saddle issue. There is often more than one thing going on when
stuff like bucking happens.
