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Re: [RC] Endurance Equine Nutrition - rides2far

Here in Florida, we don't have a steady hay supply, so it's kind of 
pointless to test our hay. However, we feed coastal, so I assume it 
has no nutritional value other than fiber and a good babysitter.  
Alpine gets hay free choice.  Right now, he's on 3 pounds of Nutrena 
12% pellets twice daily.  We don't feed a molassas based grain cause 
he turns into a nut.  On the days we ride him, he gets about 4 cups 
of beet pulp mash and some alfalfa cubes (he won't eat the beet pulp 
without the alfalfa).  He also gets 2 cups of flax per day in his 
dinner, a selenium and vitamin e supplement, and whatever he can 
scrounge from the other boarders 

OK, here's where I see a problem. I'll admit, I know very little about
equine nutrition, but there's this thing called a feed company that has
people who work for them who do and they balance out a ration. I
supplement that with a high quality coastal hay which is *far* more than
"just a babysitter". When I was at the PNR convention in Portland they
had a man with a computer program there for the 3-Day Eventer convention
held in the same hotel. He would put in what you fed and tell you how all
the different things interacted with one another.  He nabbed me as I went
by and asked me what I feed. I told him he wouldn't be impressed. I go
for a commercial mix 10% protein 6% fat horse feed, coastal bermuda hay
(all they'll clean up) and free choice salt. He said that was the
smartest answer he'd gotten all day. He showed me some examples of people
who were trying to do a better job than just feeding...god
forbid...straight "horse feed". They would add one thing that threw the
whole balance out of whack, then throw in some vitamins that were the
same vitamins provided in another, and this would counteract that. If you
want to do better than the feed mill's nutritionists, you'd better
*really* know what everything has in it...and hay matters a LOT, it's the
MAIN thing they're eating so you can't just blow over that part. 

Angie

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