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Re: [RC] [RC] Hard Keeper and Competition Horse... two questions - Dawn Carrie

Mike, when our old guy (31) started having trouble holding weight at around 29 or so, we switched him to beet pulp and Purina Ultium (high fat).  It kept him round and shiny.  He would refuse food with even 1/4 cup of oil in a huge bucket of food, so oil was not an option.  But the Ultium worked great.  We had our competition horses on it too until recently, but just switched to a custom-made mix that's beet pulp based, high fat, and lower protein.  We split an order with a friend.
 
Dawn in East Texas

 
On 2/21/07, Mike Lewis <mlewis73@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have an older Arab gelding (27 in May) who is a very hard keeper and am
starting to see ribs and bony hips.  We've picked up his feed to half a
3lb coffee can of 10% sweet feed, half a can of senior feed, and 1/4 can
of alfalfa pellets twice a day, plus free choice hay.  He is given light
work as a school horse on weekends only.

Feed is top dressed with about 3/4 cup of corn oil.

What can I add to help him put on some weight?  Are there any special
feeds targeted to older horses who are hard keepers?  Perhaps I should cut
sweet feed back and increase the senior formula?

When I had Nafal in New Mexico I could put him on Alfalfa hay and he'd do
just fine in the wintertime.

Second issue: my new endurance mount is an 11 year old mare who I'm just
now reconditioning.  She has completed some very tough races in her
younger days, but recently weaned a baby and is just now getting back into
shape.  I am very wary of any feed targeted for endurance horses as my
expectation is that such feeds are "designer feeds" that are overhyped and
overpriced.  Still, I'm willing to consider such a feed if it provides
proven nutritional advantages.  Are there any endurance feeds that really
provide an advantage over normal performance feeds from the standard
suppliers?

Thank you,

Mike

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Replies
[RC] Hard Keeper and Competition Horse... two questions, Mike Lewis