Greetings Dr. Getty,

I will try to make this as short as possible...We feed our Quarter horses in winter alfalfa hay (90%) and a bit of grass, & clover mixed in with it. We also feed about 1.5 lbs of grain a day to our mares (4) and our stallion. Our grain is a mixture corn, oats, soybean mean, 2 in 1 cow mineral ( our elevator does not carry the horse mineral) I do not want to post the complete recipe because I would hate to have anyone else feed this if it is unsafe. We have been feeding this grain for 2 plus years, and have not had any problems with legs, joints, colic, or excessive weight gain. We use our horses for pleasure, young ones we keep in show condition. None of these horses are stall bound, only mares in foal are turned in at night....My question is, what I am feeding, is it safe? There is a new rep. up in this area that is trying to sell "Equal" it is a top dressing. I am so confused on what to feed and what not to feed. Also in the summer time we decrease the amount of grain fed daily and we have free choice of a raybon block, SweetLix that has some good vits. and mineral in them.. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also we feed about 3 bales of hay a day to our 5 horses. Our horses are not fat, nor thin, but according to vet in perfect body scoring condition. Thanks for your time, sorry this got long winded.

Where are you from? Iowa

How did you locate this forum? Theresa Jones Foaling Advice web site

The top dreesing I am looking at is called Total not equal..Thanks Again,
Amber

Where are you from? Iowa

How did you locate this forum? Theresa Jones Foaling Advice web site

Hi Amber,

Thank you for writing. The first, and most important red flag that I must tell you about is to not feed Rabon to broodmares – the feed-through fly control block. There has been substantial evidence to show that it can cause birth defects. If your pregnant mares are currently being fed this, please stop immediately.

I am not sure what “Total” is – can you tell me some more – brand, purpose, etc.? Is it a high fat top dressing, mineral dressing? That way I can evaluate it for you.

As far as your diet goes, I understand that you want to provide energy for your horses to keep them in show shape. However, corn is a grain that is very poorly digested in the early part of the digestive system. Consequently, corn can end up in the hind gut, leading the bacterial fermentation and an increased risk of laminitis. So, I do not like to feed corn to horses.

Oats are much better digested and you are only feeding a small amount, so I do not see an issue here. Soybean meal is an excellent source of energy and rounds out the amino acid profile (since it is a legume) of the oats.

Since you are feeding large amounts of alfalfa, it is important that you do not supplement additional calcium. You mentioned a mineral supplement. Make certain that it is very low in calcium and relatively high in phosphorus. This is very important, especially with your pregnant gals.

I hope this is helpful and that you have many beautiful foals this spring!

All the best,

Dr. Getty