At last I have the opportunity to own a horse! She is a 16hh 14 year old Thoroughbred mare. I will be doing showjumping and dressage at a high level (up to about 4 foot at least) and would like to know what to feed her when I get her to this level. What will her energy requirements be? She was used as a broodmare but has been out of work for the past 3 years and has been eating:
*2kgs 12% maintenance cubes
*2kgs Molasses Meal
*2kgs Bran
split into 2 meals (breakfast and dinner)

When I rode her (which was for just over a week nearly every day) she was very well behaved but did get a little hot on hacks. Not sure if any of this information helps you but I would like create an effective feeding program. My estimate would be that she is a bit over 500kg or so.

For the next 2-3 months or so I will be getting her fit and may start with a small eventing course and 2 foot 6 jumping. Also is there any thing she should have that could help preserve her joints etc. now that she is getting on. Fortunately for me she hasnt been ridden for 8 or 9 years and was schooled to a high level when she was much younger. Anything else I am missing?

Where are you from? South Africa

How did you locate this forum? google.com

Hello Christine,

A 500 kg mare with her work level, should be consuming at least 33 Mcals/day.

Since I do not know the energy content of the feeds you have listed, I cannot give you an exact measurement. However, is she is maintaining a healthy weight with the amount you are feeding, then you are on track. You mentioned that you will be working her more intensively over the next 2-3 months. You may wish to consider adding a high fat feed to her diet such as a stabilized rice bran or flaxseed meal product. I would also suggest adding some alfalfa (Lucerne) to her diet for the additional protein that she will require.

Go easy on the sweetened feed. Too much can cause ups and downs with her blood sugar levels, making her energy level and moods, in many horses, change frequently.

Flaxseed meal (it may be referred to as “linseed” meal) is high in omega 3 fatty acids. These reduce joint inflammation. I would either add the meal to her diet, or if that is not available, add some of the pure oil.

To further assist her joints, try offering some extra vitamin C. Vitamin C is involved in collagen production and her needs will increase as her body is stressed.

I hope this is helpful. Thank you for writing.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Thanks for your reply. Here is the link to the feed she will be getting when I change over: http://www.equifeeds.co.za/pages/tranquil.html

The feed company does not say how much energy is in the feed but it does say that there is 25g of fat p/kg in the feed. If that helps? I will be changing over to a concentrate with no molasses or bran in it but will definitely be giving her the linseed oil. How much would you suggest per day?

Also a question about her roughage: Over here we have access to Alfalfa; Oathay; Teff and Grass mix. What would you recommend I give her if she is having the concentrate as well? Would a mixture of Alfalfa and one of the grass hays be suitable and how much more or less?

Where could I obtain a vitamin C supplement? All I know of his a supplement that has everything in it. ie. Vitamin A, D, E, Zinc etc. etc.

Thank you so much for all your help and patience and for such a wonderful website!

Where are you from? South Africa

How did you locate this forum? Google.com

Hi Christine,

I would suggest that you give her 30 ml of linseed oil, twice each day. This is an estimate. In order for me to do a complete assessment of her diet intake, it would take more intensive analysis that I can offer on this forum. However, I’ll be happy to work with you individually through an email consultation. So, let me know if that is what you’d like to do.

In the meantime, you are wise to stop feeding the sweet feed. And, since you have alfalfa hay, a 60/40 mixtures of grass hay to alfalfa hay is worthwhile. You can provide her with two meals/day of the concentrate, oil, and vitamins.

Depending on how much of the concentrate you feed, you may not need a full multiple vitamin/mineral supplement, since the concentrate already contain several vitamins (though the website for this feed does not indicate the exact amounts). However, in order to get a large amount of vitamin C, you will need to purchase that separately. Check on line to see where you can get vitamin C for horses in your part of the world. I offer Pure C by Vita Flex on my website store, however, to ship it to South Africa would likely be very expensive!

I hope this is helpful.

All the best,

Dr. Getty