Hi Dr. Getty
My daughter has a five month old foal and we have bought a 16 year old catalan gelding to keep him company. As first time owners we have a lot of problems with feeding and would be grateful for any advice. The foal (ossian) appears to be very fit and healthy with plenty of energy, he is a bit cheeky and mischievous but not bad tempered. The gelding (Derry) is 16 and has been abused and neglected for a number of years. When he arrived here about 5 weeks ago he was painfully thin and had severe eye infection. We have cleared up the infection with euphrasia drops and put a fly mask on him which has helped a lot. He has started to put on weight, his ribs are not nearly as prominent and his chest appears to filling out but his spine is very prominent and his back end is all bone!
The problem is that there are no brand name feeds locally and importing them is too expensive. We have been feeding a muesli mix, there are no lables on the bag but it seems to be whole oats, alfalfa pellets, maiz and dried beans. We also feed whatever forage we can get, usually forraje (green oat hay?), alfalfa hay or straw. They usually eat about half a bale between them per day. They also eat the peach trees - leaves, branches and fruit! as well as oranges, watermelons and various other fruit and veg which are growing in or around their corral.
We can buy individual sacks of alfalfa pellets, oats, chaff, soya meal (probably GM), beet and various other types of grains so would we be better off making a mix and if so what should it consist of? Olive oil is very cheap here - would that be a good addition?
We are going to be growing alfalfa and grass on areas of our land when conditions allow, at the moment it is far too hot and dry to grow anything! I know that alfalfa grows easily through winter and summer here but not sure what type of grass to grow.
I am very willing to buy supplements through the post
I apologize for the extra long post.
best wishes
Sandie

Where are you from? Spain

How did you locate this forum? google search

Hi Sandie,

You are doing a great job of getting the gelding back to health! And your foal sounds just like a baby should act!

I’m assuming that the gelding is not working, but you want to continue putting on some weight. You can make a wonderful feed with the ingredients you have available. Mix alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, and soya meal with some olive oil. Yes olive oil is fine, but not as palatable for many horses, so only a small amount should be added. Avoid the oats, and chaff. Chaff is a filler and oats, unless he is working hard, should not be included in the diet.

Let them have as much hay as they like, but I wouldn’t feed straw. It has very little nutritional value. Alfalfa hay and grass hay are fine. I don’t know what type of grasses grow in your part of the world.

I would supplement their diet with an overall multiple vitamin/mineral supplement that is available in your area just to compensate for any gaps in their diets.

Keep up the fine work! And, let me know how they’re doing!

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Hi Dr. Getty
Thanks for the reply and advice. I have since been told not to feed beet in the summer as it needs soaking for 6 hours and in this heat it will start to ferment before it is ready for feeding - can you confirm that for me please?
Also, could you tell me what proportion of alfalfa, soya and beet to use and also how much olive oil? We feed them 3 times a day (forraje available all the time)
Have also found brewers yeast and linseed in the health food store, should I add these and if so how much?
I have had so much contradicting advice from local horse owners that it is a great relief to find someone who knows what they are talking about - Thank You.
Best wishes
Sandie

Where are you from? Spain

How did you locate this forum? Google

Hi Sandie,

Beet pulp can be fed dry. Or, you can add warm water and it will absorb the water faster. You’re right – you should not soak it for so many hours – this increases the growth of microorganisms (not fermentation). So, if you would rather feed it wet, add a small amount of warm water and wait a few minutes.

If you can feed three times a day, you can offer him a meal of 1/3 beet pulp, 1/3 soybean meal (make certain that the soybean meal is heat processed, not from raw soybeans), and 1/3 alfalfa pellets. A meal should not be more than 1.3 to 1.8 kgs (3 to 4 pounds for my US readers) due to a horse’s small stomach size, so it’s important for you to weigh the feed. You’ll have to estimate the exact amounts according to the amount of weight he needs to gain, and his progress. I would suggest that you determine his weight and keep track of it each week to see how he’s doing.

If you can get linseed oil, a dose of 30 ml/twice a day is reasonable to start, along with 20 grams of brewers yeast.

These values I’m giving you are generalizations. If you would like to complete the “You and Your Horse” questionnaire on my website, I can gain more insight into his background and overall health, and perhaps be better able to assist you via email visits.

Keep me posted!

All the best,

Dr. Getty

hi Dr. Getty

Thanks for the advice. I will buy the ingredients for the mix and feed them for a couple of weeks, then, fill in the questionnaire as you suggested.

Best wishes
Sandie

Where are you from? Spain

How did you locate this forum? Google