Dear Dr Getty~

I have a 10 month old Haflinger filly. I am so confused about feed.
I started her on Blue Seal Charger (a sweet feed) and my Vet was adament about me getting her off that and switching to Blue Seal Trotter. So we made that transition.

She gets Daily:
-free choice timothy/alfalfa hay (no more than 30% alfalfa)
-Trotter twice a day (total 3 lbs)
-Winning Touch Sunshine Plus supplement (1 cup)

She has a plain salt block and a mineral salt block and plenty of fresh water.

I also have her on Sand Clear monthly because she is on a dry lot. And she was wormed with SafeGuard in December.

Now that she is totally on Trotter, I have noticed a change in her (not sure if it is coincidence or not) but she wants to eat dirt, the clay and subsoil, where I had dug to channel water out of the paddock.

I am not sure Trotter is the right choice for her anyway. I am also wondering if she needs more fat in her diet but less carbohydrates.

I was thinking about switching to Triple Crown Growth and maybe Colt Grower as a supplement.

What are your thoughts?

Where are you from? MA

How did you locate this forum? mentioned on a horse yahoo group

Hello MJ,

Kent Feeds tend to be high in starch, which is not a good idea for a growing horse. Furthermore, the Trotter feed does not contain all of the minerals your filly needs, which likely accounts for her craving of dirt.

Triple Crown Growth is an acceptable choice and if fed according to directions, you will not need to add another vitamin/mineral supplement.

You're doing fine with her hay by mixing grass with alfalfa. The mineral block is not necessary -- a plain white salt lick will be fine.

Instead of adding an additional vitamin/mineral supplement (which is not necessary when feeding a complete ration), I would suggest adding flaxseed meal to her diet. This will provide her with additional omega 3 fatty acids which will help ensure healthy joint development. I recommend Nutra Flax.

Thank you for writing.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Hi Dr Getty
Thank you for your reply.

I have a few more questions.

I was looking at the ingredients of Triple Crown Growth and the second ingredient (after shredded beet pulp) is WHOLE OATS. Should I stay away from that?

Also they state that a portion of the fat ( 10% total) is from Rice Bran and Flaxseed. Would it still be ok to give Nutra Flax to her ?

I probably would be feeding LESS than the package directions.
The Haflingers usually don't need all that is recommended and they have that tendancy to gain excess weight. If I fed less, would I need a vitamin /mineral supplement?

Do you think it would be better to go with Triple Crown Low Starch and then add supplements ?

Help! I want the best for her!

Thanks!

Where are you from? MA

How did you locate this forum? horse yahoo grp

Hi MJ,

Yes, I noticed the second item was oats, so that was why I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about it. However, since it is mostly beet pulp, it would work as a feed. But, my first preference is to go with a feed that does not contain grain. Triple Crown Low Starch is a good choice.

But, let me make this suggestion... Since you are not planning on feeding the recommended amount, and you would then need to supplement vitamins and minerals, consider making your own mixture of flaxseed meal, beet pulp, and some stabilized rice bran (such as Natural Glo), along with Accel (a vitamin/mineral supplement). You can feed the same weight of beet pulp as you have been doing with the complete ration.

This way, you know how much of the supplement she is getting without the risk of overdoing it by adding a complete feed.

All the best,

Dr. Getty