Hi Dr. Getty,

I am sponsored a 3/4 arab x tb gelding. He is very very forward and I personally think he is on too much grain for his personality. He eats about 5kg of alfalfa and possibly 1.5kg of grain at night and grazes kikuyu grass in the day. He is pathetically too energetic for me to handle anymore to the point that he is becoming dangerous but sponsor seems to think he needs his grain to maintain his condition. I suggested she remove the grain, supply a mineral block and up his roughage intake. Instead she gives me books about arabians and tells me to read about their mindset which I am very aware of but I reckon it needs to be managed as best as possible. If he was on my property he would live out with adequate grass hay and a vit and mineral supplement. What do you recommend?

Hi Christine,

Many horses do exhibit mood swings when fed diets that are high in starch (from cereal grains) and this could be the case with your Arabian. The only way to know would be to remove the grain from the diet. You could add more alfalfa to help him maintain his weight. You can offer him a high fat feed also, such as stablized rice bran along with a flaxseed meal product. This will help him hold his weight without the starch from grain.

So, I would suggest that you look into what other feedstuffs are available and see if you can prepare a meal for him that does not include oats, barley, corn, etc.

And, in addition to this plan, consider giving him a B Complex preparation such as B Plex. You may be able to find something similar in your country.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, Colorado