Dr. Getty,
I have a TB/Percheron cross, 4.5 years, light work-(4-6 times a week), 17-1 and I am going to tape him today for weight but he is a big solid horse- 1500-2000 lbs(?)
He is getting about 18 pounds of canadian hay a day (6lbs 3x a day) and I have had him on about 22lbs of Trotter ( Blue Seal) a day (3 feedings a day). I increased his grain to this much in Oct but now I am wondering if it is too much. He was thinner in Oct-bony through the hips,etc., but has now filled out nicely- he also went through a growth spurt this winter but seems to have slowed down. Question- rule of thumb- how much food should a horse this size be getting in hay and grain? Trotter is a pelleted high fiber,med protien grain (www.blueseal.com- that will give you the nutirional breakdown). He seems to be doing well right now but it just seems like an awful lot of grain. Any thoughts? Appreciate your input.
Laurie

Where are you from? maine

How did you locate this forum? friend

Dr. Getty,
I taped him today and he is about 1350 lbs. I have alwasys heard rule of thumb that 2-2.5 pounds of food per 100 pound of body weight- that would make it about 30-34 pounds of food a day. With 18 pounds of hay, that would be about 12-14 pounds of feed......am I correct in these assumptions? If so, I am going to bakc his grain down slowly.
Thanks
Laurie

Hi Laurie,

Don't forget to add in any grass consumed during turnout unless you don't turnout on grass pasture. You would be surprised at how much one horse can consume. I don't have the rate but I read an article a few years ago and was surprised by the amount. Maybe Dr. Getty will know the consumption rate on pasture. The grain amount would be calculated after hay and pasture forage lbs are considered.
Good luck,
Patty

Where are you from? Florida

Hello Laurie and Patty,

2.5 % of body weight is about right, however, 75% of that should come from forage. And, keep in mind that the meal size from concentrates should not be more than 4 lbs. So, with three meals per day, you really cannot exceed 12 lbs of concentrate.

When it comes to forage, however, you can allow free consumption. Horses are able to self-regulate their forage consumption, whether it be from hay or pasture or both, if given the chance. So, my approach would be to provide hay and/or pasture 24/7 and then provide two meals per day, instead of three, of no more than 4 lbs each. That would leave about 26 lbs of forage. But, if you let your horse eat what he wants, you'd find that he will consume approximately that amount.

When consuming pasture, most of the consumption weight is from water, since pasture can be as much as 90% moisture. So, you really can't go by weight when figuring pasture intake. Most horses on pasture will consume approximately 20 lbs per day of dry matter. Extrapolate that to pounds of live grass, and it comes to as much as 200 lbs of pasture! But, that would be 90% water.

So, Laurie, watch your horse's weight. Give him hay and/or pasture 24/7 and add the appropriate amount of concentrate to meet his exercise needs. If you find that he's losing weight on 2 meals per day, you can always add a third meal.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO