hi dr getty
thank you so much for having this site to come to,
i have a 2 year old quarter and a yearling breeding stock paint and i may be getting a 4 year old paint
this is what i currently feed both my yearling and 2 year old geldings that are both about 14.2 hands and 800-900 lbs im gonna guess, i haven t weighed them
1 lb Ultium
1 scoop accel
1 scoop lycene(sp)
1 cup ground flaxseed(2 scoops) its not nutraflax but flaxseed that i buy from local feed store and ground myself
once a day and turnout 24/7
they look good and are healthy and a worming schedule every 6 weeks
i was thinking of adding BOSS what do you think?

what do you think that i should be feeding a 4 year old paint gelding, hes about 15.2 hands, 1000+ pounds

and we are getting ready to move in next couple months from 15 acres of pasture to 2 acres we will be rotating fields 1 acre each. (all three horses) grass grows really good we fertilized and seeded 1 1/2 ago with pasture seed we were going to do it again this fall or spring

how much hay do you think i should feed per day (i was thinking 2 bales a day 1 bale in the morning 1 in evening, plus i was going to add 1 lb per horse per day of alfalfa pellets for the winter 1/2 lb in morning 1/2 lb in evening (soaked) plus the grain ration i have above.
oh and thte horses will be used for barrel racers in a few years but i plan on starting the paint(if i get him) training next year
thank you sooo much i really appreciate what you are doing and i appologize that it is sooo long

Where are you from? ohio

How did you locate this forum? search

also thought about adding beet pulp to the diet what do you think about that?

Where are you from? ohio

How did you locate this forum? search

Hi Felicia,

Thank you for writing about your horses. In cases such as these, I prefer to set up a phone consultation so we can go over their specific needs and come up with customized plans for each of them. Here is the link for more info: http://gettyequinenutrition.biz/TalktoDrGetty.htm

But, in general, I would make a few suggestions:

1. First, give them all the hay and/or forage they want so that they do not run out of something to graze on. This is essential to their digestive health.

2. Add alfalfa pellets now to the diet and do not wait until winter. They require the additional calcium. Plus, if you continue to grind your own flaxseed meal, you are giving them a feed that has an inverted calcium to phosphorus ratio. More phosphorus than calcium is dangerous, especially for growing horses and interferes with bone development. That is why I recommend Nutra Flax because it has added calcium. Plus it is stabilized and won't go rancid for at least 6 months. Freshly ground flaxseeds can only last 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator.

3. Ultium is fine for your growing horses but they do require additional lysine. One sooop of Pure Lysine provides 4 grams of lysine, which may or may not be enough depending on the lysine content of your pasture and hay. So, it is best to have your forage analyzed. You can have this done at your local county extention agency or contact Equi-Analytical (www.equi-analytical.com) for a forage-collecting kit.

4. Salt is also an issue and a plain, white (not the mineralized version) salt block is necessary.

I hope this gets you on track. Plesae let me know if I can assist you further.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO