I have a 5 yo clyde/tb mare. she will be my event horse and currently does very small fences, goes out cross country and hates the arena. She gets 2 qts beet pulp/1 cup stabilized rice bran (natrual glo), platinum supplements once a day. Her hay is good quality orchard grass with some hand grazing each day.
she is in work 30-45 min 3-4 times a week. She gains weight very easily.

She has always been hard to encourage to go forward and seems to be very much on the lazy side. Of course like any horse when she is excited energy appears. She had this winter pretty much off and I recently (6 weeks ago) brought her back to work. Before I attribute her lack of forward movement to a training issue i want to explore nutrition. Does she need more protein? How much? should I add alfalpha pellets? what can I cut down on?

thanks, Regina

Where are you from? Northwest Washington

How did you locate this forum? equine nutritionist search

Hi Regina,

Thank you for writing about your mare. Your diet is good but I have a few suggestions.

First, you mentioned that she gains weight easily, so while rice bran is a good feed, it really isn't necessary for an easy keeper. Fat should come from flaxseed meal, which you're likely giving her if you're using Platinum Performance.

Next, you asked about giving her alfalfa pellets -- yes, this is a good idea for two reasons. First, the protein content in alfalfa balances out the protein in grass hay, giving her the correct proportion of amino acids. The second reason is the extra calcium it provides -- this will balance out the phosphorus content in orchard grass (which can be high in phosphorus). The extra calcium will also help balance out the magnesium I'm about to suggest...

So finally, give her magnesium. Most horses do not get enough and even a marginal deficiency can affect behavior. I recommend Quiessence. Give her 1 scoop per 500 lbs of body weight.

Keep me posted!

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO