Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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All the best,
Dr. Getty
Hi Yvonne,
I commend you for wanting to remove the sweet feed from your horse's diet! 
This feed, however, will not meet his vitamin needs since it is only supplemented with minerals and probiotics. It is also very high in protein (19%) which is okay in small amounts. But, if you are looking for a commercially fortified feed to fill in the nutritional gaps found with hay-only diets, this would not be a good choice. You want something that has vitamin E, Vitamin A (or beta carotene), and vitamin D. And of course, any feed that has these vitamins would need to be fed according to recommended levels (which may be too much) in order to get all the vitamins listed on the label.
If you have Triple Crown feeds available, go with Triple Crown Lite -- it is concentrated, so you don't need to feed as much of it and it has a very low %NSC (9.3%).
Thank you for writing and keep up the fine work!
All the best,
Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse
Im wanting to switch my 14yr old QH mare to a low starch feed instead of the Sweet Feed that the barn uses... (I dont think i would classify her as an easy keeper or a hard keeper, she is in the middle... She holds her weight "ok" with 2#'s Sweet Feed plus 24/7 Pasture plus Free Choice Grass Hay.) My trimmer suggested the following feed to me.
Connemara Crunch Horse Feed, 50 lb. Bag.
Crude protein, minimum 19.00%
Crude fat, minimum 2.50%
Crude fiber, maximum 13.00%
INGREDIENTS
Organic Field Peas, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Organic Rice Bran, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Dried Organic Kelp, Organic Flaxseed Oil, Organic Sunflower Oil, Shell Flour, Yeast Culture, Selenium Yeast, Roughage Products (Rice Hulls), Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Methionine Complex, Manganese Methione Complex, Copper Lysine Complex, Cobolt Glucoheptonate, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Thermophilum Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Vegetable Oil, Dextrose, Dried Trichoderma Longibrachiatum Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Pruduct, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Bromelain, Dried Rhizopus Oryzae Fermentation Product.
FEEDING DIRECTIONS:
Feed as needed to supplement nutritional intake.
Does this appear to you to be a complete feed? Any dislikes? I cant find the NSC levels on their website, so im thinking i will need to email the company...
Thanks in Advance
Where are you from? Bayfield, CO
Hi Yvonne,
I'm always glad to help. Keep me posted.
Dr. Getty
I was looking into TC lite, it is available in my area, so i will give it a shot!
Thanks again, love your book, your website & your store
Where are you from? Bayfield, CO