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Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition

   Welcome to my forum. 

Here you will find more than 6 years of questions and my answers. It is searchable and offers a great deal of information. 

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 Dr. Getty 

 



Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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Balancing my own feed mixture....

Dr. Getty,

Due to the increase in hay and grain prices I have decided to mix my own feed. Did the math and it will be cheaper in the long run. However I want to make sure its completely balanced. With all the different info online these days I'm really confused.

My plan was to use alfalfa pellets and beet pulp (shreds, no molasses added) as my base. Then to add a quality vit/mineral supplement, right now I'm trying to decide between ADM's GroStrong minerals and Formula 707 Daily Essentials.

I am feeding 5 horses:
6yr old APHA mare with almost 3 month old colt. This is my barrel racing mare who is a pretty easy keeper but of course needs more when heavily worked.

Yearling arabian filly. Just got her but she's proving to be an easy keeper as well.

2yr old solid APHA gelding. He's not a hard keeper but I can see his ribs right now more then I'd like.

10yr(ish) old quarter horse mare. Just got her yesterday. Last time I rode/saw her she was faaaaaaattttt! When they dropped her off today she's on the skinny side but not extremely so. I will be trying to turn her into a roping horse.

I hate haveing to buy all sorts of different grains for each horse so I thought this plan would also help me have everybody on the same diet but just adjust the amounts as needed.

I was told beet pulp was bad for young foals....

Thank you in advanced for your help!

Where are you from? Kansas

Re: Balancing my own feed mixture....

I just wanted to update:

My 10yr old mare and yearling do NOT like beet pulp. They both seperate it out if I add too much. Tried for 2 weeks and they will only eat it if its mainly alfalfa pellets. I am also selling the 2yr old.

So I switched to mixing the alfalfa pellets with oats. Right now I'm using up the rest of the beet pulp mixed in too but will most likely drop the beet pulp (haven't completely decided). I have what appears to be a pretty even mix of AP and oats, for my 10yr old who needs to gain a little weight I add more oats to hers. Will weigh everything tonight.

I think I have settled on using EquiPride as my supplement.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!

Where are you from? Kansas

Re: Balancing my own feed mixture....

Hello Serenity,

While I would like to help you, your request goes beyond the scope of this forum. You have several horses, all with different needs. The best way I can assist you would be to set up a phone visit consultation. That way, I can spend an hour or so over the phone going over the big picture -- history, specific needs, medical treatments (if applicable), environment, exercise, diet, etc. to customize a plan for you. I do one horse at a time.

In the meantime, be careful of giving oats to a growing horse -- it can increase the chance of him developing osteopathic disorders. Alfalfa pellets make a fine carrier, without oats or beet pulp. Choose a good vitamin/mineral supplement along with some flaxseed meal -- for the average horse, this should be fine. I like Glanzen Complete because it is flaxseed meal based and fills in all the gaps that exist with hay.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse


Serenity06
I just wanted to update:

My 10yr old mare and yearling do NOT like beet pulp. They both seperate it out if I add too much. Tried for 2 weeks and they will only eat it if its mainly alfalfa pellets. I am also selling the 2yr old.

So I switched to mixing the alfalfa pellets with oats. Right now I'm using up the rest of the beet pulp mixed in too but will most likely drop the beet pulp (haven't completely decided). I have what appears to be a pretty even mix of AP and oats, for my 10yr old who needs to gain a little weight I add more oats to hers. Will weigh everything tonight.

I think I have settled on using EquiPride as my supplement.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!

Where are you from? Waverly, Ohio