After reading 2 great books on equine nutrition (Equine Supplements & Nutraceuticals by Eleanor M. Kellon VMD, Feeding and Care of the Horse by Lon D. Lewis) as well as university studies on the internet, we have changed our feeding program with excellent results that we would like to share with everyone.

We live in Nevada where many horse owners do not have the ability/luxury of allowing their animals to graze in a field as the Creator intended. Sand colic is the leading killer of our   more...

After reading 2 great books on equine nutrition (Equine Supplements & Nutraceuticals by Eleanor M. Kellon VMD, Feeding and Care of the Horse by Lon D. Lewis) as well as university studies on the internet, we have changed our feeding program with excellent results that we would like to share with everyone.

We live in Nevada where many horse owners do not have the ability/luxury of allowing their animals to graze in a field as the Creator intended. Sand colic is the leading killer of our equine friends in our state.

In reading we found that the water content of fresh growing pasture is approx. 80% and is made up of several types of forage. In stark contrast, baled hay must be dried to approx. 17% water content to avoid spoilage and is primarily made up of the planted crop, be it alfalfa or grass or a mix. In addition, hay quality and weight per bale varies greatly which presents problems in rationing. We have found that regardless of the feeder used, our horses "throw" their food in the dirt and eat it.

Many horse owners are feeding supplements including beet pulp, psyllium, and designer foods that are reported to "clean out your horse". While we feed these also, we believe that hydration is the key component that is overlooked when feeding dry foods.

WHAT WE DO; We feed locally cubed alfalfa that is soaked in water for about 20 mins as our base forage. These cubes contain cereal and wheat bran as bonding agents.

We weigh each portion in a 6 gallon bucket (8-13 pounds per feeding) and then fill the remaining space with water and allow to soak. We then place a small amount of grass hay on the top of the bucket and dump it in rubber feeding tubs so that the hay is buried below the wet cube mush. Evening feeding includes grain, old horse formula, rice bran and beat pulp.

At rodeos our horses urinate 2-3 times as often as horses tied up next to us. We have had no tummy aches/cholic in years. less...

sorry too hear u lost a loyal horse to the flu we have been ok hear at inverell but have also been affected by lack of feed as it is so cold hear in winter but we still wet the feed also the bales of hay with warm water in winter as well
it is never easy too loose a friend i also hav lost a few in my time the latest a filly foal too my oldest mare we are looking for a new boyfriend for her but are still worried about the flu as she is 24 any suggestions to protect her will be appreciated
ke  more...

sorry too hear u lost a loyal horse to the flu we have been ok hear at inverell but have also been affected by lack of feed as it is so cold hear in winter but we still wet the feed also the bales of hay with warm water in winter as well
it is never easy too loose a friend i also hav lost a few in my time the latest a filly foal too my oldest mare we are looking for a new boyfriend for her but are still worried about the flu as she is 24 any suggestions to protect her will be appreciated
keep up the good riding less...

Im sorry to hear about your loss. We lost a two year old the the neighbors horses this last sept so i know how rough it is to lose one you are close to and i can't imagine how much worse it is when you have had them such a long time.

Hi, I'm from Australia and we are currently in the grip of a drought which has been ongoing for 9 years with short periods of relief but no real droughtbreaking consistent rain. I also wet my horses feed by about half the weight of the dry feed, and right through have had fit, fat, healthy, colic free animals. unfortunately I just lost my old australian stock horse gelding to Equine influenza, which is rife here in N S W at the moment also in queensland. He was 32 years old and in absolutely to  more...

Hi, I'm from Australia and we are currently in the grip of a drought which has been ongoing for 9 years with short periods of relief but no real droughtbreaking consistent rain. I also wet my horses feed by about half the weight of the dry feed, and right through have had fit, fat, healthy, colic free animals. unfortunately I just lost my old australian stock horse gelding to Equine influenza, which is rife here in N S W at the moment also in queensland. He was 32 years old and in absolutely top condition and with no arthritis or any other ailment and despite our best efforts, his old heart wasn't able to withstand the infectionand he passed away quietly at the house gate. less...