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Lv 5
? asked in PetsHorses · 8 years ago

Feeding my QH. Does anyone have advice?

Currently my QH is ridden three times a week. On a Thursday I ride for 45-60 minutes in the arena doing dressag or small jumping. On a Saturday I ride for about 45 minutes either in the vineyard where I do mostly walking but also lots of uphill trot and canter work. And on a Sunday I generally ride for around 2-3 hours. We do a long trail ride in which we do lots of walking on different terrain and different places all the time. We also do trotting and cantering a lot.

Currently it's winter, the nights are around -2 to -5 celcius at the moment and the days are around 14-15 celcius. He is in a 300 gram fill synthetic rug on at night but during the day he is naked.

He is fed 3 times a week, his hard feed, which consists of 1 scoop of wheaten chaff (a scoop is just the normal scoops that you buy from a saddlery), half-3/4 scoop of Hygain Ice pellets and 1 cup of Speedi Beet. He also gets all necessary vitamins and minerals.

Everyday he gets 1 flake of grass hay in the morning and 1 flake of meadow/clover hay in the evening. He is a good weight at the moment and looks healthy. Although I'm open to any changes in his diet to make him healthier or that are good for him.

So of anyone thinks anything needs to be changed/stopped/added in his feed please let me know.

Also just a note he is prone to foundering and he is all English ridden just in case it matters.

2 Answers

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  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    If "He is a good weight at the moment and looks healthy." You have your answer. Just from the description, I'd be worried. It doesn't sound like nearly enough food to me, and horses do better on a consistent feeding program, not a different meal three times a week. If he is out on good pasture, that may be the reason. Most horses should have free choice hay (as much as they want), or full time good pasture, then if he is prone to founder, you can cut out the hard feed if he is looking good.

    I'm like your other poster, if he is looking good on so little food, and is prone to founder I'd consult a vet, and be sure he is healthy on the inside.

  • .
    Lv 7
    8 years ago

    What is a 'flake'... how big? How much does it weigh?

    What is a 'scoop'? What is the volume?

    What is the nutritional value of this food you're feeding? Protein? Fat? Carbs? Starch?

    What vitamins and minerals? In what doses? And, feeding them 3x a week certainly doesn't keep the horse well covered.

    Has this horse had any bloodwork looking into IR or metabolic disease to explore the source of founder? What does your vet say about the current diet? Frankly, I'd take him off beet pulp, especially if it contains molasses. Otherwise, since I'm in the US, much of the products you mention are unfamiliar to me and it'd be great if you could give us some more info.

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