Nutrition

My philosophy on feeding my horses comes down to "keep it as simple as possible".  I am not a big fan of feeding alot of  grain or supplements if I can avoid it.The core of the feeding program at Acer Farm starts with  the best quality weed free Grass/Alfalfa(usually a 70/30 blend) we can buy. We feed 2 times a day and our horses live 100% of the time outside with access to shelters. We usually get 12-15 tons every fall and we feed hay year round, We have a small amount of pasture, about 4 acres worth for 5 head  so not enough to sustain them but enough to give them something to graze on in the summer/fall months. 

I keep beet pulp and alfalfa timothy pellets on hand all the time.  

I grain my older gelding Rebel with a Senior feed made by Nutrena called Triumph. He gets that once a day with his MSM supplement. 

 

Right now I am also graining a young, growing colt . Otto is  on Mare and Foal for now, mixed with beet pulp , along with Equipride supplement for a top dressing. He gets this 3 times a day and as much hay as he will eat. 

If I have a horse in conditioning and under a heavier workload, I will grain if the horse is needing the added calories to maintain energy and body condition. I will generally feed a high fat grain mixed with a little beet pulp.

 

I keep loose mineral and salt available in all the shelters for the horses , as well as plain  white salt blocks. They don't get enough from the blocks alone but seem to like them so I keep them available to them.

Every spring  and Fall I put everyone through a 30 day cycle of of mash (beet pulp with alfalfa soaked) and Diatomaceious Earth for parasite control. I do a midsummer worming with regular paste wormer.

That's pretty much it. Everyone has shiny coats and keeps their weight well.