# Having your own horse feed mixed



## deineria

Does anyone have a formula they have used with success
when having their own horse feed mixed?

I was thinking of ordering a
30% whole oats
20% beet pulp
30% alfalfa pellets
10% rice bran
10% barley OR Soy meal
mix with a 1% salt per ton

suggestions? Too much in oats?


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## southerngurl

What's the horses' workload? Growing? Breeding?


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## deineria

Three Arabs - one is a stallion, one is a 2 yr old filly and one is a broodmare.
No workload currently - as it is winter - just some turn out.


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## Jay27

I find it is best to leave it to the professionals who are degreed in equine nutrition. Nutritional analysis of a single component can vary from bushel to bushel. When feed is put together they test all the batches and mix for consistent product. 

Many feedmills will run custom mixes if you request it. What are you trying to gain by mixing your own? Do you not like the feed products that are currently available?

ETA: I re-read and it sounds like you are having the mill mix it... sorry...


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## SFM in KY

We started having the local mill mix our horse feed because most of the available commercial horse feeds had too much molasses in them. I got the formula from a friend of mine in Missouri, whose had it formulated by a equine nutritionist for "local conditions" which are very similar to ours here in Kentucky. I was used to feeding in Montana, different climate, different grass, different hay and my horses weren't doing well.

Switched to this formula and horses did much better. In fact, the local mill is now using this formula for their "mill brand" horse feed so it's available anytime we need it in smaller amounts.


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## deineria

SFM - Could you list what your mix is? We are in WV. . .Ashland, Ky is about 10 minutes from me.


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## deineria

We feed Triple Crown Complete now. Those ingredient up there are the top ing. in that mix, but we pay $18 a 50 verses mixing it would run about $24 a 100.

I looked over everything and ended up with:
35% Whole Oats
15% Rice Bran
40% Alfalfa Pellets
5% Soy Bean Meal
and a 1% Horse Mineral/Salt mixed in

I have a few weeks so call back and change the
mix because they have rice bran on order and
it is going to take nearly 2 weeks to get it,
so if anyone has suggestions, please comment.


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## southerngurl

I would feed the highest quality grass hay I could find and give a good quality mineral supplement. You'll do your horses a big favor not to add uneeded carbs. Insulin resistance is an epidemic and causes the death of many horses.


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## deineria

They get a nice Kentucky grown tested grass hay as well.


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## Joshie

Can you feed a hay only diet?


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## arabian knight

I got this recipe from a friend that raises all sorts of horses, from Arabians to mini's to now mules, and donkeys.
This is for a 500 # the minimum I can get mixed.
300# of cracked corn
100# of rolled oats
25# of soymeal
1/2# of vitamins
2-1/2# TM Salt
35# of natural molasses
And with the grinding it only costs me 50 bucks~!
And that is also what I "finish" my steers on also~! Works great for that too.


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## deineria

arabian knight said:


> I got this recipe from a friend that raises all sorts of horses, from Arabians to mini's to now mules, and donkeys.
> This is for a 500 # the minimum I can get mixed.
> 300# of cracked corn
> 100# of rolled oats
> 25# of soymeal
> 1/2# of vitamins
> 2-1/2# TM Salt
> 35# of natural molasses
> And with the grinding it only costs me 50 bucks~!
> And that is also what I "finish" my steers on also~! Works great for that too.



I can't actually do Hay only because they do not keep weight and the hay we get isn't prime quality - it is just good quality.
Thanks for the listing of what you mix.
We can't do corn with oats and molasses due to colic issues and weight not 
staying on well with corn. . .I have to stick close to a forage mix with a high fat content, thus the rice bran, which it part of why I am getting a cost quoted at $239 per 1000, but I am paying $360 or more for the Triple Crown.


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## Jay27

Joshie said:


> Can you feed a hay only diet?


Depends on the horse and work load. My drafts eat a hay only diet, aside from 1 lb of a hay balancer pellet. The balancer is just for vitamins/mineral and is extremely concentrated compared to most feeds... think of it more as a supplement. My barrel horse needs considerably more energy and gets a steam-flaked COB feed plus 24/7 hay

ETA: the drafts only get the balancer to maintain their hoof quality... otherwise the road chips up their feet pretty bad.

...

Getting away from molassas is a GREAT reason to have a custom mix done... no idea why some feeds have sooo much of it!


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## deineria

Hay only if they hay is quality and your horse has pretty low work load, easy keeper. . .
is it totally fine.


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## SFM in KY

deineria said:


> SFM - Could you list what your mix is? We are in WV. . .Ashland, Ky is about 10 minutes from me.


I had it on my computer, of course, and lost it in the computer crash back in November. I'll call the feed store Monday and get a copy of it. It is a ground feed rather than cracked or rolled and my MO friend said he had been done that way because corn is the major ingredient ... cheaper and more available in the midwest/southern states, as barley and oats are in the north.

Joshie ... you can feed a hay-only diet but it depends entirely on the quality of the hay available. I almost never had to grain in Montana ... lived there for over 30 years and had horses and never grained anything except horses that were in training or stallions on a heavy breeding schedule.

When I moved to Kentucky trying to keep weight on anything on pasture or hay was a major problem, I had trouble learning that I really did have to grain everything except the very easy keepers and "retirees" that were doing absolutely nothing except standing in the shade under the trees.


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## Lazy J

What about using a Supplement to bolster the hay? We have had great success with the use of Front Runner 30% supplement fed at 1#/hd/day to supplement a hay only or hay/oats diets. The supplement provides vitamins, trace minerals, and a small protion of protein to balance the diet.

Jim


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## SFM in KY

I tried several kinds of supplements but what seemed to be the problem was that the grass/pasture and the hay just didn't have enough "food value" ... not enough actual calories ... to support the animal.


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## Lisa in WA

I recommend Purina Strategy. It's great for all life phases and adds calories without making the horse "hot". Most of my horses do well on good grass hay and salt/minerals but Windsong gets this year round with good grass hay (she gets alfalfa as well when in full work and training) and she thrives on it.
I agree with leaving the mixing to the equine nutritionists. Purina (and others) have been doing this a long time and they do a good job with it.


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## deineria

Strategy and Safe Choice are both good feeds, but their fat content isn't high enough for us, so by the time we added enough rice bran, we were right back to paying what we'd pay for Triple Crown.


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## Lisa in WA

deineria said:


> Strategy and Safe Choice are both good feeds, but their fat content isn't high enough for us, so by the time we added enough rice bran, we were right back to paying what we'd pay for Triple Crown.


I'd buy Triple Crown if they sold it around here. No such luck yet....


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## 1sttimemom

Lots of feeds use Molassis to keep the dust down & increase taste. One of our local mills will custom mix for us in 500 lb minimums. We can give them our basic needs and they figure it. Ex. If we want a 12 % protein they will figure the best cost mix. Then we can choose dry, molassis, or even soy oil added plus salt or whatever. We do this and buy a bunch at once. It is WAY cheaper than buying bagged name brand feeds. 

In all honesty, some of the bagged feeds are soo expensive. With the econ & horse market the way it is you can almost forget trying to break even feeding some of the high $$ stuff. If the horses are doing well on less expensive mix I'm all for it. 

Also, anyone noticed some bagged feeds are now only 40 lbs!!!


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