How much do u spend a month on feed? and what type of horses do u have and how many? im trying 2 figure out how much it will cost 2 feed my horses. I have a yearling (oreo) and a 25 year old (charooke) both apha with lots of race horse/ throughbread in there lines. charooke can still eat hay. hay bales up here are about $4.00 for good hay but they might be going up because there is a shortigs of hay this year. how long does a squre bale last u for 1 horse? should i have my horses on any supliments? oreo is going 2 the track in the summer. and charooke is a senior so i was thinking if puting her on purina's senior diet. and puting oreo on there race ready. but what do u think i should do?

I have 3 horses to feed. I have them all on Safe Choice which is $9.95. It last me 1 week for 1 bag. But they all get different amounts. Then I have Vanny on Alphala cubes, $10.95 per bag, and beet pulp, I forget how much that is. Beet Pulp last me a long time and 1 bag of AC last me 2 weeks. My supplements are some what costly. $50 for MaxFlex, $30 for rations plus and only $8 for my probios. But my supplements last me a couple of months. My hay right now is $2.00 per bale. I feed 2 of my guys 2 flakes twice a day right now. Vanny can't eat hay. One bale will last me 1 1/2 days. I buy my hay in bulk.

My horses are not race horse so I have no idea as to what to feed a race horse. As for your senior, I would recommend the Safe Choice. It's higher in fat than senior feed without all the added starch and sugar.

k thank u so much I use 2 feed charooke peet pulpe and this stuff that looked like dog food that came in a purple bag it was verry high in fat. What is safe choice and what does it do?

Wow... already there is going to be a lot of variety in the answers! I think a lot depends on the individual horse.

I have a 16 year old Arab & an (almost) 1 1/2 year old gelding. I have been feeding Safe Choice for about a month now & am very pleased with it so far. A bag will last me 4-5 days.

I feed approx 50 pound square bales & go through about 3/4 bale a day. They would like it if they got the whole bale... lol. But at $8.75 a piece (& that was a good deal for buying in bulk!) I try to keep their extra "snacks" to a minimum.

I don't feed any supplements. I do add Jeffers "Get Away" to help deter flies.

http://www.nutrenaworld.com/Screens/ProductDetails_Equine.aspx?ProductID=170

Safe Choice is a high quality pelleted food that is safe for all age horses.

Safe Choice is made by Nutrena. Go onto their website and it'll tell you all there is to know. Many of us here use it.

Like I said, it's a high fat feed with low starch. It's a balanced feed the will keep the weight on without the starch and sugar. That's what will make your horse "hot". But it will also keep the weight off a horse too. That's why I highly recommend it. It keeps the weight off Scout, but puts the weight on Vanny. Strange but true.

how much safe choice should i feed my horse?

Depends on your horse. Is she an easy keeper? Is she on pasture now? Feed more hay than grain. Hay will keep her warmer in the winter than grain.

thank u. I think ill try that out on charooke. I know alot of people that add like 6cups of oil to there horses feed what do u guys think about that?

well im probaly going 2 be movin them 2 a race stable thats in town so they will be inside a barn charooke is well between the 2 she use to be a hard keeper win we were in bc but since we moved 2 ab she doing alot better at the monet she is on a pastuere

I would stay away from the oil for now. How is her weight right now? I feed Scout 1 1/2 small coffee cans of feed. Vanny get 2 cans plus his other stuff and Dandy get's 1/2 can. My guys are on pasture 24/7 but the pasture is getingt down so I'm feeding them hay 2X daily to compensate.

I would stay away from the oil as well. I've heard of feeding up to a cup... definitely not 6!

I have to laugh about the "coffee can" method becuase I use it too & wonder how many people feed their horses from coffee cans? Only I use the big cans & Stitch gets a full can & Magic gets 3/4. Maybe I could try cutting down on their grain & feed more hay.... hmmmmmmmmm

spragueme, are your horses on pasture? I was curious because you feed your 3 less (hay/grain) than I feed my 2. I don't feed supplements..... but maybe if I make some changes to my feeding program I can be getting better "use" of my grain & hay!

Yes, my guys are on pasture 24/7. It's not a great pasture but it's big. They have it pretty much eaten down. That's why I'm feeding hay at the moment. They prefer to eat what little grass is out there to alot of hay. But it's really starting to get bare spots out there. So they hay keeps them busy. But this is my thinking, it maybe way out of wack and some may think I'm crazy. Which wouldn't be a first for me.

All three of my guys have different needs. Scout suffers from shivers. So he needs a high fat, low sugar/starch diet. That's why I got Safe Choice to begin with. Lush pastures are high in sugar and starch. Depending on your pasture and such. Scout was extreamly overweight last year. He was close to 1500 lbs. I was feeding cracked corn and oats. The worse thing to feed a horse with shivers because corn is high in sugar and oats are high in starch. But I did my reseach and switched his feed. He is getting back down to a healthy weight now. I try to ride more but not always possible.

Vanny is older and has nutrional and teeth problems. He cannot eat hay. But if he's on good pasture for more than an hour of 2, he get's diarhea. The Safe Choice is higher in fat than senior feed, so I'm keeping him on that. Plus since he cannot eat hay, I added the alphala cubes and beet pulp for fiber. Plus his supplements. Last year Vanny lost alot of weight, I almost thought that it would be his last winter. But since switching his diet, he has gain his weight back and then some. But Vanny has never been a bulky horse. I said before that his build resemble the picture that AQHA uses to show the parts of a horse.

Dandy is my youngest. He is built like a tank. He really doesn't need grain at all. But I give him just a little bit when I feed. It's not enough to over feed him and I'm feeding him the right stuff. There is no need to feed him extra sugar and starch that is in most feeds. That just makes a hot horse.

well charooke is a little thin she would deffintly look good if she gaind a 100pounds I like my horses tall and slim but with big muscles if that makes sence.