If I have a 11 yr old Quarter Horse, moderate activity, how many flakes in the AM & PM should he get?

Question

He is currently getting grain (Seminole Gold Chance 10) in the morning and night - half a scoop. I am having issues with the barn about how many flakes he should get. The hay is Timothy and during the day he is out at a fescue round bail.

Answer 1

Boy am I glad that I did not answer this question, because I thought you meant dandruff or corn flakes. Boy would that have made me look dumb.

Answer 2

Hello,

My input:

WELL, I see answers all over the place on this question!!!!  I don NOT agree with all of them>

YOU all need to know that flakes vary in WEIGHT and also vary in QUALITY and amounts of CALORIES they have.  SO just because you feed 1 flake, 2 flakes or 3 flakes a feeding, doesn't mean that EVERYONE should be feeding the same!

Your horse is getting some grain, and also free feeding on a round bale during the day when he is turned out...  I WOULD think that he wouldn't need much to supplement that.  I AM assuming he is turned out EVERY day for a long time too, though...  YOU didn't say if he was turned out for 3 hours or 9 hours?  THIS would make a difference.

IT is great that your horse can munch on that round bale during the day to help supplement his hay...  IF you cannot see his ribs, he is fine with what he is being feed.

JUST remember that flakes will VARY by weight, just like bales; some will weigh 60 lbs, some 120 lbs, some 800 lbs...  SO those flakes vary too....and horses are fed by the weight of the hay and quality, NOT by flake.

YOUR best bet is to keep an eye on his weight and if his ribs show he needs more food....

Answer 3

As long as he's keeping on weight, 2 flakes should be plenty.  Since he has access to pasture during the day he probably doesn't need as much as a horse who is in all the time.  I try to go by hay weight rather than flakes, and typically a horse should be fed 15-20 pounds of hay perday.  But like I said since he has pasture during the day and is getting grain you can cut that in half.  

Answer 4

For our guys, we used to feed half a flake in the morning in their stalls before they got their grain, two flakes in the field in the morning, two in the afternoon, and two at night. However, if we had exceptionally green hay, or big leaves, we cut back a little bit. If he has free choice hay out in the field, I'd say feed three at night in his stall, and maybe a half in the morning before he goes out. It depends on how long he's out for and if he's difficult to keep weight on.

Answer 5

We feed our horses 2 flakes in the morning, one in the afternoon & two a night....so if he is allowed to eat all day, maybe 2 in the morning & 2 at night??  

Answer 6

What type of hay do you have? Is it rich? I'm just not totally sure and I don't want to tell you the wrong thing not knowing how filling the hay is..

Answer 7

It depends on how much the flakes weigh, as well as how much hay he is eating at the round bale every day...

A horse absolutely positively needs at LEAST 1% of his body weight in long stem forage every day to keep his digestive tract healthy.

It is ideal if he goes no longer than 4 hours at a stretch without hay in front of him, as his system is designed to have hay constantly moving through it.

I would really recommend taking a look at the website I referenced, as it has a very good information page about exactly this issue.

Answer 8

hay is an ideal way to monitor your horses weight!  The general horse diet for an average sized middle aged horse is 5-6 flakes a day (we personally feed 2 flakes 3x a day).  Given the he can consume at will during the day, and that he sounds like he gets moderately small amounts of grain, just make sure he is at a healthy weight and adjust hay accordingly!  

As far as moderate activity, his grain should take care of a large portion of his energy needs, however you should talk with a vet about adding alfalfa to his diet (cube or hay form) as timothy and grain alone may not be ideal.  I'm no horse dietician, however i have always known barns to make sure they either fed T&A or if the hay was timothy they supplemented with straight alfalfa!