I feed my QH and mustang high quality hay during the winter and add a supplement of corn/soybean mix or oats. They are only getting about two cups of grain a day, If it is real cold I give extra.
For those that are feeding hay with grain, how much grain are you giving.
I have been watching their weight and health closely and they seem to be doing OK.
The vet looked at the hay and recommended giving the QH a 3" thick flake (square bails) and the mustang a 2" thick flake twice a day. She didn't say anything about grain, I added that supplement myself.

I don't think it is wise to feed based on the "thickness" of a flake of hay. I've always figured that a horse should get about 1.5% of their body weight in hay every day. So a 1200 pound horse should get about 18 pounds of hay each day, but I usually feed a little more than that. I also feed Nutrena SafeChoice. Since our horses are pretty much idle right now (we haven't been showing and now the wife is pregnant :-)) they are only getting minimum levels of grain. Our three grown horses are getting around 6 pounds a day which is about 0.5% of their body weight. Our six-month old colt is also getting about 6 pounds a day right now. I probably won't increase his grain amount any more for a while.

If you are concerned about your horses staying warm, it is much better to feed extra hay than it is to feed extra grain. First, it is safer for their digestive system. And secondly, digesting the hay will heat them up longer than digesting a little extra grain.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

[ December 08, 2006, 11:53 PM: Message edited by: barrelhorses ]

1. Most vets are not nutritionists and most don't have much to offer other than the standard garden variety answers.

2. Horses were designed to eat on an almost continual basis. Horses allowed to graze will graze about 18 hours out of every 24 hour period. They have a very small stomach, it holds about 5-6 quarts or the size of an ice cream pail. Their system is designed to take in roughage almost continiously. Their food then moves to the small intestine which is about 70 feet in length and then moves to what is called the hindgut which is where the fermantation of the feed takes place. The hind gut is the colon and then the feed moves to the large intestine and then to the rectum and removed.

Knowing all of this, the design of the horse's digestive system is geared for the digestion of roughages, not grains. Whole grains get digested in the hind gut and when they are digested there, a build up of lactic acid occurs and will kill many of the bacterial flora that is there to break down the roughage. Rolled, processed, or pelleted grains get absorbed in the small intestine where the horse has a much better time utilizing the nutrients.

3. There is not a horse out there that should ever get fed more than 4 lbs of any grain at any setting. An increased amount of grain can lead to a greater lactic acid build up in the large intestine which can lead to colic and laminitis episodes.

4. Horses do much better eating free choice hay. If more calories are needed to keep a horse warmer during winter monthes, it is much better to increase the amount of hay they can eat rather than supplementing grain. Giving a horse a cup or two of grain is like eating a candy bar, it sure tastes good but it isn't much for nutrition.

5. Always feed your horse by weight, not by volume. For many years, the standard feed scoop in the horse world is a three pound coffee can. It holds three lbs of coffee, but the weight of oats, corn, or pellets will be different. Buy a food scale a the dept store, they are cheap.

6. If anybody wants to read horse nutrition information, read what Kentucky Equine Research has to offer. They are one of the only equine nutrition labs that do not take any money from any feed companies or organizations. They are totally unbiased and have one of the most complete research facilities around. Two of the researchers have a book out called, Nutrition in the Horse. I would say that should be required reading by any horse owner.

Sorry it got long, now I better get a couple of horses shod as long as it is almost 40 degrees. Don't have to worry about the nails freezing to my lips today.

Thanks for the replies
I have read about weighing hay but went with what the vet was telling me, she has horses so I trusted what she told me. I have a feeling that ration she recommends is a little small so I have been giving extra hay. The Qh is normal size but the mustang came to me a little heavy. After coming in off pasture the mustang dropped a lot of weight, that is another reason I increased hay, I figured it wasn't good for a horse to loose so much weight so quick. I have been keeping a watch on how they look and feel, so far they have been doing well but since they will eat anytime food is placed in front of them I don't want to over or under feed them.
A few people have told me that feeding oats when it gets below freezing will help the horse keep warm but I haven't read anything on the subject.
I didn't think the amount I give would do much for them other than give them something else to eat.
Without having the hay analyzed for nutritional value, how do I determine correct weight of hay based on the horses weight, is there a guideline like (X lbs of alfalfa hay per 100 lbs of horse)?
Thanks again for the help.

At a minimum, a horse should be fed 1.5% of its body weight in good quality hay. For a 1,000 lb horse that would be 15 pbs of hay. At this rate the average 1000 lb shouldn't lose any weight, it won't gain weight, it will just maintain. Of the 15 lbs at this rate, at least two thirds of that should come from roughage.

As far as alfalfa goes, it is probably the ideal horse hay if it is of high quality and put up in ideal conditions. If the quality isn't there and the haying conditions were less than ideal, it is a poor choice for horses. Alfalfa is high in protien, energy, and calcium. If a lot of alfalfa is fed, the horse should be on a phosperous supplement to keep the calcium to phospherous ratio in balance. As far as feeding alfalfa, it is important to maintain an almost free choice water supply. When a horse, or any animal, eats escessive protien, the extra protien leaves the body through the urinary system. The excess nitrogen from the protien is changed into the form of ammonia. That is where the ammonia smell comes from in cat litter boxes and in horse stalls. Increase the water intake and the ammonia smell goes away. If a horse is stalled and on alfafa, then the horse owner must chose between wetter stalls or the ammonia smell.

When I feed square bales, I figure one half of a bale per horse per day and that is fed in two feedings. This is coming from 75-80 lb bales. At this rate I am feeding about 3-4% of a horse's weight. I like to have hay in front of a horse at all times, they do pretty good at this rate for me. The ones in the lots this time of year have been on pastures all summer and are used to free choice grazing so they get free choice hay in round bales.

It is important to remember that a horse is supposed to be eating on an almost continual basis. Horses eat a while, rest a while, eat awhile, etc. This is how they were designed. If people ate that way we would all weigh 800 lbs. Our systems are designed differently, a horse is supposed to eat all day and all night. Fewer digestive problems come when they can eat all the time. If a person wants to restrict the amounts of feed given to a horse, they are better off feeding the horse small amounts 5-6 times a day rather than a flake in the morning and a flake at night. That is a long time to leave their stomachs empty.

I split my grain feeding into two parts, half in the morning and half in the evening. I give my horses a lot of hay in the morning before leaving for work, then a little more when I get home, and then a little more with their grain, and finally a little more just before I go to bed. This is about as close as I can get to giving them free-choice hay without allowing them to overeat.

I feed good quality 2nd/3rd cutting alfalfa/orchard grass hay. I have always figured that one bale (60 to 70 pounds) will feed three mature horses for one day. My three mature horses would eat the hay nonstop if I left it front of them all the time and would be fatter than hogs. The six month old colt pretty much does have free choice hay because he always still has hay in his rack when it's time to feed again. I also give the horses as much turn out time as possible each day; but my pasture quality isn't that great thus it is necessary to feed hay.

I also want to mention that I am fanatical about making sure my horses have access to water at all times. Water is such an important part of the physiological functions of horses. And many folks really overlook its importance.

NW
I like The Kentucky Equine site, lots of info to go through, Thanks.
I bumped the amount of hay that I feed up some. I wish I could be available to feed several small feedings but my work schedule doesn't allow that. I do make sure they always have clean water though.
I would like to use round bails but that is what got the mustang into trouble with her weight....she wont leave it alone. I thought about buying a few round bails of corn stocks and putting them in the dry lot just to give them something to do. I was told corn stalks have much nutritional value for a horse.

I like to feed my broodmares straight alfalfa the last 120 days of their gestation. I have found over the years that when I switch them to the straight alfalfa they eat none stop for about the first 3-4 days. After the initial period, their hay consumption actually goes down. They tank up on it right away and then they actually eat less after they get filled up. I feed 90% round bales at our place. I look at it that it is more cost effective for me to feed them extra hay than to spend more money on the square bales. I can't see feeding 15-25 head of horses square bales everyday.