my field ornament does need 2 grain feedins a day. He eats enough that it is much better for him to get it twice than 6-8 pounds at once , in my opinion. And since no one else here eats any grain at all right now, it is just this particular horse and something with his needs. All horses are different. Plus as stated with all the posts here, there seems to be very different opinions as to how long it really takes for all the junk to get out of their systems. I have worked with many off trackers. As someone else stated, I had some that bada bing
were wonderful, some needed more training than others, I personally just have never seen an off the tracker look worse weeks off the track, than better. Thats when the duke came to me, and he continued to look worse for a couple weeks (I did get the ones from a low budget Philly park trainer, so I know that made a difference too, they all came home looking like they were starving, so how could they not start looking better right away
). Not this horse, but the other ones I have worked with. It has been the reverse for me, they immediately started looking better within 2 weeks of coming home. Duke has been here since the end of June, he came off the track end of May, he is just now starting to gain weight, and not much at that. He does crib, which doesnt help, but he doesnt crib much since he is outside alot, and he is quite big. I havent measured him but at least 16.2 maybe more. I think Sock Monkey is right, it is just that some horse nned a ton of feed, it doesnt matter how bad grain is , protein is ,whatever, some horses just need a huge amount to maintain, and some dont. And the ones that need a large amount, no matter what all the nutritionalists say, it surely isnt more harmful for them, THEN TO not feed that much, and just watch them look worse and worse. I couldnt believe how much that Research Council book said to feed my horse, and that is a council that I believe is just for horses. The original poster, or one soon after, was talking about her mare that ate very good hay and feed, so maybe that mare justs needs tons more fat, you know. My t-bred mares, that dont eat any grain in the summer, eat 10-12% protein, 10% fat feed in the winter, with good hay, and thy look great, so they obviously dont need that much protein through their grain, they are getting plenty elsewhere, if they need it. This gelding just is a hard keeper. i thought my mares were hard keepers, now I know the true definition
I just dont know what else to do really, he has protein, he has fat, he has good hay, he has grass, and he does no work. As I stated before, he was originally a resell project, anyone want him
he will be a great foxhunter, dressage horse. After all the money I have spent on my rescue, I have a feeling I will be looking for a tax deductable donation to a theraputic (sp??)riding center here in the next couple months, if this horse doesnt turn out to be sound for serious riding after all the money I have spent
if anyone knows of one, the Duke is super sweet, super gentle, my 71 yr old mom can turn him in and out and give him baths, and with his size and beauty he would be a favorite with the kids or whoever is taking lessons. he needs a job, I think that would help him gain weight. There was about a week when he gained more weight, and looked sound, so I put a western saddle on him, and a snaffle and got on him. he was about as wonderful and sweet as you could ask for, I really had to get into him to get him to canter. Got both leads, canters both ways, etc. not the right forum, I'll stop, but if anyone is interested in a rescue that would be wonderful for all types of people to work with, who eats a whole lot of everything, I have one
Thoroughbreds eat more than QHs and when they are transitioning from race fit to less-than-race-fit they lose muscle mass and have to put on a lot of weight to make up for that.
Now I am spitting this verbatim per a few vets, but I have been told good quality hay and grass has all the vitamins, protein, fiber, energy and minerals a horse requires. Throw in a free choice mineral block and most should be set.
