Here in Laramie the winters can get severe. When the weather gets cold I like to feed roll mix or another grain. So this winter Fitch will be getting roll mix & good Elk Mt. grass hay.

I was wondering what others feed in the winter or if their feeding regimen changes.

[ 10-25-2003, 03:08: Message edited by: WyoJoe ]

Hey Joe,
I really like the rolled oats too. It's cheap and easy to handle. My horses really crave salt in the cold weather so I throw a scoop of it in with with the rolled oats.

I like to add in a little Equine Senior to the mix during the winter. Has worked for my horses for years.

In the cold weather I use Alfalfa/grass mix hay ( vs staight grass in the warmer months) Mares pregnant or nursing get the alfalfa blend year round.

I also start adding some soaked beet pulp to their diet. It helps with the water intake in cold weather when the horses don't like to drink as much. I mix it up with hot water and serve it steaming warm. It at least makes me feel like I'm helping them stay warm.

I can mix any suppliments in with the beet pulp and the horses eat it up. It typically how I add electrolytes to my horses in hot weather.

The beet pulp is cheap, highly fermentable, long fiber, has a different variety of minerals and vitamins than the grass hay. It can make up to 30% of your horses daily intake. I usually give them 1-2 pounds a day. I soak in in hot water for 30 minutes prior to feeding, But it can be feed dry.

It is a by-product from sugar production. It is whats left of the sugar beet after the sugar is removed. It comes in shredded and pellets. Pellets are more compact and easier to store.

I'll add a small amount of cracked corn but other than that I feed the same thing year round. Michigan alfalfa/brome mix hay and a pelleted concentrate called "Strategy". I went to pellets years ago after seeing too much grain going to waste out the waste end of the horse. I now feed less because the pellets are utilized whether the horse chews them completely or not.

I feed soaked sugar beet pellets mixed with rolled oats, plus ad lib hay; from oct. to apr.
We have 2 shire horses which are out- wintered, but at 20 and 22 they use some food this time of year... Oh and they get a couple of kilos of sheep nuts most mornings as well!

I like rolled oats about as good as anything..We feed a chip of alfalfa and a chip of oat hay...

I concur with Aspen Hill on the pelleted product such as Strategy. It's far superior to oats, etc. It provides vits and mins and is more fully utilized than the oats. We own a non-profit horse rescue and also have a trainer and boarders at our facility. We do only feed a pelleted product - we use Cadence - eastern WA grass (western WA grass is severely lacking in some key mins and trace elements) and good alfalfa. Each horse is different. We adjust the feed accordingly for winter wx.

Tony,

Oat hay is cut green with the developing seed heads.

Oat straw is left over AFTER they harvest the oats. The food value is much lower since plant put it all into the seed heads that have been removed.

[ 11-08-2003, 05:04: Message edited by: Painted Horse ]

Painted Horse,

Thanks for the info. It's been almost 20 years since my farmhand days, but if I remember correctly, we always harvested our oats to be fed to the dairy cows and baled the straw for bedding.

Wow, don't bring any of your horses up to Central BC. We just kick them out the door and go look for them in late March.

I go along with Ann. We don't change a thing and they all winter just fine. Grass is what's natural for a horse and we've never found a reason to supplement. As a matter of fact one of my mares is pregnant this year and our vet says the same thing in regards to her. The only reason I would feed anything but straight grass hay is because the bales are so hard to handle without them coming apart. A little alfalfa mix helps the grass get baled tighter and stay together.

But.....to each his own I guess. I've never heard of an animal doing badly when fed supplements either.

We don't get as cold as Wy but were up about 8000ft in the Black Forest area (shame we have to us Colorado Springs as a mailing city. I feed the same all year long and that alfalfa hay with a grain mix and add wheat gem oil with all the vitamins plus use a miro supplement. We only have 5.5 acres and they have big runs (45x60)off the barn stalls. I also have acouple 60x60 ft turn outs with cover and I have one big acre turn out plus a 100x300 arena. I try to get them out on the hot walker every day if not riding them. Hunting season and shooting varmits kind of changes things alittle. We show our horses in AQHA roping events so the barn is heated and they are pretty much is shape all year long. They are in evey night but turned out every day. Tom

winter i have always used a hot mash (have a cooker in the barn) and hay and alfalfa..i have 9 horses two jumper hunters the rest pleasure... one is a thoroughbred stud i had gelded named Dancer Man from the Native Dancer line huge chestnut nice horse too..warmer months i go to a sweet feed mix and hay/alfalfa and plenty of grass. i have 3 3acre fenced pastures two turnout rings one training ring and 560 acres of forest that i bulldozed with 25 miles of trails.. i use wood shavings for bedding and take the cleanout from the stalls and spread it on the trails..nice easy riding....lots of fun but lots of work also