free choice grain?

[Mac]

Sounds too dangerous for me. I could not see mine eating grain all day. Definitely asking for founder or colic. I would want to see alot more research before doing that.

[Range]

There actually IS a lot of research on it. It's not a new concept. Equus just wrote a new article about it.

If the horse can subsist on pasture, it likely doesn't need grain of any kind. This type of feed and feeding regimen is for horses on poor pasture as well as to make the lifestyle more natural.

I know about the all-in-one products and the free choice offering of such products from research a couple of years ago when we were in heavy drought...no grass, no hay. This type of feed and feed regimen is supposed to supplement poor pasture as opposed to having to load the horse up on grain carbs.

[Mac]

Are we talking about the same kind of feed? To me grain is oats or barley. Are you talking about oats or pelleted complete feeds (two completely different types of feeds)? I have not seen any research on giving horses 24/7 access to oats.

[Range]

Mac...98% of people consider "grain" any type of supplemental feed outside of forage.

[lbequ4002]

obviously I did not phrase my initial question very well. If you were to put your horses on this kind of program what would you use? Cottonseed hulls, beet pulp and maybe chopped alfalfa? I know the omelene 400 or whatever the "complete" feed is not really a cost effective option. It's about $9 a bag here.
I know of a halter horse guy down the road who has several huge broodmares and he has them on pasture and in the winter he has trough feeders like for cows out and no hay and the mares are fat and in foal every year.
Of course I don't want mine that fat but I am interested in what you could use for them to munch on continuously to reduce ulcers and keep them warm and satisfied. Mine get free choice hay but they still require grain to maintain their weight. I do have mostly tb's so that's probably why. They just go absolutely beserk for their feed and the alfa mare starts bossing etc. I was just curious if anyone has success with this kind of program. I'm not suggesting this be implemented with any modern "regular feed" that's designed for minimum bulk and more bang for your buck.

[Mac]

Originally Posted by Range

Mac...98% of people consider "grain" any type of supplemental feed outside of forage.

Not around here they don't. Here "grain" means actual grains: oats, barley, wheat, etc. Other feeds are what they are: pelleted feed (complete, senior, foal, etc), beet pulp, and so on. Must be a regional thing. Or a farmer thing as I'm a farmer

lbequ4002: I have never fed that type of feed. Mine just get excellent quality grass/alf mix hay and "oats".

[fishing_trex]

Around here, "grain"vis anything with grains in it, whether it be pelleted, whole, or extruded.

If I had horses that were harder keepers and decided to try this, I would not put out free choice grain-based high calorie/high carb feed of any kind. I might put out higher calorie roughage products, such as alfalfa or maybe the all-in-one products that are more fiber than anything else.

[Kelpie]

Originally Posted by Chrystalstar

I'm not a big fan of feeding grain at all. The only horses that get grain here are the ones that are truly underweight-- my old stallion, but he is also on senior feed, my young stallion who runs his weight off, and the weanlings get oats and foal ration. These horses all so get all the hay they can eat. The babies will be off grain by Jan, as I don't like them to grow to fast or get too fat as it's just not good for their joints. The rest of the horses do just fine on browse and hay in the winter.

unless old or worked hard enough no horse of mine gets grain. 'course I have a 1/4 horse and a shetland pony so..... if I had something less thrifty I might feed grain.

[Amy]

I read the article too... the concept being that once the horses realize the food will always be there, they self regulate based on appetite.

Here's my issue- besides the fact that I have one easy keeper and one very hard keeper- they just do not both need to be on the same diet, and they aren't stalled- I am a believer that horses really should have long-stem fiber in the form of hay or grass- everything I have read has indicated that it is necessary for their gut motility. I imagine that even if the horses are offered both the "grain" (whatever high fiber pellets are used) and hay, at least mine would choose the concentrate 100% of the time.

If I had unlimited resources, I would love to split my hard-kereper's feedings into 4 portions, or even free choice, but for my set-up, that would never work. My chubby mare would park herself at the grain and never leave, and even if she did leave... she stays chubby on nothing but bermuda hay and a vitamin supplement. Just smelling grain makes her fatter... I don't think it's a risk I'd be willing to take. My horses get free choice hay, and to me, that's enough to keep them occupied, warm, and full throughout the day.

[TDH]

If you're talking "grain", as in, the type most people think of - I would absolutely not consider it.

Complete feed or anything formulated to be such, is a different story. There's a place and a purpose for it, and done under proper management, is obviously fine to use.

Only one I have now that gets any grain what-so-ever is my coming-25 year old girl in my avatar. And then she only needs it for the coldest months, December - February. Free choice hay/mineral/water/pasture is all it takes for them to be fat and sassy, otherwise.

[cascy]

I couldn't find anything by purina that was to be feed free choice. I've never heard of the Nutrena "free choice" feed either...

Anyone care to educate me or happen to have a link?