Letting down racehorses, feeding hard keepers...

[cardicorgi]

So you got yourself a racehorse. Now what?

This is a thread (hopefully) that will have tips on transitioning horses from the track to their new lives. Please feel free to add, or discuss.

This article comes courtesy of a cyber friend of mine who has trained and raced horses for 30 years. There is also a link to another article she wrote about feeding. Please have a look!

[ftp]http://big_tees_horses_more.tripod.com/Soyouwanna.htm[/ftp]

[cardicorgi]

and the article jennywho posted:

[ftp]http://horsecare.stablemade.com/_articles/tb_off_track.htm[/ftp]

[cardicorgi]

Some more wise words from a very OTTB and TB-experienced horse person, who gave advice to a poster whose OTTB was, she thought, too thin, and was feeding a high-fat grain and was just starting him on beet pulp. ;D (permission to crosspost was granted)

Why are you feeding only HiFat? The reason I ask is because it is not really a "grain" per se, but a ration balancer which is supposed to be for horses who really don't need much grain and is designed to be used as a supplement. I don't like the high protein content when you have to feed him so much. 25% is way too high. The formulation is much like Buckeye's Ultimate Finish and the max of that you are supposed to feed is 3 pounds/day but IN ADDITION to the regular ration. If you like the PN products, perhaps a better choice would be to put him on a regular ration. Not only will it promote faster weight gain, but it will be better for him. I like the formulation of their Sport Horse. It's 12% protein/10% fat is much more in line with nutrition recommendations. I will hazard a guess that you are going to need to feed him more than 6 pounds a day, but then you can drop some of the other stuff.

Almost all of the feed manufacturer's now offer some type of high fat concentrate (grain) so you could check out some of the others to see if they are cheaper in your area. Nutrena makes XTN, Purina makes Ultium (that's pretty pricey though) Southern States (Agway) has Equitech 10. IME though, which includes managing a 40+ TB farm, most TB get along great on plain old pellets such as Purina Strategy (14% protein/7% fat). You do have to feed them enough, most will eat between 5-8 pounds a day, some more. But it's a lot cheaper than most of the higher fat formulas even if you have to feed them more of it. I know the current fad is to try and feed no grain at all, but honestly, it's not realistic for most TB unless you have them on EXCELLENT pasture and EXCELLENT hay. Even then, most need at least some grain. If you find that you need to feed more than 10 pounds a day (yes, lots of TB need that much), then you can start adding other things in, such as beet pulp or even a dry fat supplement such as Cool Calories.

You have to remember a few things about TB. First, they are a far cry from their wild cousins that many people say they should be able to eat like. They are generally large horses and that alone will make them require more calories than some others. 17 hands and 1300 pounds is going to require more to feed than 14.3 and 900 pounds. That should go without saying, but unfortunately, in needs to be said far too often. Number two, for centuries TB have been bred to race and so they are what one would consider a "hot" breed. They have a much higher metabolism than the average QH or Appaloosa, even most Warmbloods. Again, more calories. Add the two factors together and it adds up to a lot more to maintain adequate weight.

For as those who complain that if they feed their horse too much grain, the result is "rocket rides", it has been my experience that training and turnout has way more to do with how a horse reacts under saddle than what you feed them. Of course, if they are not getting enough to eat, their energy level will decrease, but the phrase "starved into submission" has absolutely no place in the modern horse world and in effect, by cutting calories to reduce the energy level, that's what you are doing. If they haven't been properly retrained after coming from the track, naturally they think that when you get on they are supposed to run, run, run! That's what they have been taught to do. Also, if they are kept ina stall most of the time as happens in many boarding situations, they have to release that pent-up energy sometime. That time is usually when they get taken out of the stall to be ridden. "Yeehaa!!! I'm OUT!! Let's have FUN!!" If you want a horse to behave under saddle, get him trained and get him outside. Simple.