feeding Charlie

Equine nutrition is kinda an enormous area of study. Especially if you have a special-needs horse, it can end up being pretty complicated too. There are so many companies promising magical results with their concentrated feeds, supplements, top dressings, nutra-ceuticals... you name it, it's out there.

I'm not much of an expert on this area, to be honest, and generally have a philosophy of, "Don't mess with it if it ain't broke!"

 

supplement cups -- slightly more sustainable than baggies, but takes up way more space

Charlie is not a special-needs horse when it comes to nutrition -- he doesn't have any restrictions, sensitivities or limitations or anything like that. No metabolic issues etc. 

And, somehow, somewhat luckily perhaps, once we got him over the hump of his initial let down from the track, he's generally done quite well with a fairly simple meal plan that's remained virtually unchanged for 4 years. 

nutrena pro force fuel is charlie's base feed

We made the decision early on at the recommendation of a vet to switch Charlie from Triple Crown Senior to Nutrena's Pro Force Fuel (12% protein, 10% fiber, 13% fat). 

It was that vet's opinion that because of Charlie's sheer size, we'd possibly need to balance between feeding enough calories for his weight while not risking too-large meal sizes. And she felt that the Fuel is a denser feed per pound than some other stuff on the market.

it's comparable to a lot of senior feeds on the market, but packs a little more 'bounce per ounce'

That made sense to me, plus I'd already seen a number of thoroughbreds (and Isabel) do extremely well on this particular feed previously. So we made the switch and never looked back. 

Actually, tho, these days Charlie's eating a little less of it daily -- about 2.5ish lbs per meal, twice daily (roughly amounts to three 50lb bags every four weeks). He seems to really love it and looks great, so barring any sort of shift in his general health I don't see this changing any time soon.

run of the mill alfalfa pellets added to every meal (soaked)

Similarly, Charlie also gets ~1lb of soaked alfalfa pellets with every meal. Alfalfa is 100% not a solution for every horse (esp horses that tend toward getting too hot or fizzy) but imo it's generally pretty good stuff. Seems to work well for supporting gastric and muscular health. 

Charlie doesn't love the taste of the alfalfa pellets on their own, but will almost always lick his bucket clean when it's mixed with the Fuel. 

One note about the alfalfa pellets tho: I've been told that it's critical to wet the pellets and give them at least a few minutes to soften before feeding to the horse to avoid risking a choke. 

really would love an alternative to disposable baggies for daily supplements, but haven't found the right storage fix yet

Honestly, Charlie probably gets most of everything he needs from just those two components. But.... For most months out of the year, I like to add in a couple supplements too. Mostly with an eye toward hoof health, plus some seasonal additives like electrolytes.

platinum performance -- charlie gets one full scoop per feeding

I first starting supplementing Charlie's feed with Platinum Performance wayyyy back in the early days in 2016. The stuff is basically glorified expensive flax, as far as I can tell, but honestly Charlie always seems to do super well on it. It's also a nice catch-all to make sure Charlie isn't missing out on any important vitamins or minerals. 

Various different farriers, vets, and trainers have all independently recommended this stuff and it's just a solid supplement for general wellness. It's a little pricey -- one 25lb/5gal bucket is about $150+ -- but it lasts a long time. 

farrier's formula -- charlie get's 2/3 cups per feeding

The other mainstay in Charlie's supplement packs is Farrier's Formula, also something he's been on for almost the whole time I've owned him (with just a few gaps here and there). 

Lots of people tend to swear by this particular supplement. It's basic purpose is to help ensure the horse is growing a good hoof. There's only so much you can do to promote good hoof health for the hoof that's already grown, ya know? Like, topical treatments like Keratex can only go so far if the horse doesn't have the nutrition and ingredients necessary at the point of growth. 

And... Yea, that's basically it. It's kinda a simple meal plan --- bolstered in no small part by absolutely phenomenal grazing during the summer months, and plenty of free choice hay in the winter. 

plus obvi all the free choice forage he likes during turnout (and in his stall -- he has two hay nets that i keep full)

I've also experimented with various other additives over the years -- electrolytes during the summer months, MSM every now and then when I remember, various oil-based top dressings, other muscle- or topline-related supplements.... 

But, mostly I just keep coming back to what I've written above. Possibly bc mixing out supplement baggies in advance is absolutely my least favorite task omg kill me, so anything not 100% mission critical gets cut out LOL. 

Also tho... Honestly, I try to take my cues from Charlie about what he needs. And ya know. The horse is, by all appearances, well fed lol. 

He's got a soft shiny coat - even when absolutely covered in dust and shedding, like below. He grows good hair and hoof, only really suffering in the hoof department in conjunction with seasonal changes (sugary wet grass; hard ground). He holds muscling well, and generally appears "well upholstered" haha. 

imho i think he's doing pretty well with this nutrition plan!

So that's basically good enough for me. Every now and then I'll talk through his nutrition and supplements with various members of his team (vets, trainers, farriers, wellness practitioners, etc) and they all seem to sorta agree that his bases are covered. 

Tho ya know, as always -- I'm not ruling out any changes in the future. It's possible we'll experiment more with feed through joint support at some point. I also know of folks who feed supplements intended to repel biting insects and pests and stuff. Or maybe I'll try another top-line builder again eventually (I liked that it made Charlie run a little hotter LOL). 

So in that vein, I'm always curious to hear what other people like to use as supplements. Obvi every horse reacts to things slightly differently and nutritional needs can vary greatly by region... But. yea, always curious. Is there anything that you always make sure to add to your horse's diet? Does your horse also get concentrated grain, or maybe you're able to avoid that all together? I've often thought about adding a ration balancer too (if only I had more storage space!) -- have you used one in your feeding program?

Or, unrelated to the feed itself... I'm also always super curious how people manage storage solutions for this stuff. My barn requires we premeasure our own supplements and I honestly loathe that task haha. Plus have first world guilt about using disposable thin-film plastic baggies for the job. But the plastic tubs I use don't fit nicely into the 5gal bucket I have for storage -- I can only make about a week's worth at a time. Maybe I need to find some sort of square drawer or square tupperwares?? Lmk if you have a more elegant solution LOL!