what to give to make a horse eat

[OldGreyMare]

as you are all talking about feeding mashes, my question is what do you put in them and how much? oats, vitamins, etc. etc...

  lol bran mashes = bran plus whatever else you want to throw in there.  How about a bran/alfalfa cube mash to balance the calcium/phosphorous?  That's what my riding horses get in the winter.

[BabyFireFly]

  lol bran mashes = bran plus whatever else you want to throw in there.  How about a bran/alfalfa cube mash to balance the calcium/phosphorous?  That's what my riding horses get in the winter.

Yes, the high calcium content in the alfalfa would balance the phos. in the bran - and as long as the alfalfa is fed in responable amounts to avoid excess protein, it would be the correct solution to the inverted values. Here is how you can figure out if you have an inverted value or not based on the fact that you need AT LEAST one part (more is better) calcium for each part phosphorus:

Convert the number of each feedstuff's weight from pounds to kilograms (Divide pounds by 2.2)

Multiple the numbers by the calcium / phos content of each feed. So say you are feeding 15.4lb of hay with .30% calcium and .19% phos. That would be 7kg x .30 = .021kg or 21 grams (.021 kg x 1000) and using the same formula the phos content in grams would be 13.3 grams.

21 grams calcium to 13.3 grams phos. = about 1.5 (21 divided by 13.3) Which is a suitable ratio - but you have to do that with everything they eat on a daily basis, so convert all their feed (hay, oats, bran, supplements, etc) into kg, multiple by the cal/phos % in each one and convert to grams - add all the grams of each to find the total amount (in grams) of calcium and phos. and then divide the total grams cal. by total grams phos. for your actual ratio.

Average amounts for common feedstuff:
Alfalfa 1.24 Cal / .22 Phos
Timothy .43 Cal / .20 Phos
Beet Pulp (Unsoaked) .62 Cal / .09 Phos
Wheat Bran .13 Cal / 1.13 Phos (Rice Bran is higher)
Oat Based Grain .05 Cal / .34 Phos

[OldGreyMare]

........huh?  .........So does 1 can of each work?

[OldGreyMare]

  .  Hang on had to modify.  Be right back.  lol  
Had to crop out the picture. Luckily I noticed the sign tacked to the barn in the background with my cell # in case of emergency back when I had the mare/foal turned out.  That's all I would have needed, was every ***hole on here having access to my cell.     If you can read the other # that's my home phone.  Have fun with that one.. no answering machine and I rarely use it... plus has caller ID and I can trace. 

  Anyway.  Here's a pic of my 29 yr old mare from last winter.  Been feeding 1 Can alfalfa cubes and 1 Can bran mash every winter for 11 years now.  Instead of driving myself to drink trying to figure calculations, I just go by how my horses look.  lol 

[BabyFireFly]

I know it seems like a ridiculous thing to figure out, but I learned to do it (and I'm HORRIBLE at math) when my now 29 year old OTTB foundered years ago and developed mystery lameness in his hind legs. If you are feeding one can of alfalfa and one can of bran, obviously the can of alfalfa is more dense then the bran, so you would be creating a higher ratio of alfalfa to bran....and your ratio would not be inverted.

That horse looks very good for it's age btw...

[Sallyjo]

Equine ARS (appetite response system) works great.  20 cc  15 minutes before feeding. then once they get used to the taste you can squirt it on there feed they will start eating. Worked for my horses.

[dennycrane]

firefly  it is a good thing it is not as difficult to feed a horse as you make it sound......if this were true there would only be a couple of you that were smart enough to even feed one.....best thing to do is let the horse be a horse!!!