Diet Critique/Questions...Suggestions?

  The diet information has no value to us until you tell us in pounds how much of each item you are feeding.  All the feeds will have different weights with the same volume so each one has to be weighed individually.  Give us the amount of dry BP. 
 
  On the surface the diet appears to have an inverted Ca.  Too much P not enough Ca (your goal should be 2:1 on a deficient horse).  Also, the mineral block is of no value other than a salt source.

I heard a seminar once by a vet who said there are people with PhD's who formulate complete feeds for feed companies.  When we start adding this, mixing that, we are presuming to know more than those people who have studied for years and make a living off of formulating feed. Having heard that, I stopped mixing this, mixing that and my herd gets one Senior Feed, which is expensive but they eat VERY little of it and stay fat, plus all they can eat hay.
You know you can run Matamucil/wallmart equivelant through your mare a few times a year to help prevent sand colic.  If I was in sand, I'd do that.  As it is, I try to do it anyway once a year or so.... 
Yep, pounds of feed. 
By the way, your horse looks GREAT!!!

Sorry about that! I will get the weights for you guys tonight when I head out to the barn

The diet that I put up there was recommended by several vets that I spoke with and we have also discussed putting her on SR feed as soon as she is at a comfortable weight. Just figured I'd ask if anyone else had experience with switching over, etc

Will have weights tonight! Promise

A horse normally needs minimum 3% body weight (more if it is working, cold weather, etc.) in food. So, if your horse would normally weigh 400kg (900 lb) then it should be getting about 12kg food per day. You haven't given the weights, but if you are using anything like a normal scope size then I'm guessing that she is getting a lot less than this. So, this is just a supplement and you are also giving her hay and grass? Need to know all of what she is eating and how much to make an intelligent response.
 
One can buy a tape measure that goes around the girth of a horse to approximately calculate weight. The exact amount isn't important, but a measure like this is helpful in terms of an approximate indication of how much the weight is changing from week to week, so that you can track.
 
In terms of adding weight, I normally use mash mixed with warm water, but if you've get a specific professional recommendation, I would stick with what you are being told unless there is a specific issue.
 
With pellets, they should always be soaked before feeding (10 or so minutes in warm water will do). Otherwise, some horses can choke on them when eating. Also, large quantities of unsoaked pellets can cause bloat (they expand a lot when they hit the liquids in the stomach).
 
If you are giving the right amount of food but the horse is not putting on weight at the expected rate, can look at other possibilities, such as:
- dental issues restricting amount of hay or grass being eaten
- needs worming. Note that even if the horse has been wormed recently, this may not be enough as horses which are run down or which have not been previously wormed for a long time may need a double-worming initially.
- some health issue preventing her from metabolising her food correctly
 
My advice is to check the total quantity of food she is getting and use a measure (costs just a couple dollars) to track weight (worth writting down to build a trend history). If not getting the expected results, increase quantity and/or check alternative causes.

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hi, I have an OTT thoroughbred that i had gotten in march of this year. He was very skinny!! he is 16.2 hh and he only weighed 930 lbs!  I did the vet check, teeth float, and wormer.... thats when we started on the feed, at first i did what you are doing with all the mixing and i did see some good results, but they were slow... i had a chance to talk with a sales rep from purina feeds at our local co-op and he convinced me into trying Purina Stratagy, and wow! i am amazed at the results! i do not need to add any supplements other than a mineral block !! I feed 6lbs 2x a day. and he also has free choice hay... I just put the weight tape on him 3 days ago, he is up to 1125!!  now all i have to do is work on some muscle!! strategy is the only feed we use now for all our horses!  good luck I hope this info may help!! 

Great to hear another success story chrisandbk!!! 
 
I use ADM SeniorGlo. 

Hello i got my mare when she was 6yrs old she was under weights she was 950lbs when she was hauled to my barn...... i started her on  Intensify Senior Therapy Textured is a dust-free feed specially designed for seniors and dust sensitive horses. The product contains 14% protein with 8% fat and may be used for growth, performance, breeding and maintenance
horses of all ages. Intensify Senior Therapy may be fed as a complete feed without hay or pasture but may also be used with hay or pasture if desired. This Bluebonnet "Safe-Carb" product combines Stride and ReSTORE digestive supplements with a low carbohydrate and low starch formula. The added vegetable oils provide extra calories from our "Cool Energy" sources for maximum performance and appearance.
 
She would get 2coops Am & pm feeding with 8oz od boostem its a supplement that gives the horse engery and helps then add on weight but at a slow pace, 2oz of rice bran maxie glo and 3 flakes of hay am pm plus she was in a pasture for 30mins a day. I did this for a year before she was at a good weight...After she was at the weight she needed to be for her size i slowly cut her back to a scoop and gave her 8oz of the rice bran and 2flakes of hay and outside all day on 10acer pasture...... And now Fancy is 12yrs old and is @ 1290lbs
she is the bucksin in my pics........
 
 
There is a lady at my barn that brings in very very thin horses and rehabiltates them and just watching her she doesnt feed them alot @ first, she slowly starts them on grain and alot of hay (she brought in a mare once that was a bag of bones and she started her on grain (not much grain like a half of scoop and all the hay the mare wanted she did this for 4months till the mare was ready to eat more(she tryed to bump up the mares feed but each time she did the mare would colic.....so she stayed at a half of scoop till she was ready. she is now eating a scoop of feed with half of scoop of maxi glo and is at a wonderful weight she is a healthy and happy horse
 
good Luck your horses is very pretty