Update on feeding draft horses

We have made a couple of small changes to the preceding recipe.

One is that we have removed the black oil sunflower seeds.  We did not see a significant difference in condition with BOSS, so why feed it?  We will stick with flax, which has proven itself over the years.

Another is that we have been experimenting with using alfalfa chaff in place of the pellets or cubes.  We have alfalfa bales on hand for dairy animals, so we gather chaff from the fallen leaves or from cutting stems with pruning shears.  Why not?  It's here, and it doesn't take much.  We use two big fat handfuls per 1200 pound horse, and add it to the crushed oats and ground flax, along with the oil and vinegar.

One other small adjustment was to figure feed amounts based on weight, since we have both large and small drafts: figuring 1/2 cup per 600 pounds of horse gives a whole cup each of oats and flax for the smaller drafts, and a cup and a half each for the large draft.  For convenience in measuring, it is also useful to know that half a cup of oats is approximately equal to one cup or one big handful of crushed oats, so if you crush them in advance, you can measure it out by the handfuls or in a cup measure. Crushing the oats almost doubles their bulk.  Also, when using chaff, we allow one big fat handful per 600 pounds of horse; with pellets, it would be 1/2 cup.  This all makes measuring feeds easier.  The flax we always measure and grind at the last minute, since ground flax doesn't keep well.  Also, when using chaff, it is easier to mix it in last.

We are using 1/8 cup oil per 600 pounds of horse, and 1/8 cup or less of apple cider vinegar, also per 600 pounds of horse.  We still mix the vinegar into the oats ahead of time when we can, to allow it to help deactive phytates, which can inhibit mineral absorption.

One way or another, the feed is still moistened so it is crumbly, neither dusty nor wet.  We use hot water on cold days, just so the feed isn't ice cold when fed.

So in summary it looks like this for a 1200-pound horse:

1 cup whole oats, crushed (or two fat handfuls or two cups if measuring after crushing)
1 cup whole flax, ground
2 big fat handfuls alfalfa chaff (which is probably a quart)
1/4 cup good oil
1/8 -1/4 cup raw cider vinegar
water enough just to moisten  (1/2 to 1 cup)

Mix everything really well.  Yum.  Your horse will follow you to the ends of the earth for this stuff.

Feeding Draft Horses

This is our current recipe for feeding our draft horses. 

This recipe is for one draft horse, and is fed once per day.

1 cup alfalfa cubes or pellets
1 cup whole oats
1 cup black oil sunflower seeds (with shells)
1 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup oil (preferably good coconut oil)

1. Combine the alfalfa cubes or pellets with an equal measure of water and leave to soak for a few hours to soften. Pellets are easier than cubes, but cubes have a longer stem and thus provide more bulk and fiber.

2. Crush the oats in a mill just enough to crack the hulls; combine with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup water.  Mix and leave to soak for a few hours if time permits.  This allows the vinegar to work on neutralizing the phytic acid in the oats.  If we don't get around to this step for some reason, we just crush the oats and add the vinegar when we mix the whole recipe together.

3. At feeding time, grind the sunflower seeds in a blender.  Do the same with the flax, and mix everything together: the ground sunflower seeds, the ground flax seeds, the rehydrated alfalfa cubes (or pellets), and the crushed oats.  Mix this well, breaking up any lumps that remain if using alfalfa cubes.

4. Add oil, and any supplements, as desired.  We add, among other things, 1/2 cup of diatomaceous earth for each horse.

This makes a little over two quarts of finished feed for the horse, and is a nice bulky ration that our horses all like very well. 

Because we are feeding draft horses, we wanted a feed that is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, to minimize the chances of their encountering equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (EPSM), an affliction to which heavy breeds are apparently susceptible.  (For more information, see here:  http://ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/epsm.htm)

We also wanted a feed that is made, as much as possible, from natural ingredients that are whole foods and that we could produce, theoretically at least, here on the farm if need be.  Except for any added oil, these ingredients pass that test: we could grow oats and flax and sunflower seeds, if we had to, and I guess we could break up some alfalfa hay to combine it with, in a pinch.

Flax has been a constant in our feeds over the last few years.  It puts a glorious shine on the horses, reduces skin sensitivities, and is also good for their hooves.