How many lbs of feed at one time?

[martha sc]

I have a project horse that needs some weight and a top line. I don't own this fellow but will be his only rider. He is 12 yrs old, on pasture board, not been ridden in a year, low energy trail horse, but well enough put together and well behaved , and is a confirmed cribber . The farm owners pasture feed a low quality sweet feed once a day , this guy get his share, 4lbs per horse in tub around the pasture, and round bales off and on based on the pasture condition. Nothing about this is quality based. Horses are rotation wormed regularly and his teeth are done by a good dentist. His owner is aware of what is lacking but there are not any good alternative at this time for her horses.
I got a bag of Triple Crown Senior and have been pulling him out of the pasture and giving him a morning feed whenever I can and when ever I work him.
How many lbs of TC Sr can I give him in 1 feeding, if it is spaced out from the regular evening feeding ? He is not a big guy, narrow chest, looks Saddlebredish, about 15"2'. I think he could use 75lbs with a lot of muscle needed. The pasture has started coming in and soon he will have plenty of grass .
I am taking him on as a project, lunging , calories, a KER ration balancer. I love a project. I took before pictures, if I can figure out how, I will post them in a Project horse thread. I love a cause!

[Canyon]

The manufacturer's feeding directions say do not feed more than 5 pounds of Triple Crown Senior at a single meal. Elsewhere they state 5 pounds of Senior per day = 20 kitchen measuring cups per day.

Good luck with your project!

[Chisamba]

This is so timely, i was remonstrating with a friend who has been giving a horse five quarts of senior twice a day, i told her she was wasting it, as they do not digest fully if they get more then five pounds in a single feeding, which a three quart scoop is about four pounds. so, one and a half scoops of feed at a time, more or less, loosely

[martha sc]

Thanks,guys. I have been out of the horse care loop since i lost my heart horse 8 years ago.
I am looking forward to this project. I will be asking for advice on all sorts of training issues. He is polite, knows very little other than going along with the group on a trail ride, and has had someone be harsh with him at sometime, When grooming, He keeps a worried eye on me, like he thinks I might get scary .He is a bit head shy. I'm going real slow, when i get a few more lbs. on him, and he is more confident with me, I'm going to start some light lunging .
He has NO back.

[Koolkat]

It is my understanding that ~5 pounds is the horse's stomach capacity and you will be "spilling" undigested feed in to a horse's intestine if you overfeed. This is not good for gut bacteria equilibrium and can cause problems.

[martha sc]

Thanks, all.
I have been giving him about 4 lbs, I will stick with that. I did notice that after the last feeding when i turned him back out , he went to his usual cribbing spit, licked the fence, then walked away, no cribbing !
Wonder if the omega 3, no sugar feed is having that effect already? The usual feed is corn based, no fat molasses.

[texsuze]

I've used the TC helpline (customer service?) several times, always with good advice and information about using their products. I believe it was Tracy who helped me, although it has been a while since I've phoned. I would contact Triple Crown to get their input about your situation. Best of luck with this project!

[Quelah]

Just a suggestion. Most senior feeds are sort of complete diet oriented, meaning they're mean to be fed in fairly large quantities = not very calorically dense. You might get better results feeding something that's more of a concentrate than a complete diet. I've always had good luck with my skinnies feeding Purina Ultium and (gasp shock horror) Calf Manna. And a flax based oil, my theory being that if you're going to add oil for fat, might as well use one that brings something to the party. This is the one I've always (and still do) use. http://www.equiforce.com/omegatri-horse ... ent-1.aspx

Good luck with your new friend