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We have three horses and a pony now that are ours.

Arab mare has finally got weight on her with the other mares gone and no longer chasing her away from the food.

I get carrots delivered once a week. Is one feeding of carrot treats ok or would you recommend more? 50lb bag I usually divide up into two feedings.

Also feed a combination of fat and fiber oats with surmount pellets every three days. This is for all of them not just the mare. Free choice round bale of hay in a hay feeder.

All of them are now in the winter paddock. I am putting blankets on the mare and pony. Vet suggested mare always have one.

When the other horses were here the owners only brought up carrots once a week and dumped the whole bag out.

Sounds like a good program. We had a Tennessee walker that we had to either wait for him to eat his grain, or put him in a stall to make sure he got his share (gotta love that pecking order) We also spread some hay around so everyone could eat (maybe the same with carrots?)

At first we were putting out 3 round bales at a time so all eight horses could eat but even then my mare got run off.

Carrots are spread out so they all got some. And I always kept some back so I could feed my guys some later.

Now that its just the four my mare is still run off by the three geldings but shes standing her ground more. Stuck her ass in the face of the mustang, raised tail and farted on him when he tried to push her off hahaha

Grain is fed to each separately. I wish I had a barn and stalls. We have a huge run in. Could actually get in trouble for how big it is. Never got a permit to build it. Luckily its hidden by a line of trees. They all stand inside when its nasty out.

We built a hay feeder at the fence so we can load a bale without bringing the tractor into the paddock. Working good so far. And I haven't seen any fighting to access hay.

I like having them all close to the house. Easier to do checks when I dont have to wonder 100 acres. And hopefully no more encounters with porcupines.

We only feed carrots cut up into small pieces as an occasional treat.

If they don't fully chew them they can cause choking. Horses don't need to eat carrots and too many can have a negative effect on their diet. That's what the experts have told me.

That's exact what I was told about apples.

We only feed carrots once a week and now that theres just the four of them they dont rush to eat them. We also spread them out a good distance so they can have their fair share without any other horse around.

The gelding I have that I was told is a Tennessee Walker chokes bad because he rushes to eat. Again a result if to many horses fighting over the food. Hes been good since the herd came down in number and I always put out more bins of grain than horses and spread out far from eachother. I could also bring each one into the shelter separately to eat if I want to.

I've never owned horses before but was in a Pony club and learned alot. Just some things seem to have changed or be different now. Unlike goats and cows, horses produce stomach acid constantly and that's why they graze non stop. I read about just feeding hay twice a day if I was using squares. I prefer to feed rounds and letting them eat when they want to. So far no fights at the bale feeder. AMD the feeder stops them from spreading out the hay and using it to lay on.

I should have a few bales of straw delivered soon to put in their shelter if they want to lay down lol.

Lol. I misunderstood. I thought you were feeding 50 pounds of carrots a day in two feedings. That seemed like a lot.

I was also told the same with apples.

We have one that had a pretty bad choke and has had colic more than once and just about died the last time so we are very careful.

Our gelding would definitely be possessive of his food. He eats in his stall.

I must produce stomach acid constantly because I like to graze all day.

I thought you were feeding 50 pounds of carrots a day in two feedings. That seemed like a lot

In sorry I should have been more clear.

I get one 50lb bag delivered per week. I'll do about half the bag (also throwing in some for the goats) then wh will spread out the rest of bag a day later.

My mare knows what day the carrots come because she will toss her head around and whinny non stop until I come back with some.

Is there a way you could feed her separate from the others so she can gain more weight? You might want to consider investing in a paneled pen for this reason.

What type of hay do you feed?

I had horses for years at a high altitude in Colorado.... aka cold. Horses use up a lot of calories keeping warm.

On cold days/night more high quality hay. For hard keepers special concentrates to help add calories. Ask your vet for recommendations. We never fed carrots/apples as a food. Only as an occasional treat.

How do they get water?

Since the other mares left my mare has gained alot of weight and looks amazing. Shes also on three feeds recommended by a vet and another horse owner.

RX roughage

Extra fat and fiber

Masterfeeds Surmount pellets

I mix one cup of veg oil into the feed and two scoops of McIntosh proline weight gain supplement.

Water is given via a 150 gallon trough. Its topped up daily. I empty and clean out weekly.

Hay is Timothy.

Wormed in the spring and I just wormed all of them this fall.

I was taking her out to a small pen daily to feed her while the mares were here. Gaining weight over the summer wasnt an issue because she had 100 acres to graze on prime pasture plus being taken out to feed grain. Winter has always been the hard time for her because even with three bales out they all chased her away.

The boys dont bug her much, just the pony. Hes a fiery one.

When the vet was last here he recommended making sure she always had a blanket on, if nothing else a rain sheet. I have the rain sheet. The supply stores i go to haven't had her size in winter blankets in stock. I have one on order.

Dragn, about the blanket always on. Some horses who wear blankets every day in the paddock, will gradually scrub off most of the hair around their withers, due to their activity. I've even seen ugly infections of the skin where a heavy selvage edge of a blanket had pulled or rubbed across their withers or front shoulder joint. If you can, look into a stretch/breathable undersheet, because a traditional blanket by itself, worn constantly, can be risky with fine-coated critters like an Arab or Thoroughbred.

I have no idea how many carrots is ok to feed...depends on the csrrot, I guess?

Hope you are doing ok, too.

I've always been worried about her ripping off the blanket or just rubbing it until she breaks it off. Shes lost quite a few halters. She will throw her head around with a shake and roll (I need to get it on video she looks so weird) and rub it until it comes off or breaks. She only lets me put on a halter if I have a treat with me.

I could blanket her at night for added warmth then take it off during the day. I'll get an undersheet, thank you for the suggestion

I've seen 1 or 2 carrots recommended per day is ok.

Personally, we don't blanket our horses. This allows them to grow a nice thick winter coat. We have a shelter they can go into. We also have an unheated barn we can put them in if needed. They stay outside 95 percent of the time, even at -40.

I am out with the horses now. They flipped the water trough....how I have no clue but its filling now.

None of these horses have ever had a blanket on. The three that came with the other five owned by our friends had been left on 400 acres with a stream, and had bales put out for them in the winter. Literally no handling for years.

As the vet put it the pony at least needs a refresher in manners lol

They all do!.

Here she is in front. Big guy in the back is "Old Man"

You can just see the scarring on her rump from what we believe was a cougar attack. Friend had been renting the land where the three other horses were for their five horses and spent a year treating the wounds. One side was gashes from the claws, the other side had a gaping hole where a chunk was bitten off.

[This message edited by DragnHeart at 9:27 AM, November 6th (Friday)]

Poor girl. Hope the cougar got a good kick for that.

One thing with horses. If it can be flipped over, they'll find a way to flip it over.

Our horses sure have done some crazy things over the years.

I don't know how the cougar faired from the attempt but he didnt get his full meal.

I was told it was raining that night she got attacked. Have heard of other cougar attacks in the past few years too.

This mare NEVER stays with the herd. Ever. I'll see the boys all out by the pond and shes on the other side of the field. Stubborn that way.

That water trough was 3/4 filled last night. They must have been pushing and shoving around the hay feeder to knock it over. I've moved it now further away. In the 4-5 years they have been here they have never knocked this over.

First time for eveything. Horses are pretty clever. Lol

Love your pics. We have Thoroughbreds. Several easy keepers , several not but ours are Ridden competitively so high fat feed is very important. The more fit they are the better their feed has to be. Our vet has had us add crimped oats sometime... Feeding 3 times a day is important when they need weight. We are very particular and do not allow mares to be with geldings. Actually since they are competition horses and we try to do everything to keep them from getting hurt, we have the each in a separate paddock. They eat in their stall and we do square bales.. not sure where you live... we plant winter grass and summer grass. Carrots have sugar. We limit sugar in take and just use both carrots and apples for treats. We blanket but watch their skin ... you don’t want rain rot under the blanket and you not know it. I’m watching one run through the field now. Enjoy them!,

Love your pics. We have Thoroughbreds. Several easy keepers , several not but ours are Ridden competitively so high fat feed is very important. The more fit they are the better their feed has to be. Our vet has had us add crimped oats sometime... Feeding 3 times a day is important when they need weight. We are very particular and do not allow mares to be with geldings. Actually since they are competition horses and we try to do everything to keep them from getting hurt, we have the each in a separate paddock. They eat in their stall and we do square bales.. not sure where you live... we plant winter grass and summer grass. Carrots have sugar. We limit sugar in take and just use both carrots and apples for treats. We blanket but watch their skin ... you don’t want rain rot under the blanket and you not know it. I’m watching one run through the field now. Enjoy them!,