I have tried every kind of formula for 4 months trial and have not found anything that I feel has made my 20 yr old QH look fit. I was told by a purina rep to try their brand new feed Strategy Senior coming out Nov 2011 but it will be quite expensive and I need to feed 3 lbs twice dailyand I have no problem with that if it works. My gelding has lost muscle tone and looks terrible on Triple crown. I have tried all the senior feeds. He has been to MSU for bloodwork and X rays and has arthritis in his hocks but nothing other than that except some age related navicular changes.  I was told a 16 % protein with 8 % fat might work but have yet to find it in a pelleted feed in Michigan. He does get free choice hay and will eat any kind of feed or supplement. Any suggestions?

Sorry, I quoted the Purina name that was recommended to me wrong. It was Purina Strategy Health Edge that was recommended for my 20 yr old.

Wow, That's a lot of hay per horse.  2% of 1000lbs = 20lbs of hay.  So unless you have really large horses, it sound like you are feeding 3 - 3.5% of their body weight. I'd have to paint strips on my horses if I fed that much so I could tell them apart from the propane tanks.

I agree with the feeding good quality hay. I rarely ever give my horses anything other than good hay.  I bring sweet mix up into the mountains, Because they are working hard and not always able to graze as much while working. I just can't pack enough hay cubes into hunting camps to feed enough. So they get a little grain in camp to add calories.  Also  a little grain on the mountain makes the horses easier to catch. But at home it's straight hay.

In the winter I will soak some beet pulp in hot water and feed on cold days.  More for the fact of getting more water into the horse when its cold than for any nutritional input.

I feed Purina Healthy Edge to my 5-9 year olds and they are doing well on it. I feed Triple Crown Senior to my 16 year old and she has gained a good amount of weight, was feeding her Triple Crown Low Starch prior but her weight was starting to lack. Some feeds work for different horses and situations. I wish there was an easy fix to your situation. Have you thought of adding a high fat top dress?

I should clarify about how much hay I feed my horses. They currently get so much due to the fact I have 0% pasture. We bought a new farm last year and were unable to plant pasture until this past May due to the fact it was being crop farmed in the fall and a horribly wet spring. My three horses are currently on a 1/3 acres dry lot that doesn't even have a single blade of grass in it. I feed three 35 lb. bales of hay per day to three foundation bred quarter horses as well as 1 lb. per head per day of ration balancer. I would recommed feeding about 2% of body weight on average but with a horse with weight issues would go higher with no qualms as long as they were cleaning it up.

This provides my horses with an adequate amount of roughage as well as keeps them from killing each other and tearing my fences down and barn apart. Right now, they are a body condition 5+/ 6- which is just right with the temperatures just starting to drop. They all have a tendancy to gain easily and one has had laminitis twice from bad management on grass with his previous owner. He has done so well totally dry lotted this year he may remain dry lotted permanently!

For those that feed the Triple Crown feeds, how much do you have to pay for it? I checked with a dealer they had listed on their website and they don't carry Triple Crown feeds because they cost to much and didn't feel like they could move it fast enough to keep it fresh.  He was telling me the Complete feed would run between $23 and $25 a bag.  That is awfully pricey.  I sure liked the looks of the feed on the website and I am going to keep looking around this area to see if anyone carries it and maybe a little cheaper.  This part of east Texas is not the most prosperous part of the country and not many people are going to feed something that cost that much.

Both Purina and Cargill least cost their feeds. You can call it what you want, but that is what they do. That would be why they both use collective terms such as "grain by-products" on their tags. Look at tags on feeds by  either company mentioned above and tell me you don't see that term. You can spin least cost formulations a million different ways but they are not something I choose to feed my horses! 

The reputable companies that used fixed formulation test the loads of ingredients they receive and reject those that do not meet their specifications. Again, another rumor that least cost companies tell you about companies using fixed formulations- I know because I have worked for both least cost formulation companies as well!

That last sentence was supposed to convey that I have worked for both least cost and fixed formulations companies.

Thank you allfoir your input and knowledge sharing aboutfeedr content.  I am going to try Purina Senior Active healthy Edge for four months and see if that has any significant impact on my gelding. I agree with the comments about cost as my dealer is charging 28$ per 50lbs. for this feed and my rep suggests 6-8 lbs per day. I will have only one horse on it though as my others will remain on Dynasty Show which has given me good results.  I have top dressed with Euckele Arthrigen as well as corn oil for his weight. I welcome any otgher suggestions regarding this gelding and his lack of muscle tone!

this is very interesting have you tryed corn oil in his feed, it helps I do it

I had used Cosequin Joint Supplement for my arthritic mare. My vet suggested ground, stabilized flax seed. I have been using it for about 3 months. She is a picky eater, and 1 cup is the recommended amount. I am only able to get her to eat 1/2 cup, mixed with sweet feed. Hard to say if I see a difference. It is much less expensive.

Lots of good joint supplements out there, but I would be more concerned about the corn oil if your horse is arthritic.

Corn oil has pro inflammatory properties. Instead of corn oil, you may have more success by using deodorized fish oil or rice bran oil. These oils are better mixes of Omega-3s and Omega-6s and are not going to encourage inflammation like corn oil can. Most feed store and tack shops carry either of these other oils and you show see a better response from your joint supplement when not using corn oil. They are more expensive than corn oil but should be better for your horse.

bars Ranc....we have 2 almost 18 yr old  reiners, that we go the purina health edge  cut with Purina Senior. They hold their weigh really good like this on pasture or grass hay. I dont feed supplements at all to them. We give Polyglycan ( which is like Adequan & Legend combined) IM every other month. They are sound, can still perform all of the required manuevers.  These 2 horses were hard to keep looking good and working hard in the heat on  any other feed. This has worked well for us the last 2 years with them.  I have before & after pictures if you message me your email addy, I can send them to you. It took about 6 weeks before mine were to the point I had to start cutting them back because they were getting TOO big.

We feed all the others Nutrena Safe Choice. My reiner I currently am hauling hard is on the Safe Choice and Polyglycan routine. 

Also, we rehab starved horses. They come in hide stretched over bones and look at the feed and act like they are scare to eat it. I drench them with 30 cc  of Lixatonic twice a day for a week,  then once a day for a week to get their appetite and bloodwork back in normal range. I havn't lost one yet and they seem to come back very well. They get the Nuterna Safechoice  since it is easy on their gut without the volume of the complete feed like the Purina Sr.