Hi.

I have never been on this particular section before; am a fairly regular reader of the truck and trailer stuff, though an infrequent poster. Today the 'Hickstead' post caught my eye, then I saw this thread about feed,clicked on it and because it goes to the 'last' page first, lo and behold, Marla's post about feeding rabbit pellets was the first up on that page! Ironic, because I have a 29 YO mare that eats mainlyTriple Crown Sr. and rabbit pellets...and is happy, healthy, and in very good flesh...and I 'thought' I was the 'only one' who fed rabbit pellets to horses! 

I have been quite satisfied w/ the TC Senior; here, it has recently been costing @ $21 at one feed store, shot up to @ $26 at another...only about 6 miles apart, out here in the boonies east of Albuq.!! You might guess who I am now buying from....

I heard about on a 'horse' forum, investigated, ended up being able to try, a forage-based feed made in TX called 'THRIVE', earlier this year. It's first ingredient is alfalfa,2nd listed, timothy...and goes on to include ingredients like grain sorghum, kelp, soy meal, rice bran(I*think*), plus a number of necessary minerals/vitamis, in a steam-extruded process that produces a light 'kibble-like' nugget, which smells and tastes VERY good(I tasted it myself; always do!).It can be fed free-choice if need be; is touted to be especially good for rehabbing rescue horses, takes up water readily, so can be quickly/easily prepared for horses that need soaked feed.  Recommended feeding level is 4-6 lbs./day for a 1,000 lb. horse, advertised as NOT needing to feed additional supplements or mix w/ other concentrates, just plenty of decent grazing or forage hay(I read that as 'grass'.) Comes in 40 lb. bags(the volume of the 'puffy' nuggets means you couldn't 'fit' the std. 50 lbs. into standard sized feed bags). Long story short...my daughter was visiting in TX when I learned about this feed; was able to pick me up a couple of bags before driving home, so I could try it (cost at a location near Ft. Worth was $18.50/bag).I REALLY like this feed(and believe me, I have a lot of 'horse feeding' experience....61 continuous years' worth..and I do my homework, and work to keep up with latest knowledge on the subject.)I REALLY like the 'forage-based' aspect, having lost a horse after years of battle w/ his serious ulcer issues, and trying to adapt ALL the management strategies that are increasingly advocated to help keep horses healthy under modern 'horsekeeping' conditions. Later this summer, that same daughter planned a trip to see an old HS friend in Abilene, the closest place this feed is available, and also, got me 12 more bags of 'Thrive'! Because I am feeding only miniature horses. I am only now down to a couple more bags...and just can't see adding the cost of a 8-900 mi. round trip to get more of it to the already-admitted relatively expensive feed, so will regretfully have to figure out something else, I suppose. For those of you in central/east Texas,where it is fairly available,  I'd definitely  recommend it! (I am in NO way connected w/ this feed or its creator in any way, FYI. For those who'd like to take a closer look, there is a website...just google 'Thrive horse feed".

Miniatures, BTW, are horses in every sense of the word...only requiring more careful feeding management, because there is 'less room for error', in my experience(and I took care of 'full sized' for many, MANY years before getting minis for the first time in '84.)  I can report that after about nearly 6 mos. on the Thrive, my little horses have the best feet, best quality of hair coats--rich color, soft and silky, and  SHINEY...that I can remember them ever having!They get generous qualtities of a good grass hay, and once a day, a small portion of straight alfalfa...and are in excellent flesh and largely w/o any 'hay belly'. I also feed a ground stabilized flax, and soaked beet pulp pellets(molasses-free, if possible to get)once daily...but have done this for a number of years prior to feeding the 'Thrive'...and while my horses all looked 'good' before 'Thrive', they unquestionably look even BETTER since beginning it. 

Margo aka olehossgal, in NM