Just got back the nutritional analysis of my hay and was going to work up what I needed to feed them to make sure that they have enough protein and everything is balanced. The protein level is a little low again this year so I'll add some alfalfa pellets to up that again. Last year I had to have magnesium added to my Flax supplement because that was too low. I understand that new recommendations were published this year with additional categories of hard keeper, easy keeper in addition to the variations for maintenance, breeding horses, young horses, etc. The requirements I have been using were last updated in 1989 and this new publication is supposed to be more thorough. The July Equus magazine had an article about some generalities of the publication, but made no mention on how to get the publication.
After a bit of searching on the web I found the book available from the National Research Council, The Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th edition, published 2007 for $80.00. Recommended for instructors. http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11653 I found on that page a program that allows you to plug in numbers and it calculates the shortfalls of your feeding program. Darn, I won't have to run all those equations. It is in kg. Remember 1 lb = .4536 kg. http://nrc88.nas.edu/nrh/ Have fun. -- Anna, whose husband would be thankful if I spent a fraction of time on our feed/nutrition as I spend on my dogs and horses.
