FAQ
On Equine Rescue Feeding
Q: What Not to Feed or do?
A: Do not START out feeding a starving horse like you would a healthy horse - EVER. Do Not FEED sweet feeds or corn if possible. They are not good feed choices for any horse, especially a neglected one. They seem fine for many healthy horses, but forage based diets ARE best for all horses
Q: How to introduce feed to the underweight horse?
A: I recommend Only hay the first week or two, and I personally hold off on rich pasture/grass for a week. Start soaked pelleted feed or supplement type pellets like rice bran, alfalfa pellete or/and beet pulp at about 1 cup twice a day the first day with free choice hay, and add another 1lb twice a day and so on until you work up to the recommended amount for the weight the horse SHOULD be at. Typically you need at 2% of a horses desired body weight in feed a day if they are lightly worked, and I like to feed at least 60% of this or more in quality hay. You can't go wrong with FREE CHOICE quality hay after the first few days. PLEASE email me at
tinia@lucasfarmwv.com if you need advice about feeding a VERY underweight horse,
Q: IF I should give
No sweet feed, What do I feed?
A: Start with a soaked pellet like Nutrena Safe Choice or Purina Strategy Healthy Edge.
We have fed a mix of 50% Alfalfa Pellets, 30% Beet Pulp (soaked or dry, I recommend soaked to prevet choke), Oats, 10% Rice Bran pellets (VERY HIGH FAT) and a supplement of Flax See. You can also add a senior feed and do something like 30% Alfalfa, 30% Senior, 20% Beet Pulp, 10% Oats (or leave these off) and 10% rice bran. Another option is Purnia Stategy Healthy Edge, which we feed now, Purnia Senior or Triple Crown Complete, Rice Bran, Flax Seed and ACV and Oil. You can forgo Flaxseed and do about 1/2 a scoop daily of Rice Bran if you choose Triple Crown.
Hay is mainstay of any healthy horse's diet!