A low-cost roadmap to building your OTTB's diet without the guesswork and frustration

Feeding a thoroughbred is like feeding a adolescent cross country runner... You can throw a bunch of food and money at them, but unless it's the RIGHT kind of food, it's not gonna stick.

There are many factors to take into account when feeding an ex-racehorse, especially one that is transitioning directly off of the track or older in life.

For example, did you know that the average thoroughbred at the track consumes ~35,000calories at the track a day?

For comparison the average pleasure/boarded horse is fed ~15,000-25,000 calories at day.

That alone is a HUGE gap in caloric intake.

Before you go buy a wild concoction of grain and supplements to fill this gap let's keep it simple and assess some other factors that might contribute.

Start with Weighing your Horse:

To see if any of the changes I share below help we need to know our starting point by evaluating your horse's body condition and weight. You can do this your self using the following tools:

• Equine Body Score Index

• Adult Horse Weight Calculator

Next, consider the following 10 questions regarding your OTTB's weight or dietary challenge:

1. Was there a diet they were previous on? (previous owner, barn, track etc,.)

2. Did they moving to a new region? New Climate?

3. What hay/grains/feeds are available and affordable in your area? Is it barn provided or do you have options?

4. Is this hay/forage consistent and can it be tested?

5. What is their lifestyle: how much movement do they get in a day?

6. What is the feed structure at the barn?

7. What are the dietary goals? Gain weight? maintain? build topline?

8. Are there any factors that lead towards veterinarian intervention?

9. Is the horse dealing with lameness or discomfort of any type?

   1. ulcers, metabolic issues, colic history, chronic lameness

10. Is this horse UTD on routine veterinary care such as deworming and dentals?

    
    

My OTTB diet cheat-sheet:

Let's assume that there are no outstanding internal or external issues that will affect your horse's dietary intake. This means they are calm, happy and content in their barn and they are clear of ulcers, worms, dental discomfort or any physical discomfort issues.

Step 1: maximize quality forage. 24/7 access of quality, green, leafy forage.

Step 2: Supplement alfalfa (legume). Alfalfa is higher/denser for nutrients than most leafy grasses. To prevent nutritional imbalances you may need to supplement magnesium (science reason why HERE).

Step 3: Include pasture access. No matter your region include movement and foraging on pasture (if no pasture, spread feed sources out to encourage movement and enrichment)

Step 4: balance the diet. Include a ration balancer to include all of your missing vitamins/minerals from dried grasses. Read feed label as this should be 1-2lbs max per day

Step 5: Add 1-3 tsp table salt to feed daily (Not just a salt block)

THEN...

Step 5: Calorie cap: IF your horse is still in need of calories and you've maxed your grasses/alfalfa/pasture access, include a senior feed (high in FAT and low in NSC). start will 1-2 lbs a day. increase amount over weeks IF needed. Senior feed is only to fluff caloric intake. This is your flexible variable providing steps 1-5 are met.

Over the next 2-6 weeks evaluate your horse's condition using the body score index and weight calculator. You should start to see improvement objectively using these indexes.

Want a more detailed breakdown?

I include a masterclass on how to build your OTTBs diet without the guesswork and frustration that will not break the bank in the OTTB Restart Online Program for a holistic approach to restarting your OTTB.

What To Do if You're still not seeing gain?

I've had a lot of OTTBs pass through my program and THRIVE on the above diet framework BUT I've also had a few outliers that did not and required veterinary and/or nutritionist intervention.

If you've build a simple, clean diet using the steps above and you're not seeing improvement in body score or weight, then now is time to call your vet or a licensed nutritionist (preferably familiar with your area/climate).

I'm sorry, but FB groups and online forums are not going to help you with simplifying and balancing your OTTBs diet.

Take the guesswork and overwhelm out of all the diet and feed products out there available to you and work with someone who is an expert in this area.

I'm a firm believer in education and empowerment but we cannot be experts in every aspect of our horses. We need to know enough for when to ask for help and evaluate who is the RIGHT kind of help.

Personally, I really like Clarity Equine Nutrition, Getty Equine Nutrition, and 17 Hand Equine Nutrition when it comes to OTTB nutrition depending on your region.

I hope that is helpful and gives you tools and knowledge to start simplifying your horse's diet and making effective changes to improve their overall health and wellbeing.

Stay Curious and Happy Partnerships!

"The complete 90 day guide to restarting your OTTB with simple, easy to follow steps for a thriving partnership and harmonious pursuit of your equine goals."

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