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Know Your Horse
Build a written baseline of this horse's normal habits and behavior, so a change stands out the day it happens.
See what's insideA module in The Old-School Horseman
Feed the Horse in Front of You
Know why everything in the bucket is there. This module helps you write down what your horse actually eats, understand the reason for each part, and build the program around him instead of copying someone else's.
Every barn has a feed chart, and a lot of them were copied from somewhere. Derek's approach starts with a plain question: why is this in the bucket? If nobody can answer it, that's where you start.
What you'll learn
- How to write down the program you actually feed, by weight rather than by scoop
- The reason behind each part of the ration: hay and forage, grain or concentrate, supplements, salt and water
- Why another barn's program can be wrong for your horse even when it works for theirs
- How workload, age, condition and appetite should shape what goes in the bucket
- How to change one thing at a time and track what it did
What's inside
- Feed program recordEverything this horse eats, how much, when, and who feeds it.
- "Why is it in the bucket" worksheetOne line per ingredient: the reason it's there and whether it's still needed.
- Change trackerWhat you changed, when, and what you noticed in the weeks after.
To add: confirm the final list of worksheets and trackers in this download.
Why write it down
When a horse drops weight, goes off his feed or starts acting different, the first question is usually "what changed?" If the program lives in somebody's head, nobody really knows. Written down, you can answer in a minute, and so can your vet.
Make feed changes gradually. Medical and special diets belong with your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist. This module teaches you to understand and document your program, not to diagnose.
Where it came from
Recorded conversations with Derek about feeding, and why he builds around the individual horse.
To add: Add when and where this module's recording happened, and a short line from Derek in his own words.
Who it's for
Owners and barn managers who want to know what their horse eats and why, and anyone who has inherited a feed chart they don't fully understand.
From Derek's barn
The gear that goes with this lesson, each with Derek's reason. See the whole Tack Room.
Feed room
To add: The scale he weighs feed and hay with
Feed room
To add: A feed or supplement he relies on, and what it's there for
Barn and stable
To add: Buckets, hay nets or feeders he prefers
More from The Old-School Horseman
Derek's nose-to-tail walk-through: what he looks at before a horse goes to work, and how knowing its normal gives you something to compare against.
See what's insideWhat a rider feels from the saddle: hands, reins, movement and reactions, and why every horse rides like an individual.
See what's inside