How to Mix Grain

Golden Emblem 2014 Mare

Adoption fee: $1100

Golden Emblem was foaled in 2014. She’s a gorgeous tattooed thoroughbred mare that never appeared to race. 

Golden Emblem is broke to ride, and fit for an intermediate to experienced rider. She’s currently with a foster in Sperry, OK. 

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How to Mix Grain

How to mix grain is not the sexiest subject on the Swingin’ D, but it’s a necessary one if you want to save money. I find, when I mix the less-expensive (but still high-quality) grain with the high-dollar stuff, I stretch my dollar a little more. When you run a horse rescue out of your own pocket, you find savings where you can.

Each one of our horses has its own dietary needs. We have separate grain bins for babies, senior horses, easy keepers and “skinnies” (as we refer to them). Some of our horses are in the “in-between” stage, so they get a mixture of mixed feeds! Watch this quick video of some of the horses we nursed back to health through healthy feeding and plenty of love.

Here's my trick

I can generally fit three bags of feed in a 50-gallon trash bin, so I mix two bags of the expensive stuff with one less-expensive bag. I don’t know about you, but It drives me nuts to leave old grain in the bottom of the barrel. Here’s my trick for how to mix grain so you can save space and money.

  1. Lean the trash bin on a step stool or bucket.
  2. Stack the feed bags inside
  3. Pull the strings at the same time
  4. While jiggling the bags empty, tip the trash bin upright
  5. Pull all three bags out at the same time
  6. You’ll end up with three columns of grain
  7. Scoop across the columns at feeding time!