Stay Fit for the Show
Summerfield counts on Southern States to help it bring home trophies.

Tommy Serio’s customers like to be winners. So that’s what he gives them.

Serio operates Summerfield, a boarding and training facility for horses near Keswick, Va. Over the years he’s trained more than a dozen national champions for clients nationwide.

“In this business, success is gauged by constantly bringing out good horses. That makes clients’ horses worth more when they get ready to sell them,” Serio explains.

“I guess I’ve been fairly successful based on the number of people that come back for repeat business. I have one customer who has been with me for more than 25 years.”

Currently, Serio is training 23 horses at Summerfield, only one of which he owns. He trains horses in hunter classes throughout the U.S., although mostly up and down the eastern seaboard. He and his staff also help outside people with their horses.

“Nutrition plays a major role in helping ensure good performance of any horse, particularly a show horse,” Serio says. Working with equine representatives from Southern States, he has mapped out a feeding program that best meets the specific needs of the horses stabled at Summerfield. The basic feed is Legends EquiTech 10.

Serio explains that Legends EquiTech 10 is formulated for mature horses with high-energy requirements, such as racing, performance or rigorous training. It contains 10% protein and 10% fat, along with all the essential vitamins and minerals.

“That’s the right combination of protein and fat for keeping the animal in good condition and maintaining its weight,” he says. “It provides the proper amount of energy the animal needs for high performance. And the fat level keeps its coat looking nice. Plus, the horses like the feed, even the picky eaters.”

Fat has 2.25 times the calorie content of protein or carbohydrate sources. The higher fat content provides more calories, so it reduces grain-feeding requirements. High-grain diets tend to make horses hyperactive, which Serio emphasizes, is not what you want in a show horse.

In addition to the Legends EquiTech 10, all horses get a mix of timothy/alfalfa hay in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Summerfield has two horses with special dietary requirements. One is a 4-year-old that doesn’t like to eat hay. He is fed Triple Crown Premium Chopped Alfalfa Forage Hay from Southern States, along with the Legends EquiTech 10.

The Triple Crown Chopped Forage is 15% crude protein, 1.5% crude fat and 30% crude fiber. Low-level additives of oil and molasses eliminate dust.

Besides being a hay replacement, the Triple Crown forages can be mixed with grain to prevent rapid grain consumption or bolting, which can cause the horse to experience choking.

The other special-needs horse is a 4-year-old that has exactly that problem. He is fed Triple Crown Lite and Triple Crown Chopped Grass Forage, which contains 8% crude protein and 1.5% crude fat. This feed contains high-quality, chopped timothy hay to keep him at the desired body condition.

“Southern States has all the feeds we need to meet the different dietary requirements of our horses,” Serio says. “That’s why I’ve done business with the staff at Charlottesville Co-op for so long.

“We buy most of our other products from Southern States,” he adds, “like shampoo, hoof dressing, fly spraying, leather dressing, tack cleaner and bandaging material.”