Chappie
Well-Known Member
Hope you don't mind another query about balancers... I have no one to ask in real life so turning to the forum!
The two horses I look after as part of an (unusual!) part loan agreement are on a diet of mostly hay or sometimes haylage given to them by the livery yard. I'm wondering if they could lack vital nutrients with the hay diet?
They are on restricted turnout due to the yard circumstances, but both are good doers so could not be just put onto grass either. The field they do get in has a lot of clover. Livery choice here is literally very few and far between. (Believe me, if I could get them more suitable turnout I would).
They get forage morning and midday from the yard and in the evenings I give them a 4kg net of my own hay supply and a handful of grass chaff as the cob gets Protexin and a joint supplement, they also get a few slices fruit and veg with that.
Other things they get are Baileys fibre nuggets, Halleys fibre blocks and swedes, and they always have access to salt licks.
They look fine weight-wise, I am not overly concerned for this time of year, they aren't over-rugged and riding-wise I am not particularly concerned, cob very backwards and small horse very forwards, they have always been like this.
The cob has a long term gut problem which annoyingly the vets apparently gave up on before I was involved with the horses. However the Thunderbrooks chaff and Protexin I get for him seem to have helped.
Maybe I just need a good vitamin and mineral powder to add to their chaff? Rather than a pelleted balancer? Last thing I want is them to put on unnecessary weight. Do you recommend giving some of the feed companies a call? Maybe somebody like Pure Feeds? I got some recent equestrian magazines as there was a lot of info about feeding but I'm still working my way through them for info.
The two horses I look after as part of an (unusual!) part loan agreement are on a diet of mostly hay or sometimes haylage given to them by the livery yard. I'm wondering if they could lack vital nutrients with the hay diet?
They are on restricted turnout due to the yard circumstances, but both are good doers so could not be just put onto grass either. The field they do get in has a lot of clover. Livery choice here is literally very few and far between. (Believe me, if I could get them more suitable turnout I would).
They get forage morning and midday from the yard and in the evenings I give them a 4kg net of my own hay supply and a handful of grass chaff as the cob gets Protexin and a joint supplement, they also get a few slices fruit and veg with that.
Other things they get are Baileys fibre nuggets, Halleys fibre blocks and swedes, and they always have access to salt licks.
They look fine weight-wise, I am not overly concerned for this time of year, they aren't over-rugged and riding-wise I am not particularly concerned, cob very backwards and small horse very forwards, they have always been like this.
The cob has a long term gut problem which annoyingly the vets apparently gave up on before I was involved with the horses. However the Thunderbrooks chaff and Protexin I get for him seem to have helped.
Maybe I just need a good vitamin and mineral powder to add to their chaff? Rather than a pelleted balancer? Last thing I want is them to put on unnecessary weight. Do you recommend giving some of the feed companies a call? Maybe somebody like Pure Feeds? I got some recent equestrian magazines as there was a lot of info about feeding but I'm still working my way through them for info.
I've read about Equimins on the forum so will have a look at their website too.