Any recommendations? Possible feed change

[holeymoley]

I really like Simple Systems products. However with price increases across the board I’ve always been skeptical and of the thoughts that I may be being quite a lot for a product that doesn’t have that much in it but then also of the thoughts if it ain’t broke don’t fix it! Product is metaslim which is short of £40 for 10kg. Is there anything else out there that would be suitable for an EMS pony? He is 20now, looks fine if anything maybe drops weight in the winter but easily fixed by upping hay and adding a bit of linseed to feed. Hard feed wise he only gets a small scoop of chaff and gets the metaslim in the dinner. I was looking at Pure Feeds Balancer and even Spillers balancers but not so keen on spillers.

 

[Flyermc]

I cant help too much with your query, but i would find out what your pony needs (ive not idea what the requirements are for a pony wit EMS) and then ring or email feed companies for advice on what might be suitable.

I dont know about EMS but when my pony got older and i was watching the costs, i changed from a chaff to speedibeat as a bag lasts for ages and worked out cheaper. Cheap veg or sunflower cooking oil, inseed and if needed brewer yeast an rolled oats, plus plenty of hay.

 

[holeymoley]

Thank you. I’m skeptical of main stream feed companies. I’ve done a lot of research over the years for ems ponies as he really was at deaths door. We had a spillers rep at the yard not long after he was on the mend and he was recommended a feed that was really high in sugar and starch, totally not what he should be getting. I’m also wary of fillers in things like cubes, which is why I went for simple systems as they have what they say they have in the bag.

 

[Flyermc]

If you know what you need, it might workout cheaper to by straights?

 

[vmac66]

My Ems mare has honeychop lite and healthy chaff and pink mash plus a,powdered balancer. Chaff and pink mash are very low in starch and sugar. She's been on this for years and is looking good.

 

[Dexter]

I hate to break it to you but your being done over. The ingredients are:

Lucerne leaf, Linseed meal, Brewers� Yeast, Cinnamon, Ascophyllum nodosum, Spearmint, Magnesium Salts

I'd buy a bag of linseed and a bag of mag ox and you will get the same benefits for about a third of the price.

Cinnamon was thought to have an effect on bloodsugar at one point but its since been disproven.

 

[Dexter]

The best commercial pelleted balancer spec wise is spillers lite surprisingly!

 

[Nari]

There are probably loads of cheaper suitable alternatives, but having spent years dealing with EMS I'd take the coward's option of if it isn't broke don't fix it. My experience was that it took very little to mess him up, and changes that should have improved things often had the opposite effect.

 

[holeymoley]

There are probably loads of cheaper suitable alternatives, but having spent years dealing with EMS I'd take the coward's option of if it isn't broke don't fix it. My experience was that it took very little to mess him up, and changes that should have improved things often had the opposite effect.

This is where my head’s at. It’s been 3 years since though and he’s been fine ever since. Although I am very strict with his managment. The money isnt an issue, I do like value for money though and I do feel the ingredients of it are very little and probably not doing that much in the grand scheme of things!
Dexter- that’s what I thought. I already have powdered magnesium and powdered linseed to feed so I’m probably putting half my money on the muck heap.

Do I just do the chaff and some fibre cubes?! He already gets the SS fibre cubes in his treat ball.

 

[criso]

I hate to break it to you but your being done over. The ingredients are:

Lucerne leaf, Linseed meal, Brewers� Yeast, Cinnamon, Ascophyllum nodosum, Spearmint, Magnesium Salts

I'd buy a bag of linseed and a bag of mag ox and you will get the same benefits for about a third of the price.

Cinnamon was thought to have an effect on bloodsugar at one point but its since been disproven.

I would also keep the Brewers yeast or maybe replace with yeasaac and do some research on the Ascophyllum nodosum which is s type of seaweed.

 

[dreamcometrue]

My pony has EMS. I did feed Spillers Lite and Lean balancer for a couple of years but changed her to Metaslim and Lucie Stalks this Summer after reading some recent articles about managing EMS. I think it has had a positive effect on her well being (less stressy, less hangry) so far but it’s early days.

 

[Dexter]

I would also keep the Brewers yeast or maybe replace with yeasaac and do some research on the Ascophyllum nodosum which is s type of seaweed.

yup, I meant to say brewers yeast as well. The seaweed I'd def drop unless you are in a very low iodine area.

 

[criso]

yup, I meant to say brewers yeast as well. The seaweed I'd def drop unless you are in a very low iodine area.

I don't know enough about that particular algae. I had success with Spirulina for seasonal allergies allowing me to drop ventipulmin so I wouldn't want to dismiss Ascophyllum nodosum out of hand for this condition.

However by sourcing and feeding it as a separate thing, it would be easy to introduce and remove to see if it helps.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I prefer baileys lo cal over spillers lite. I use that readigrass for chaff (handful to stop him bolting his dinner and choking), dengie grassnuts dengie alfalfa cubes and beet pulp pellets all Mixed together in a big bin then I soak a scoop in a trug and he gets a small half scoop in each feed. Full bin usually last me 3/4 months and costs about £45

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would buy the linseed and mag ox separately the rest of the ingredients in metaslim in my opinion are not worth bothering with, then just use a chaff to put it in do you really need anything else apart from hay? Probably not.

 

[holeymoley]

It would seem by breaking down the composition, all I really need to buy separately is brewer's yeast and possibly seaweed then. I will do a bit of digging. Thanks guys.