Anyone else swapped feeds for cost purposes and found their horses looking healthier?

[maya2008]

Our dentist commented last week on the wonderful glossy soft coats of my herd - and they were literally shining in the sun today.

I have swapped from balancer to NAF vitamin powder, from nuts to a little beet and alfalfa-free chaff, and have mixed the haylage with straw to make it last longer.
I think I was wasting my money feeding them more expensive balancers and more haylage - they look a LOT better on this (conveniently less expensive) diet!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I've cut out all expensive feeds and balancers over the last couple of years. My feed bills were horrendous!! I now feed just grass chaff, grass nuts, salt and a little oil and ad lib hay. They both look fabulous. One is a retired 17.1 wb 27 years old. My other is a ridden ex racer 16 years old.

 

[paddi22]

yep im another that switched after advice from a nutritionist friend. i used to spend a fortune on bagged commercial feeds and supplements. now they are on a good balancer, speedibeet, tesco rapeseed oil, and ad lib hay and they have never looked better. they get some oats if they need extra oomp. I cry when I think of the amount I spent expensive feeds and useless supplements over the years now

 

[poiuytrewq]

I think we get sucked in by good advertising and wanting to feel like we are doing our best for our horses.
I’ve dropped most of the supplements I was chucking into feeds with absolutely no ill effects at all.
I feed my 2 horses and 2 ponies at home for far far less money than my neighbour feeds my one horse she has at hers for! (I pay for his feed but she wanted to feed him as she does her own as they live out and swap buckets)
I think the simpler the better really.

 

[TPO]

yep im another that switched after advice from a nutritionist friend. i used to spend a fortune on bagged commercial feeds and supplements. now they are on a good balancer, speedibeet, tesco rapeseed oil, and ad lib hay and they have never looked better. they get some oats if they need extra oomp. I cry when I think of the amount I spent expensive feeds and useless supplements over the years now

What balancer do you feed?

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Mine are on a simple winter feed of grass chaff, a few grass nuts, salt when I remember and linseed. DP shines like a conker and has healed remarkably quickly from a really bad gash to his pastern and even B who is dun has a shiny healthy coat. Their feet are also looking fantastic as I kept them off grass all summer with just hay and Baileys low cal balancer.

 

[paddi22]

What balancer do you feed?

I get one a nutritionist friends makes up in Ireland. i think they sell them as parkmore in the us?

 

[janietee_5]

I swapped after Pure went into administration and couldn’t get the PurE Balance and Pure Veteran pellets. Now on Graze on original, unmollassed sugar beet, cool cubes and micronised linseed. He’s an old TB, unclipped and in at night, rugged well as he feels the cold. Ad lib good haylage (included in livery) and he looks a million dollars. His coat is so soft and shiny and he’s feeling very well. And saving a fortune is an added bonus.

 

[Barton Bounty]

All of my horses feed is expensive, the cheapest thing is the chaff ?Wouldn’t swap for the money purpose as he is already allergic to some things. Just stick to what I have , it works ?

 

[holeymoley]

Yes, I took him off the balancer and bought the main ingredients on their own. He looks great and thats been nearly 2 months now. And I’m now around 20p a day instead of the 60p a day for the balancer only. Not that money was the issue, I just thought why spend x amount when I can buy in everything myself for less.

 

[Patterdale]

I completely cut out all hard feed in favour of top notch haylage ad-lib, and good quality field licks. They look just as good as when they were on expensive feeds, and I save literally hundreds of pounds a year.

 

[Squeak]

The last couple of years I've been pulling my hair out trying to keep weight on mine during the winter and spent an absolute fortune on feed. This year I have changed how/ where I'm feeding his hay and he's now eating a bale of hay a day and his feed is just a handful of grass chop, bit of sugarbeet, balancer and some probiotics and he looks better than he has any of the last winters. He's dropped ever so slightly in the cold snap so I'll add some grass nuts in now.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

yep im another that switched after advice from a nutritionist friend. i used to spend a fortune on bagged commercial feeds and supplements. now they are on a good balancer, speedibeet, tesco rapeseed oil, and ad lib hay and they have never looked better. they get some oats if they need extra oomp. I cry when I think of the amount I spent expensive feeds and useless supplements over the years now

I’ve done the same. I’m literally just feeling healthy hooves chaff and Equimins complete balancer, with her liver supplement. She feels and looks well.

Is the rapeseed oil as good as linseed oil?

 

[paddi22]

I’ve done the same. I’m literally just feeling healthy hooves chaff and Equimins complete balancer, with her liver supplement. She feels and looks well.

Is the rapeseed oil as good as linseed oil?

visibly I don't see any difference, but id imagine the linseed is superior for them

 

[catembi]

Yes. I have four, including 2 x ex-racers. They were on Agrobs musli, weisencobs & protein flakes, plus linseed, and despite feeding huge amounts, both the TBs were thin. I then found out that the Agrobs feeds are low cal & in exasperation swapped to cheap weight gain cubes, unmollassed cheap brand sugar beet & kept the linseed. Moved the ponies to chaff with a handful of nuts & sugar beet. Both TBs started filling out straight away & now look sleek, not thin. The 18 yo used to hang around the yard all day looking fed up, or if he went up the field with the others, would come back down again after 30 minutes. Within a few days, he'd be first up the field when I'd opened the gate in the morning & would stay up there. It has saved me an absolute ton of money & the ex-racers look a million times better, & the oldie seems happier.