Anyone feed barley for condition?

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laura_1983

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My friend recommended adding barley to my ponys feed to help with condition, she uses it on her horses and it doesnt fizz them up but im worried my already fizzy monster might explode! He wouldnt be going on it until aug/sep time when im back doing all his riding/schooling so iv got a while to decide what to do feed wise!

Any opinions or advice on feeding it?
 
i have used micronised barley in the past and it has been fab, with a bit of limestone flour to keep the Ca/Ph ratio ok. i have always been understood that it is non-heating and have never had a problem with fizzing up!
boiled barley is also good and horses love it!
supa barley rings didn't go down very well with many of our horses but barley plus was ok!
 
I have used micronised barley for years for that extra bit of weight and never had a problem with it being heating. I know that's the current thinking but in my experience it never has.
 
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I have used micronised barley for years for that extra bit of weight and never had a problem with it being heating. I know that's the current thinking but in my experience it never has.

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Ditto - although it was always a fairly cheap way of adding extra calories but this year the price has shot up - and I doubt it will come down again even if we have a better summer!
 
ah i see, iv never used it before other than in a riding school many years ago (so not buying it myself), would take a alot to fizz up those cobs lol! though if it is going to cost as much as say a conditioning cube im probably just aswell to use something like that i suppose!
 
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Boiled Barley
Sugarbeet
2 tablespoons of oil....



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Add some cooked Linseed and bob's your uncle!!!
smile.gif
 
I feed D&H Barley rings quik beet, alfa a and hi fi nuts and my TB is a poor doer, just back from bad accident and this seems to be doing the trick without the fizz!
 
I use a slightly different version - AlfaBeet, micronized barley and oil - keeps the weight on my veteran really well and the alfafa provides calcium that the barley is lacking.
 
Claire - What do you use to boil the barley? My friend has a Baby Burco in her feed room which is excellent, what else can you use? I would need to make it at home, but worried about the smell...
 
it smells fab, we used boiled barley on hunt yard, i cant use it now due to hassle of doing it at home!

you just use a huge pot on your cooker, start off with just one cup a day and you cant go over 2kg(dry) a day i think it is! you have to make it fresh each day though as it ferments!

if i can find the stuff i was looking at earlier about it il put note of it up on this post!
 
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http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-or-Boil-Whole-Grains-for-Horses

anyone wanting to make/try boiled barley have a looky on here - hope it works!

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You MUST be joking!!! Is that writen for numpties or what!!
Someone has put that on Wickp for a laugh! You should never "boil" barley.
To make boiled barley you just put a scoop in a bucket, pour over boiling water, cover with a damp cloth and leave to cool.

Generations have done it like this and I've never, ever seen anyone stick it in a pan on hob!!
confused.gif
 
lol iv never done it on the hob either, it was done in a slow cooker at yard i was on, cant remember exactly how as it was years ago thats why i never posted how to do it that way!

i just looked on the net and found the bit on that site!

that actually means i could use it for my pony coz i could just make it in his bucket at the yard then add his other feed to it!
 
As long as it is soaked or boiled for at least 2 hours, it is ok to feed to horses. The professional SJ yard (run by someone with 60 years experience in racing and SJ), near me boils theirs 24 hours a day, and feeds it to everything, so yes, it can be boiled. They use a baby burco boiler and it is on constantly.
 
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i have used micronised barley in the past and it has been fab, with a bit of limestone flour to keep the Ca/Ph ratio ok. i have always been understood that it is non-heating and have never had a problem with fizzing up!
boiled barley is also good and horses love it!
supa barley rings didn't go down very well with many of our horses but barley plus was ok!

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It is Bran that has the Ca/Ph ratio the wrong way around, not Barley.

I feed Barley and find Baron has gained a lot of condition, but I also feed cereal mix as he is a very poor doer. I used to use soaked oats but the barley has proved to be much better for him.
 
Both bran and barley (and all cereals) have the wrong calcium:phosphorus ration, but I believe it is more exaggerated in the bran. If you feed straight cereals you should, in theory, balance the diet in some way - either by adding a calcium rich supplement or feeding a calcium rich food such as alfafa.
 
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