Best feed for young TB

J_sarahd

J_sarahd

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I’m currently reevaluating Nova’s feed (as I do every so often so I can get it right as there’s just so much out there). For those who don’t know, she’s a 4 year old TB in light work (obviously!) and a history of squamous ulcers.

She’s currently fed:
Alfa A Original (this is the main thing I’m looking to change as the more I read, the more I see alfalfa isn’t particularly good for horses with ulcers. Looking at potentially Dengie meadow grass as the bulk/fibre source in her bucket?)
GWF One Cup balancer
Ulsakind cubes
Ulsgard pellets
Oestress

I’ve recently bought Ron Fields Pre Ulc and ULC30EX as I think the grass is giving her a flare up/hindgut discomfort. She’s out 24/7 as of yesterday but will be getting around 5kg of hay (she was on 11kg+ when she was in).

I’m just looking for options. She’s looking quite good weight-wise at the moment and I’ve noticed she has “chunked out” recently so not really looking for super conditioning feeds. Just something as cost-effective as possible that is balanced and suitable for a young TB with ulcers.

People will say don’t fix what aint broke but I’m looking to improve. Obviously, the chaff is a 100% a change I will be making. Is Dengie Meadow Grass recommended?
 
I'm going to follow if you don't mind as I'm interested in this too. I have a rising seven TB who was very skinny when he came. His weight is good now although he still needs to muscle up a bit more.

I had him on Healthy Tummy which is basically alfalfa, and Ease and Excel which also has alfalfa in. I read that alfalfa is good for ulcer prone horses and also a good source of calcium but the information seems to be contradictory. Anyway, mine can get wired quite easily and I thought it might be worth experimenting with knocking the alfalfa out to see if it makes a difference. He does also get quite loose poos with the grass so maybe a bit sensitive like your mare.

I've bought Allen and Page Sooth and Gain to try and some Honeychop conditioning chaff, I can't remember the name of it now. The Honeychop does still have some alfalfa in it though so I was also thinking of swapping to the Meadow Grass when I've finished this bag. I've fed it to other horses before and I think it's a good option generally but don't know about the bit about it being suitable for ulcer prone horses.

So not much help but will be keen to see what other people say.
 
Barton Bounty said:
My tb is allergic to it which took a while to find out but its also not great for ulcer prone horses 😊

Some other peoples’ opinions may differ but personally thats mine 😌
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Thank you. I think it's not uncommon for opinions to differ in the world of horses 😂. I was interested to find out though as I've always been quite a big fan of alfalfa but am just having a rethink 😀.
 
Barton Bounty said:
I hate the stuff and its in practically everything 😂
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I feel your pain. My other horse is allergic to oats. I thought it would be easy to avoid feeds with oats in but nope, so much of it has oatfeed or oat straw in. He's a fussy bugger too so I get him something that he can actually eat and half the time he turns his nose up at it!
 
HelenBack said:
What is the reasoning for that because I've heard so much mixed information about alfalfa and it's confusing!
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Alfa is recommended for horses who have/have had ulcers. It's higher in calcium than other fibre sources and that is why it's good for horses who have/have had ulcers.

Apparently some horses are allergic to it but I don't think it's as common as some people like to make out. Alfa is also higher in protein but some people don't consider the effect of that and decide their horse has had an allergic reaction and is "wired" on it.

Its a good feed to give a scoop of before exercise and travel to guard against splash ulcers.
 
J_sarahd said:
I’m currently reevaluating Nova’s feed (as I do every so often so I can get it right as there’s just so much out there). For those who don’t know, she’s a 4 year old TB in light work (obviously!) and a history of squamous ulcers.

She’s currently fed:
Alfa A Original (this is the main thing I’m looking to change as the more I read, the more I see alfalfa isn’t particularly good for horses with ulcers. Looking at potentially Dengie meadow grass as the bulk/fibre source in her bucket?)
GWF One Cup balancer
Ulsakind cubes
Ulsgard pellets
Oestress

I’ve recently bought Ron Fields Pre Ulc and ULC30EX as I think the grass is giving her a flare up/hindgut discomfort. She’s out 24/7 as of yesterday but will be getting around 5kg of hay (she was on 11kg+ when she was in).

I’m just looking for options. She’s looking quite good weight-wise at the moment and I’ve noticed she has “chunked out” recently so not really looking for super conditioning feeds. Just something as cost-effective as possible that is balanced and suitable for a young TB with ulcers.

People will say don’t fix what aint broke but I’m looking to improve. Obviously, the chaff is a 100% a change I will be making. Is Dengie Meadow Grass recommended?
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Honestly, I think "cost effective" is a thing of the past given the way feed prices have risen.

Grass nuts used to be the economical way of getting calories in. However, they are near impossible to source, and the price has almost doubled for them.

If what you are feeding works but you want to do it cheaper you need to study the white nutrition label on the feed bags and do a comparison. For example the ulsa nuts might be pretty similar to cheaper fibre nuts so that could be a swap. Or you might be cheaper feeding fibre nuts with a gut supplement. Is there an overlap in benefits feeding both the ulcer nuts and pellets? Maybe one of them could be changed for something cheaper and keep the supplement that is actually doing something?

Alfa is more dense than meadow grass. So keep in mind if you are feeding eg 1 scoop of Alfa that might be 1.5 scoops of grass to be the same weight/quantity. Then check the mj/Kg. I think Alfa is higher so agin you'd need to feed more grass to get the same calories into the horse.
 
TPO said:
Alfa is recommended for horses who have/have had ulcers. It's higher in calcium than other fibre sources and that is why it's good for horses who have/have had ulcers.

Apparently some horses are allergic to it but I don't think it's as common as some people like to make out. Alfa is also higher in protein but some people don't consider the effect of that and decide their horse has had an allergic reaction and is "wired" on it.

Its a good feed to give a scoop of before exercise and travel to guard against splash ulcers.
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Thanks. That was all my understanding about alfalfa too but I just heard so many people saying that they avoid it for their TBs and it made me wonder why.
 
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HelenBack said:
Thanks. That was all my understanding about alfalfa too but I just heard so many people saying that they avoid it for their TBs and it made me wonder why.
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It's hard to tell on a forum who know what they are talking about and who doesn't! Quantity over quality seems to have taken over on here.

The best bet is for any advice or recommendations to be taken with a shovel of salt and do some independent research. Yes, there will be horses allergic to all sorts, but there are also plenty of people ready to jump onto any bandwagon and who just don't have any/correct knowledge.

There are so many things posted as "fact" and wrong advice being given these days that it's scary and, in some cases, dangerous.
 
A small quantity of alfalfa pellets accidentally added to just one feed sent the IDx loopy. I posted about it at the time. It took her days to come back off the ceiling.

It would not be simply the additional protein content, as she is doing very well on Forageplus Topline Plus, which is a mix of pea and potato protein. She's been on that for over a year, and it really has helped her topline.

Alfalfa suits some horses very well (hence me having it in the feed room), but others not at all.
 
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I think my aversion to feeding alfalfa came from one of the ulcer groups on Facebook banning any mention of alfalfa because they don’t recommend it - if that makes sense?

But you’re right TPO, I’ll check the ulsakind cubes and ulsgard for any cross over. I’m hoping that I can wean her off the pellets and keep with the Ron Fields but we shall see
 
Some actual people are talking from experience and when your horse goes from top pic to middle as a result of an alfalfa allergy , I tend to know what I am talking about 😊 so all pictures were taken within a month top one 14/4/16-16/5/16
He was never loopy just looked like a rescue 😞


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@Tiddlypom, I'm not saying that reactions don't happen , but I wouldn't take everything written on here as gospel.

@J_sarahd I wouldn't take running a fb group as evidence of any sort of knowledge. So many have their own agendas and the likes. The same happened with some barefoot groups and speedibeet/unmolested beet.

The information is out there, the onus is on someone to do their own reading and research, apply some critical thinking and probably a bit of trial and error.

I feed the Dengie Meadow grass and have for years, so I'm not some pro Alfa nut. But just trying to make you aware of the differences between feeding alfa-a and grass re quantity and calories. Which there might not be, its been years since I fed alfa so can't recall the mj/kg. But to ensure like for like comparisons..
 
A lot if racing yards now feed either AlfaA Original or AlfaA Oil at every feed or before work and travelling. Not huge amounts - a double handful or so.
 
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