Best non-alfalfa, non-soy feed options for a sporthorse?

[ohmissbrittany]

I find my mare does best on a higher protein/fat, lower sugar diet, and I've never had any real issues with a mix of mainly alfalfa with a small amount of rice bran or whole oats. I'm a big fan of straights for simplicity and because I've heard of too much trash/filler being found in milled pelleted "complete" feeds.

She is on turnout and essentially ad-lib but lower-quality hay (which is fine, doesn't need the calories if i'm giving a bucket, just the long stem fiber really). My trimmer seems keen to try alfalfa-free feed to see what sort of difference that makes in her feet... I figure it's worth trying because honestly I've never tried her off alfalfa. I worry about the protein content and if too much grass is so bad for barefoot horses, why suggest a grass pellet?

I've been looking at Agrobs products, or possibly the Sainfoin from Simple Systems... but keen to hear of any other suggestions?

 

[Shay]

Have you looked at the Allen & Page range? We've used them for competition horses for many years now and can always fine a suitable one. We started with them becuase we had a massively feed sensitive 148 and have stuck with them because the service and the feeds are good.

 

[HeyMich]

I know you said you don't like traditional mixes, but I feed Pure Feeds which are a mixed feed company, and am very happy with them. They are all low sugar, no alfa, no soy, no molasses, balanced mins/vits etc and some have added pre/probiotics.

They have a whole range of energy/protein levels depending on the level of work and nutritional requirements of your horse - I feed Fibre Balance to all 4 of mine (including an ulcer prone mare, a veteran mare, a chunky welsh very good doer, and a cushings pony) and they all thrive on it.

Call them for a chat, they're great at giving advice over the phone.

 

[Meredith]

This is not a suggestion of what to feed your horse but an example of what changes can be made.
My horse’s needs are different to yours. Her feed is alfalfa and cereal free and as low sugar as possible. I replaced a specialist Allen and Page feed with Speedibeet, Micronised linseed and Graze-on Grass plus something like Equimins advance complete. It was cheaper and more easily adjusted.

 

[dixie]

Have a look at Thunderbrooks feeds. They are low starch/sugar and no Alfalfa, no GM, molasses or soya. They also do a Condition and Compete which is based on rice bran/linseed content.
Also you could look at Equi Jewel which is a high fat conditioning feed and also rice bran

I'm currently feeding Thunderbrooks Herbal Chaff with Equi Jewel for my ulcer horse and he is doing well on this.

 

[criso]

The sort of work mine does hardly qualifies him as a sportshorse but he's a barefoot tb that does better on a higher protein level and I always notice when my hay is lower in protein.

I feed Copra, Linseed, Straight Oats and Agrobs Musli, the latter because he likes a bit of something chewy.

Incidentally I have fed Alfalfa pellets in the past to my previous barefoot tb and quite like it as a feed however it's too high in calcium for my forage.

 

[Kat]

I find my mare does best on a higher protein/fat, lower sugar diet, and I've never had any real issues with a mix of mainly alfalfa with a small amount of rice bran or whole oats. I'm a big fan of straights for simplicity and because I've heard of too much trash/filler being found in milled pelleted "complete" feeds.

She is on turnout and essentially ad-lib but lower-quality hay (which is fine, doesn't need the calories if i'm giving a bucket, just the long stem fiber really). My trimmer seems keen to try alfalfa-free feed to see what sort of difference that makes in her feet... I figure it's worth trying because honestly I've never tried her off alfalfa. I worry about the protein content and if too much grass is so bad for barefoot horses, why suggest a grass pellet?

I've been looking at Agrobs products, or possibly the Sainfoin from Simple Systems... but keen to hear of any other suggestions?

Have you looked at coolstance copra? It works a treat for mine, keeps weight on her and gives her energy. She's a barefoot sport horse. I feed it with micronised linseed and some alfalfa chaff, but the chaff is largely because she's a fussy madam rather than for nutritional reasons!

 

[ohmissbrittany]

The sort of work mine does hardly qualifies him as a sportshorse but he's a barefoot tb that does better on a higher protein level and I always notice when my hay is lower in protein.

I feed Copra, Linseed, Straight Oats and Agrobs Musli, the latter because he likes a bit of something chewy.

Incidentally I have fed Alfalfa pellets in the past to my previous barefoot tb and quite like it as a feed however it's too high in calcium for my forage.

I used to feed alfalfa and rice bran in the US and was very happy with it. I stopped once I moved here because pairing the alfalfa with Equijewel seemed like too much calcium? (The ricebran pellets you get here are calcium fortified for Ca/P balance, different than the plain vitamin e stabilized RB powder I fed in the US, which usually errs toward higher phosphorous and balances the alfalfa quite nicely for both P/Ca and amino acid profiles).

I can't find a lot of literature on it, I know too much phosphorous is bad, what is the issue with too much calcium though? (only asking because you sound like someone who might know )

This is just an experiment because my trimmer suggested it. I've never tried "alfalfa free life" so I thought it might be worth a go just to see, she's very healthy otherwise but still not quite rock crunching.