Calling all feed experts!

[Mongoose11]

I just want to check if you think that my mare needs any thing else/different as her feeding regime is very simple (simple is good I know but I wondered if I do need to give her anything else now that I am asking more of her and I don't want her to drop any more weight)

So, light work. Probably 2 hacks of 1.5 hours involving walk/trot/canter - occasional gallop, 1 riding lesson, 2 shorter schooling sessions per week. Probably about 6 hours work per week.

She has this daily split into two feeds...

Half scoop alfa a
Half scoop bran
Mug of Baileys lo cal
Carrots

Fairly decent but short grass for 10-12 hours per day and then about 8-9 kg of haylage (no hay available)

Here is the most recent pic of her - she is at a good weight for her as has been a lot heavier in the past.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/picture.php?albumid=4702&pictureid=16199

Should I just keep it simple? Or does she need anything else - I know this is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' situation but advice is welcome.

Thanks
x

 

[ThePony]

I just want to check if you think that my mare needs any thing else/different as her feeding regime is very simple (simple is good I know but I wondered if I do need to give her anything else now that I am asking more of her and I don't want her to drop any more weight)

So, light work. Probably 2 hacks of 1.5 hours involving walk/trot/canter - occasional gallop, 1 riding lesson, 2 shorter schooling sessions per week. Probably about 6 hours work per week.

She has this daily split into two feeds...

Half scoop alfa a
Half scoop bran
Mug of Baileys lo cal
Carrots

Fairly decent but short grass for 10-12 hours per day and then about 8-9 kg of haylage (no hay available)

Here is the most recent pic of her - she is at a good weight for her as has been a lot heavier in the past.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/picture.php?albumid=4702&pictureid=16199

Should I just keep it simple? Or does she need anything else - I know this is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' situation but advice is welcome.

Thanks
x

afraid the pic doesn't work for me?

The work you are doing with her is classed as light work so she should manage easily on a minimal feed.

Looking at what you are feeding - unless your grazing is high in calcium and low in phosphorus I would wonder why you are feeding bran? If the grazing is high in calcium then I would wonder why you are feeding alfafa in the form of alpha a? Is the mug of bailys the right amount for your horses daily recommended feeding? If not then you might want to consider an additional vit and min supplement. Obv I can't see your pic so I don't know what size/build your horse is but that much haylege sounds a lot esp on top of decent grass - but then if your horse is holding weight fine and not getting porky on it then it obv works for you!

If your horse is maintaining a healthy weight then the diet works for her, if not then a tweak might suit?

 

[Mongoose11]

Thank you TP. I should have said the bran is there because she had several bouts of colic last year, I started feeding bran and hey presto - nothing. BUT I also moved yards so it could have been that too - perhaps the colic was from sand as we had quite sandy soil at my last place. Either way - I don't want to stop the bran incase it is that that has made the difference!

She certainly isn't putting on weight with the haylage, when I wanted her to lose a little the vet suggested 6-7 kg for her size. You can see a latest pic of her in my albums if it helps - no idea why my links never work

 

[ThePony]

Gorgeous girl!

If the bran works for you then def stick with it, just it isn't a common thing to feed so just wondering why! Ours were on it due to our grazing, unfortunatly it sent my mare utterly mad so I stopped it pdq lol!

So long as you are happy with her weight and she is getting the minimum daily amount for her weight of the low cal then I'd stick with what you are feeding, though with her type I guess she would be a pretty good doer - should the grass come through more you might well need to pull her haylege back a bit.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The old rule still works for me;
feed after work - that doesn't mean feed after you come back from a ride but rather feed as normal, monitor the weight & condition of the horse and if there is a drop then increase the feed. Do NOT increase the feed in anticipation of increased work. In fact your horse is in light work, so really shouldn't need anything more. Personally, I would remove the alfa-a and give a little more haylage. I, too, feed a tiny amount of bran to a colicky horse.