Conditioning cubes query

[Falcosmum]

I have a new mare, shes an ex racer, and has been with us a month and came in a right poor state of affairs bless her. My go to for condition is usually, grass chaff, speedibeet, copra, micronised linseed and a vit/min supplement, in varying amounts and or variations depending on the horse. However she is the fussiest of eaters and refused anything that wasn't cubes. I introduced her to baileys ease and excell and gradually added the copra, grass chaff and linseed but when I just about got her to a decent amount she refused to eat again, just picked the cubes out and leaves most of the rest. I'm not convinced the ease and excell are the best option, so my query is Conditioning cubes? Which ones have you had succces with? They seem to vary so much in starch, sugar and protein content its baffling. The spillers ones look quiet good in terms of protien, energy, starch and sugar content. Shes had all the checks, teeth, wormed ect. Many thanks in advance.

 

[deicinmerlyn]

Top Spec Cool Condition cubes
Redmills Ultra cubes
ERS cubes
All mostly conditioning and not too high in starch and sugar.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I think they are much the same from what I can remember I haven't fed them for years, I do have an Arab that will eat a feed then just refuse to touch it he does eat the spillers speedy mash and I feed the daily balancer and his not refused that yet.

I like the spillers range as they are not to high in sugar and starch and they don't add iron to any if the feeds either.

Saracens Equijewel is very good for condition and you only feed a small amount so easy to get them to eat it.

Another thought is do you think she may have ulcers?

 

[Falcosmum]

Top Spec Cool Condition cubes
Redmills Ultra cubes
ERS cubes
All mostly conditioning and not too high in starch and sugar.

Thank you I'll have a research of these

 

[ecb89]

Saracens re-leve is very good

 

[Falcosmum]

I think they are much the same from what I can remember I haven't fed them for years, I do have an Arab that will eat a feed then just refuse to touch it he does eat the spillers speedy mash and I feed the daily balancer and his not refused that yet.

I like the spillers range as they are not to high in sugar and starch and they don't add iron to any if the feeds either.

Saracens Equijewel is very good for condition and you only feed a small amount so easy to get them to eat it.

Another thought is do you think she may have ulcers?

Thank you, I'll have a look at the equijewel, is it rice bran? I don't think she has ulcers and neither did my vet, but without scoping you can't be 100% sure, I'm loath to put her through the stress when she's not showing symptoms, she isn't girthy or sensitive around the tummy she doesn't show signs of discomfort at all I suppose the only thing is she was desperately under weight and is a fussy eater with hard feed. She looks 100 times better already it's just so hard to get her to eat anything that isn't a cube.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Saracens re-leve is very good

If you feed this please soak it, even though it says you can feed it dry - you very much cannot!!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Try veteran cubes? Plenty of conditioning from them.
I tend to veer towards veteran feeds for getting more condition on, whatever their age.
I threw 3 bags of Saracen Veteran nuts down B Fuzzy a few years ago when she arrived in December looking positively haggard, plus also Top Spec Ulsakind nuts too.

 

[khalswitz]

Personally my go-tos would be on your list. However, some horses take longer to get used to feed like copra or linseed if they haven’t had it before.

When I started mine on linseed and copra, she wasn’t sure and much preferred the cubes. I started with a high proportion cubes with some chaff and copra, and the copra turns the cubes into a softer mixed mash anyway. Over time I slowly adjusted it, til now she doesn’t get cubes at all. Another suggestion is adding garlic or mint or meadow herbs or something to get her interested in something new.

If you want a high calorie super low sugar/starch pellet then I second the ERS Pellets - I used them before and they were good.

 

[Falcosmum]

Personally my go-tos would be on your list. However, some horses take longer to get used to feed like copra or linseed if they haven’t had it before.

When I started mine on linseed and copra, she wasn’t sure and much preferred the cubes. I started with a high proportion cubes with some chaff and copra, and the copra turns the cubes into a softer mixed mash anyway. Over time I slowly adjusted it, til now she doesn’t get cubes at all. Another suggestion is adding garlic or mint or meadow herbs or something to get her interested in something new.

If you want a high calorie super low sugar/starch pellet then I second the ERS Pellets - I used them before and they were good.

Thank you, this is very helpful and it's lovely to hear of someone else who has the same go tos. I'll look into the ers pellets

 

[Pinkvboots]

Thank you, I'll have a look at the equijewel, is it rice bran? I don't think she has ulcers and neither did my vet, but without scoping you can't be 100% sure, I'm loath to put her through the stress when she's not showing symptoms, she isn't girthy or sensitive around the tummy she doesn't show signs of discomfort at all I suppose the only thing is she was desperately under weight and is a fussy eater with hard feed. She looks 100 times better already it's just so hard to get her to eat anything that isn't a cube.

Yes it's rice bran.

I found with mine he doesn't like anything too wet and not too much in one go so might be worth splitting it into several small feeds.

 

[ihatework]

If she likes cubes then just stick with cubes. They are actually pretty dense so pack a lot more than you might initially think. You can always add in a third feed.

Personally I’d stick with the ease and excel a little longer, a month isn’t that long.

But if you are going to switch then all the main brands have an ulcer/muscle friendly cube which is what I’d advise over a conditioning cube.

Spillers - Digest+
D&H - ERS cubes
Saracen - Releve cubes

There are others, eg Allen & Page (generally needs soaking so less ideal), top spec (although they suggest a balancer alongside) and it might be worth seeing what gain/red mills offer as they are becoming more available in uk.

 

[TPO]

If you feed this please soak it, even though it says you can feed it dry - you very much cannot!!

It comes in a cube/nut now, too.

So does Ease&Excel. I wasn't sure from OP if you fed the mix and had the nuts picked out or it was the nut that they couldn't eat.

 

[P.forpony]

I'd give it a little more time too.
If she's come off a race yard she's probably a bit suspicious of all the new flavours and textures.
It took my lad about 6 months to eat a carrot or apple if you put them in his feed, he was convinced you were trying to poison him, and the whole lot would just be booted across the floor in disgust!
He was really poor too.
Ease and excell suits him because the feeding rate is low and he's easily over faced.
3 scoops a day of the mix is the full reccomended amount and adding a cup of linseed to each feed keeps the calories up and the meal size down.

Also you dont mention what kind or quantity of forage shes getting?
it's usually a much lower percentage of their overall intake on race yards so if you're feeding ad lib she will still be adjusting to a higher forage diet and probably feeling less hungry for hard feed.

 

[Hallo2012]

my cube loving fusspot did really well on the ERS cubes, ate up and gained weight

 

[dorsetladette]

Not quite the answer your looking for but I've had good results from linseed lozenges. They are sort of a cube/nut and you only need a small amount added to the existing feed to make a difference (70g) which is literally a small handful - you can even feed them as a treat from the hand if needed as it's such a small portion size. might be worth a look?

Linseed Lozenges 25Kg

I'Ansons Linseed Lozenges are a high protein complementary compound product in lozenge form to be fed together with other ingredients. It is high in energy, oil and available carbohydrates, and a good source of protein. Linseed expellers is a traditional ingredient often found in pedigree coarse...

www.burnhills.com

 

[LEC]

The feeds you are trying to put in are pretty bland. I can see why she is being fussy.

You have a few extra options:
Saracen Releve mix is excellent and would be worth a try just to add more if you feel she needs it.
Add oil as no bulk and can be put on top of the cubes.
Dengie do an excellent fibre which has high oil and calories and is pretty palatable - I would maybe give that a go.
I have actually switched to just an Alfalfa cube - emeralds feeds as good value and provides everything you need. High in protein and low in starch.
I have had great success feeding for weight with castle horse feeds mixes. Even fussy ones seem to really like it. Ring them for some samples.

 

[HelenBack]

Mine is doing well on Spillers Ulca Power cubes and linseed. The Spillers conditioning cubes are good too and both are low in starch and sugar. I tried the Ease and Excel cubes and thought they looked a bit bland so the Spillers cubes might be a bit tastier.

Mine isn't fussy though, he'll eat anything really.

 

[KatieDM]

Just jumping in to ask if anybody has an opinion on the Harlequin conditioning cubes? Thank you!

 

[MissTyc]

You can get ease & excel as cubes as well (I think it's #24).

My old ex racer only ate cubes as well. She grew out of it in the end, but she still will eat tghem first from any bucket.

 

[ihatework]

Just jumping in to ask if anybody has an opinion on the Harlequin conditioning cubes? Thank you!

No full nutritional breakdown so impossible to say, but looking at ingredients it will be relatively high in starch. These are cheap feed. Some horses will be fine on it, but more horse friendly feeds out there.

 

[KatieDM]

No full nutritional breakdown so impossible to say, but looking at ingredients it will be relatively high in starch. These are cheap feed. Some horses will be fine on it, but more horse friendly feeds out there.

Thank you. Confirmed my thoughts

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Saracen Releve cubes are very palatable but need soaking. Those fed with Equijewel and micronised linseed would be one of my first choices for a fussy eater that needs to weight gain. Baileys fibre nuggets are also a feed that I’ve never seen a horse refuse. I mainly feed as treats or what I call “croutons” when I sprinkle a few on top of their feeds.

 

[Bobthecob15]

Just started mine on Omega Rice and he’s gained in a week, he’s a TB too that needed to gain some weight. It’s a mix of oils, rice bran and linseed. I feed him Pure Working (haven’t met a horse yet that doesn’t love Pure feeds!) and have simply added a cup of the omega rice. It’s really good, definitely recommend! It’s a pellet x