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...

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