Cost of feeding!

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Rosehip

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Ive just worked out how much it is costing to feed the girls per week...and now Ive put the willies up myself good and proper!

I feed the following:-

Hi Fi Lite
D&H Mare&Youngstock
Spillers Horse&Pony nuts
A&P Fast Fibre

They are fed twice a day, and the amounts are:

Melly

1/2 kg Fast Fibre
2 scoops (600g) Hi Fi Lite

Seren

1/2 kg Fast Fibre
1 kg Mare&Ystock
1 scp (300g) Hi Fi Lite
1/2kg Horse&Pony nuts

Maisie

1/4kg Fast Fibre
1/4kg Mare&Ystock
1/4kg Horse&Pony nuts
(handful of Hifi Lite too)

In total that costs £2.10 a day = £14.70 a week

Then there are the supplements!

Glucosamine
Magnitude
Laminitis Prone
Equivite Origional
No Bute
Mobile Mover

A total of £2.49 a day = £17.43 a week. Grand total £32.13 a week!

I really cant afford to be spending that much when I only earn £80 a week, so have you guys got any idea how to make savings without compromising on quality?
I absolutely refuse to buy Pegasus nuts or mix (Made by spillers, their economy range) as I may as well feed floor sweepings, so I would rather be paying a little more for better quality stuff......

Sorry its so long!! x
 
Melly is lami and is on a fibre diet, father than feeding her masses of hifi lite with nothing else I mix the 2 together for a bit of taste and interest.
Seren is a broodmare (maisie is her foal) and I use the fast fibre as a damp base for their feeds, Seren also doesnt eat a vast amount of chaff, she seems to go off it and leave her feed, so its a good way of getting her fibre requirements into her.
I wont feed chaff without damping it, but loathe sugar beet, so fast fibre is a good all round base for me. x
 
That seems rather complicated do they need so much?
I would cut out the HiFi and the H&P cubes , maybe up the mare & youngster a bit if needing more or give more FF or if not growing cut the mare & youngster and keep the cubes.
Are all the supplements required, several seem to be much the same, I would decide which are really doing the job and stop anything that is not
 
As above, Melly is my old girl, she only has the hifi and FF, she also has no bute in the morning, and magnitude, then magnitude/lami prone/equivite/mobile mover and glucosamine at night. She is bone spavin as well as the lami so needs added support.
Seren just has the glucosamine as she clicks. She is still lactating - maisie is 5 months - but will blow on any more mare&ystock (so will the foal) hense I add the nuts as more calories without the 'buzz'.
 
So you're spending more money a week on supplements than on hard feed? yikes! I would be asking how many of those are really needed. Magnitude in particular isn't likely to be needed/make any difference at this time of year. I'd be tempted to feed a good balancer rather than all of those supplements, tbh.

I'd also scrap the chaff if you are feeing fast fibre.

How much hay/haglage are they getting? Could feeding more/higher quality stuff reduce the need for the nuts etc.

3 horses on a wage of £80 a week must be tight.
 
I agree with be positive exactly.
My horse was on FF for a bit and A&P said you don't need to feed it with chaff as it's so high in fibre by itself :). I'd mix that with the
mare and youngstock.
Also FF is fully supplemented with vits mins and probiotic, as is
the mare and youngstock so do you need to feed any supplements? :)
 
monkeybum13 said:
Can I ask why you are feeding fast fibre and hi fi? Surely they're basically the same thing, I'd just feed one, not the two together.
Click to expand...

I agree ^^^^^hi-fi doesnt need to be fed if feeding fast fibre, i feed mine fast fibre and no other chaff along with her vits/mins.

Again i agree if theyre on good quality hay/haylage then i dont think the amounts are needed.
It is scary when you get the calulator out and work out expenses though!
 
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Puppy said:
So you're spending more money a week on supplements than on hard feed? yikes! I would be asking how many of those are really needed. Magnitude in particular isn't likely to be needed/make any difference at this time of year. I'd be tempted to feed a good balancer rather than all of those supplements, tbh.

I'd also scrap the chaff if you are feeing fast fibre.

How much hay/haglage are they getting? Could feeding more/higher quality stuff reduce the need for the nuts etc.

3 horses on a wage of £80 a week must be tight.
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Yep, its bum clenching! I give magnitude to Melly partially as a calmer (I know within days if she hasnt had it) and partially as an aid to her ongoing weightloss.

If I didnt feed chaff, what would I give Melly? (My lami girl)

Melly is having 6lb of well soaked hay a day and is on poor grazing, Seren and Maisie are having 12 - 14lb of haylage a day and have fair grazing.

Thanks for all replies so far by the way :)

EDIT: I dont feed enough Fast Fibre to Melly for her to get her daily requirement of vits and mins - shes on a lami diet. Shes the one that has the equivite x
 
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£80 a week and 3 horses, are you actually managing to eat yourself?? That also seems alot off food and supplements, some off which are very similar agree with some off the other posters! Are they living out/in/both and what sort of work are they in?
 
Rosehip said:
Yep, its bum clenching! I give magnitude to Melly partially as a calmer (I know within days if she hasnt had it) and partially as an aid to her ongoing weightloss.
Click to expand...

It's not going to act as much of a calmer right now though as the grass has no sugar in it, nor has her diet. This is exactly why this time of year I stop feeding it to mine ;)

If I were you I could put them all on a good balancer - either topspec senior or topspec anti lami for your mature girl (probably the senior for her joints so you can bin all the supplements) and the topspec stud stuff for the other two. Just feed it to them with a bit of fast fibre each.

Less faff, you can cut out the supplements, you'll be guaranteed to meet all nutritional needs and I would imagine it'll work out a cheaper, even though they can seem a bit pricey per bag.
 
I just had a lively lady from Allen & Page out to my lami mate who.had just weaned her foal & is now in work.

She was marvelous, went through everything that's being feed to my pone inc suppliments & is coming back.in a month to see how she is getting on. I also got sent a free 20kg sack if food
 
I think it's quite a lot of feed!

Our boys are both good doers, and Tom is roughed off, whereas Ron hunts twice a week in the winter.

They are both out for 10hours a day minimum. They then get speedibeet and alfa oil and baileys lo-cal. The exact quantities of each can be adjust according to their condition. The also get ad lib haylage.

obviously this wouldn't quite suit all of yours but surely this simple diet would give them all the fibre they'd need, and all the vits and mins.

lo-cal £24.59 (you could use a stud balancer instead to help the little one stay on track) for our 2 I buy 3 bags a year.
alfa oil £13.70 (you could us hi-fi lite, or fast fibre) one bag last us about 10 days
speedibeet £11 (or other unmolassed sugar beet) one bag lasts us about 2 - 3 weeks

have you loked at other options for the supplements? you might find that someone does a calmer and joint supplement in one (can't think of one mind!), or that there are other, less expensive options. How about Naf Slimfast or what ever it's called to help your lami one?
 
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Well I would say that they are being feed rather alot for horses that aren't in work. Agree with Puppy I think they would be better with a balencer and some chaff, also agree with the top-spec sugggestion give their help line a ring. This would cut out on the food and the supplements IMO. My hunter is feed on Top-spec comp balancer and also an equal mix off the their condtioning flakes and also cool condtion cubes, their joint supplement and then just gets salt added in, I can't work the cost per week as I don't do maths but pretty sure it wouldn't be that much!! I know that, that is only one horse but she is in hard work!! A bag of balencer lasts 6 weeks and think the other bags last about 2 weeks, bulk order ao not totally sure? You could always feed them mor hay if they need a bit more as well?
 
I suggest you scrutinise the ingredients of everything you are feeding. You are basically creating very expensive urine.
There's no point in feeding FF alongside Hi Fi.

Magnitude is basically magnesium - which you can buy much more cheaply
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAGNESIUM...r_Equipment&hash=item41576700a5#ht_1237wt_952

Glucosamine effectiveness is often doubted. I would feed micronised linseed instead. Excellent for joints, coat AND digestion.
http://www.charnwood-milling.co.uk/mail-order/Horse_Food.html

Laminitis Prone - you can use Yea-sacc or L-Glutamine instead

Equivite Original - OK, but you are using this alongside cubes. It's meant to be fed just with fibre (as in just FF and this) not with other feeds.

No Bute - basically Devil's Claw. Cheaper sources elsewhere and may be better on micronised linseed anyway.
http://www.equinatural.co.uk/epages/BT3755.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT3755/Products/036

Mobile mover - again, Devil's Claw and herbs for movement. See the above link for the same thing.

With the rest of the feeds - you need to look at the ingredients again as I suspect you are feeding the same things twice.

NEVER BELIEVE WHAT IS WRITTEN ON THE FEED BAGS/TUBS - IT'S OFTEN LIES!
rant2.gif
 
For Melly I would simply have a handful of fast fibre with one general purpose or anti-lam supplement. 1/2 kg ff and 2 scoops hi fi lite may not sound much but will add up! Same for Maisie unless she is underweight.

For your broodie I would continue the Mare and Youngstock supplement, and add a bit of fast fibre if you want. If not on recommended quantities of M&Y then add balancer/vit and min supplement.

Regarding 'joint' supplements; you do realise that both mobile mover and no bute are devils claw based? Why do you use both? If you feel you need to use a joint supplement then I would just choose 1 (preferably with decent levels of msm and glucosamine).

Don't be fooled into thinking a horse has to have a bucket full of feed; my warmblood, even when in hard work has done very well on a handful of speedibeet/chaff and pink powder alongside a reasonable quality and quantity of forage :)
 
rhino said:
Don't be fooled into thinking a horse has to have a bucket full of feed; my warmblood, even when in hard work has done very well on a handful of speedibeet/chaff and pink powder alongside a reasonable quality and quantity of forage :)
Click to expand...

Yes I agree^^^^my cob does very well on 250g fast fibre (dried weight) with 100g linseed, cinnammon (magnesium in spring) and her supplement. Shes currently in medium work.....
 
Oberon said:
I suggest you scrutinise the ingredients of everything you are feeding. You are basically creating very expensive urine.
There's no point in feeding FF alongside Hi Fi.

Magnitude is basically magnesium - which you can buy much more cheaply
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAGNESIUM...r_Equipment&hash=item41576700a5#ht_1237wt_952

Glucosamine effectiveness is often doubted. I would feed micronised linseed instead. Excellent for joints, coat AND digestion.
http://www.charnwood-milling.co.uk/mail-order/Horse_Food.html

Laminitis Prone - you can use Yea-sacc or L-Glutamine instead

Equivite Original - OK, but you are using this alongside cubes. It's meant to be fed just with fibre (as in just FF and this) not with other feeds.

No Bute - basically Devil's Claw. Cheaper sources elsewhere and may be better on micronised linseed anyway.
http://www.equinatural.co.uk/epages/BT3755.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT3755/Products/036

Mobile mover - again, Devil's Claw and herbs for movement. See the above link for the same thing.

With the rest of the feeds - you need to look at the ingredients again as I suspect you are feeding the same things twice.

NEVER BELIEVE WHAT IS WRITTEN ON THE FEED BAGS/TUBS - IT'S OFTEN LIES!
rant2.gif
Click to expand...


I dont have an ebay account, and dont want one. I know that magnitude is magnesium - I feed that as a dual purpose, for weight loss and as a calmer.

Mobile Mover has added herbs in it as well as the devils claw. I give both no-bute and mobile mover as I dont want to over do melody on the additional herbs in the MM. Equivite Orig is ONLY fed to Melly, who DOES NOT have the nuts as she is LAMI.

Laminitis Prone - Yea-sacc and L-Glutamine do not work as effectively. I have tried.

Glucosamine. Melly on it - sound, Melly off it - lame. It works for us. I cannot feed linseed as she has LAMI.

With regards feeding the same things twice, please give an example?


Rhino/Rosie-ellie. Whilst I am fully aware that horses do not need a huge bucket of feed, Melly (lami mare) is on an 8kg gross fibre per day diet. The bigger the feed with the fewer calories the better or I am running the risk of ulcers, colic and behavioural problems.

Seren (broodmare, still lactating) is a very very good doer, when she was in full work and 'hunting' fit she has chaff and 250g pony nuts, and was hard to keep slim. It just shows how much it takes from a mare to be lactating and feeding a foal. We equate it to 3 or 4 days hunting a week, possibly more.
 
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What about feeding fast fiber , sure grow and linseed and cutting out the supplements, feed tumeric too and I recon that would have you sorted
 
Copra feed? Once they acquire the taste for it, it's a very handy feed and lasts a while!

Failing that....Countrywide's own brand feeds are very good for money and put more weight on my lad than leading name branded feed. For conditioning top line nuts, molli chaff, horse and pony mix and sugar beet, came to just £21! Lasted me about 9 days - with him being on 3 feeds a day of a full scoop of all in each feed.
 
Hi Binky, the Copra feed, what is it, and how does it equate? I was looking at the Pure Feeds website, but Im not sure it would do the job I want.
I stear clear of Mollassed chaffs and sugar beet as my old lad was very sensitive to both, and Seren is a bit to sugar beet. x
 
Ladylina83 said:
Why can't you feed linseed to a lami pony ? ?

Also you can buy cal mag for 8 quid a 20 kg sack from the farmers merchants
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Linseed is conditioning, the last thing you want to do with an EMS Lami ned is condition it.
What farmers merchant can you get cal mag from? None of them round here do it - and most of them looked at me like I had 2 heads when I asked for it!
 
Personally I would probably give the lammi a handful of hifi lite chaff with a lami balancer (has biotin and good stuff for feet in) and the mare and foal Baileys stud balancer and HIfi lite. They are ponies at the end of the day and not being ridden (although obviously the mare and foal do need a decent diet.
However It does sound like you
have a reason for everything that you feed, some IMO are placebos but if you are happy and you think your horses are happy then maybe you should keep with what you are feeding.
Or get a nutritionist to visit? Might put your mind at rest and help you simplify diet?

When I was young I had ponies in their late teens/early 20's and my sisters pony was 36! I rode sometimes twice a day (v keen child) and would do PC at the weekends. Our ponies were only fed a handful of pony nuts after I rode and that was just my mum placating me I think that they were having a 'feed'. They were always fine and fit and well?!
 
Everyone has given good suggestions, but in all of your replies you seem to be trying to justify what you're already feeding. If you feel everything you are feeding has it's place then carry on feeding it!

I agree with everyone else that most of what you're feeding is money down the drain though, but you don't seem to want to take on any of the suggestions.

For the mare and foal, I would give ad lib hay/haylage, with fast fibre and suregrow. I wouldn't feed them any supplements

Is the horse who is having a calmer in work? If not - why have the clamer? Is it too difficult to handle on the ground? The magnesium does nothing for weight loss - only thing that can help that is calories goign in must be less than calories going out. So feed 1.5% of body weight as soaked meadow hay (seed hay will be mainly ryegrass so have more calories) and a pelleted balancer and exercise the horse (ridden or inhand) If magnesium helped weight loss then all the obese people in the country would be on magnesium pills wouldn't they?! If you need a joint supplement, that is fair enough, but chose something all in one rather than feeding loads of different ones and you'll save money. My favorite is Feedmarks Extraflex
 
Ahhahahaha you are the feed companies DREEEEAAAMMMM customer....

So, how did you fall for all that?
 
Hi Firewall, I too had a 36 year old, he had a complicated diet too as he had no teeth! lol! Im the good old days mine had mollichop and sheep nuts, all of them lived long happy lives.
I think today we place too much emphasis on the 'correct' feeds for different workloads and disciplines. I would dearly love to just give Seren and her foal nuts and mollichop, but I would then worry that she and the foal werent getting the correct nutrients.... its a battle between head and heart!

Looking at Top Spec, I wouldnt be able to feed my lami girl the 'recommended' amount, so would still need to add the equivite, and the stud balancer gave Seren lami at 9months gestation, so I darent feed that!lol!

Thanks for your input though x
 
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