Countrywide horse feeds. Are they any good?

RubyFrench

RubyFrench

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Hi all,

It is time for horse to be stabled at night for the winter, so I am looking for his winter feed.
Normally my concern is weight gain, as he is normally a very lean horse and loses weight throughout winter (TbX 9yo) so I normally feed him sugarbeet +/- chaff, however this year he looks fantastic and I don't think his weight will be a concern. This year my concern is that he is severely lacking energy in the school, it is an effort to maintain trot and his walk is like a snail (vet checked and he is fine!) so want to feed him a small amount of something just to give him a bit of oomph. Schooled twice a week, hacked 2-3.

As it is equestrian event this weekend at countrywide I've been looking online at their own brand feeds and wandering if they are any good as they will be 3 for 2 on all feeds.

What has caught my eye are:
Horse & Pony mix/nuts
Light mix
The meal deal
Total control mix

If anyone has used these and thinks they might work for my horse I would appreciate the feed back.
 
I'm not a fan, mainly because it doesn't say anywhere what the composition is like & the nutritional level (- unless I'm being silly and missed it?).

I always try to stick with researched feeds; Saracens and Bluegrass are researched by Kentuckey Equine Research (KER).
 
I used the cheapest pony nuts for a treat, to catch them, etc.

I don't know what they are like, but I was at one of their Open Days when they had a good discount on everything and the local (very successful) point to point yard lady was ordering a large quantity of the Countrywide feeds.

I know one lady who swears by their dog feed. The only thing to do is to try it and see. Or consult their nutritionist. Countrywide is a company that makes feeds for dairy, beef and sheep so they are a reputable and successful business.
 
Countrywide basic feeds are made for them by Spillers and are exactly what it says on the bag, a no frills sensible feed at a sensible price. I fed them all of last winter with excellent results and will probably use them again as the base of my feeds. The mix is clean and they like the nuts too. There is an eventer that only ever uses their basic feeds even for their advanced horses and a well known stud uses their Extra Care range for all of their stock with good results. For once, CW isn't over pricing them which all helps too.

For OP, I'd look at their Extra Care range (I think it's called that) they have several different types and something should work for you. http://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk...ForFeedStoreFeed#filters/resultPage=ALL&sort=
 
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Maesfen said:
Countrywide basic feeds are made for them by Spillers and are exactly what it says on the bag, a no frills sensible feed at a sensible price. I fed them all of last winter with excellent results and will probably use them again as the base of my feeds. The mix is clean and they like the nuts too. There is an eventer that only ever uses their basic feeds even for their advanced horses and a well known stud uses their Extra Care range for all of their stock with good results. For once, CW isn't over pricing them which all helps too.

For OP, I'd look at their Extra Care range (I think it's called that) they have several different types and something should work for you. http://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk...ForFeedStoreFeed#filters/resultPage=ALL&sort=
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Thank you for this :)

And thank you everyone else, I had heard years ago that they were made by a reputable company but couldn't remember who it was! As I will only be feeding a token feed (not feeding kg's a day as recommended!) to say "isn't it lovely coming into your stable at night/well done for trying in the school" I think I will give them a go :) I was just a bit concerned at the thought of buying 3 bags at time (due to the offer) and them all being horrendous!

Do people recommend the mixes over the nuts then? I didn't want to promote fussy feeding :)
 
Yes, they are very good. The Light Mix is very similar (if not the same) to Spillers Cool Mix. We also use the 16+ mix which is also good.
 
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I've been feeding the value nuts for a couple of months and my Arab looks great, he's holding his weight really well. I decided to try their basic mollichop and he loves it. Ive tried so many different feeds and struggled to keep weight on him and I now love Countrywide value feeds. Just wanted to say that Baileys no 4 are amazing for weight gain too.
 
MissMistletoe said:
Really good value, but I changed to Pegasus Nuts, which work out £5.65 a bag in my local feed merchant.
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Yes, I use the mix, which is about the same price. My local tack shop has frequent specials on their Pegasus range too, which makes them a great buy!

I tried some Countrywide mix a year or so back, and it seemed very similar to Pegasus.

That said, I'm no expert because I have a mare that would hold her weight if she were turned out on the yard!
 
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