Do we over complicate our horses feeds?

S

SWE

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 August 2017
Messages
295
Visit site
Just thinking back to all of the big yards I have worked for whilst trying to decide which feed to put my new (slightly underweight) horse on and wondering if we overcomplicate feeding our horses way too much?! Feed companies are rubbing their hands together at us owners who just have a few horses, getting drawn into all the feeds which would be best for our horses.

All of the big competition yards I have worked for have literally just fed nuts of one form or another. That's it.

Yard 1. Every horse had 1 scoop of nuts (either high fiber or racehorse cubes depending on energy requirements) 3x a day, with a bit of salt and oil in their evening feed, plus electrolytes the day after a competition. Even 4* horses.

Yard 2. As above (2x a day) but with some hi fibre chaff and most of them had some form of supplement as he was sponsored by a big supplement co.

Yard 3. A scoop of high fibre cubes 3x a day, that's it.

Add decent haylage and good work and they all looked amazing.....

What do you think? Should we all be simplifying our feeding and concentrating on good work and forage or do you feel like your more complex feeding approach is justified?
 
Yes.
The simpler you keep it, the better they look.

Mine get Alfa A oil or Top Chop Zero, plus Optigain Balancer. They have never looked so good, and well. 4 are over 20yrs old.
 
Most definitely. This year, my four have all lived out largely unrugged and with no hard feed up to this point (an elderly Welsh B, an ISH, a Gypsy Cob, and her Welsh D x foal). In the last week, I've started to give the old boy a feed of Healthy Hooves and Fast Fibre, but only because the grass really is gone now and I know that his teeth aren't so great anymore. Not one of them has struggled to hold weight - in fact, cutting out the hard feed has made no difference at all, and I was one of those people that spent hours doing my research and making sure each horse had a diet specially tailored to their specific needs. Turns out I might as well not have bothered; forage alone has done just as good a job :D
 
I have recently decided to gradually change my mare's feed from the pure feed company zero energy pellets and linseed oil to thunderbrooks herbal museli and garlic. She's unrugged and out 24/7 at our new yard and has never looked so happy. Her current feed looks and smells like wet sand and has things in it she doesn't need so it's very much cutting back on everything for her.
 
Yes !! When I was young there was little choice in feed, so my horse was fed on bran and nuts and that was that (lived abroad so choice was even more limited than UK). Now there is an incredible amount of feed and supplements available, with all the manufacturers promising great things from their products. I've had health issues with my horse and my vet has stated there are no supplements available which will help. Yes there are literally hundreds of feeds and supplements to supposedly help this condition. I'm amazed at some of the concoctions that people feed, without fully analysing and researching first, and then claim that the horse is too exciteable so feed it more supplements (calmers). Choice is great, but I so wish there was more unbiased nutritional advice available.
 
I certainly think that the feed companies are more interested in profits than horse welfare - which is entirely logical from a business perspective, it's just owners who don't always seem to grasp it.
 
Yes! Am driving myself potty right now trying to sort mine out. Tried to simplify it all then it's all gone wrong again and I'm adding in 101 things and worrying that I'm getting it all wrong. So tempted to just not feed anything at all (just forage obv) and see what happens.
 
It's just a minefield if you let yourself in isn't it! I think everyone's confirmed for me that simplicity is the way forward!
 
Yes, very over complicated and feed companies must be rubbing their hands together.
I have 2 x Welsh d and an RID.
They are all fed appropriate handful of thunderbrook chaff, with supplements and salt. Supplements are different for each one,and one had nothing bar salt. The rid has a shake of micronised linseed. She competes at BS. The Welsh are shown at county level but currently hairy, and naked as not in work.
If we need to top the RID up, which is rare, we feed oats.
The old fashioned straights, imho, are very valuable still and much, much cheaper than many of the modern mixes etc.
 
We have been browbeaten by the feed companies into falling for their 'crap in a sack' because the sack has pretty colours on and a lovely horse with a. shiny coat cantering in the long grass or being ridden over a huge XC fence.

I stripped mine back years ago, they now only have 3 'brands' Simple Systems, Thunderbrooks and Agrob's, no waste byproducts, fillers or bulking agents - they both look amazing.
They also have adlib hay and a multi vitamin.
Both barefoot, they are rugged because I can't cope with dirty muddy horses.
 
The majority of horses, unless racing or competing at a high level, will thrive on good forage alone. I was surprised at what (in a dietary context) Heavy Work actually is.

Fibre is the king of feed.
 
Yes! There is a huge industry designed to make money from separating horse owners from their money and it is the same world wide. They don't make any money if you just feed chaff and oats. I am still getting used to chaff coming with brand names - it's something that has just started in NZ. Luckily I can still buy oats and chaff, unbranded and the chaff still comes in a chaff sack!

I think the thing that gets me most, is that as a human I'm being encouraged to eat whole, unprocessed food as much as possible. Yet, the "experts" would have me feed my horse stuff that's been processed to the max.
 
my horse is fed simply on haylage. She is ridden for 45 mins 6 Days a week. She is the shiniest horse on the yard and only very lightly groomed!! Last year I fed her a mix of fibre cubes, pink powder, flax oil, garlic, salt and chaff and honestly she looks and feels better this year
 
I will use good quality supplements for horses with health problems, because I've found them to work. I don't feed anything just for the sake of it or just in case. When choosing I'll pick between bran/chaff/sugar beet for the base, if one horse has a particular need for one of them then that's what the rest will get too, I just vary the quantities according to what's appropriate for the horse. I prefer bran, because I've never met a horse who doesn't like it, and if I've put supplements in the feed I want it eaten. On top of that is either low energy nuts or oats, if necessary. I refuse to have more than 2 feed bins, no matter the number of horses, its clutter for the feed room, and too complicated for everything to be on different feed.
 
I only feed to carry a supplement & because in winter they all get a small feed before turnout & it's not fair to leave him out (also stops scoffing frosty grass if he has a bit in his tummy. It's mainly sugar beet pulp with a handful of chaff & his Camomile.
 
Agree with everything said in this thread, the feed companies are laughing.
There's a woman on the yard who feeds 10 different supplements and I just can't get my head around it to a horse that is a natural good doer.

Most horses on the yard get chaff and nuts. My mare is doing well on hay, she gets a handful of topchop zero and balancer twice daily with a scoop of salt and biotin. Not sure the biotin is doing anything, but it was recommended by the farrier. She only gets a little feed as all the horses are brought in and fed at the same time.

I can't understand people feeding competition mixes to horses doing light hacking work, then complaining when the horse has far too much energy
 
Last edited:
I'm currently in such a mess that I've ended up trying to do a comparison of different balancers based on what amounts of each vit and min are actually in there... and they are all so different I'm starting to suspect it is all just guff. And I'd be better off just feeding speedibeet and salt and ignoring everything else.
 
Henry gets a smallish feed of chaff, nuts (Baileys conditioning cubes) and a cup of micronized linseed, as well as almost ad-lib access to haylage/grass. He looks great, has plenty of energy and a beautiful coat, definitely doesn't need all these fancy mixes and supplements!
 
PapaverFollis said:
I'm currently in such a mess that I've ended up trying to do a comparison of different balancers based on what amounts of each vit and min are actually in there... and they are all so different I'm starting to suspect it is all just guff. And I'd be better off just feeding speedibeet and salt and ignoring everything else.
Click to expand...

Does your horse have some sort of problem that makes you think a balancer will benefit him? If not, why feed it?

If something with him goes downhill without the vitamins/minerals then yes feed him a supplement, but if he's fine why worry?

Balancers are extra protein too, if you think he needs that protein you could feed Alfa Beet which is 50/50 alfalfa and sugar beet in a pellet that you soak. I suggest it as you seem to favour sugar beet.

FWIW I've fed Blue Chip Original balancer which gave a lethargic one more stamina. I can't comment on any others I've never used them.
 
I don't think I do!

26230610_10156606769165730_2991868484246805985_n.jpg
 
100%!
My tb is on grass nuts, build up conditioning cubes, alpha a and some oil and that seems to work really well, in the summer she gets a bit of chaff. Some people I've known have had 6+ different feeds with supplements on top!
 
I generally feed only to carry minerals to balance my grazing and vitamin E and alcar for a PSSM horse. They get bran (with a bit of limestone flour) and sugarless chaff. If anyone needed more calories I'd feed oil from the supermarket or oats.

The only time I've gone away from this recently is for an exceptionally picky feeder who would only eat his meds with Re-leve. My new horse is refusing to eat up the rest of the bag, he knows what's good for him :)

They get ad lib low sugar (timothy old meadow) haylage.

I evented to Novice BE years ago on two horses fed nothing but grass and an own brand cube (one is in my avatar). They were fit as fleas - I had to slow my other one down because he got time penalties for going too fast!

With the work levels they get, most horses need nothing more than forage. I suspect that feed companies are responsible for a lot of ulcer cases by persuading people to feed bucket food, then owners restricting overnight hay to stop the horse getting fat.
 
Last edited:
fairyclare said:
We have been browbeaten by the feed companies into falling for their 'crap in a sack' because the sack has pretty colours on and a lovely horse with a. shiny coat cantering in the long grass or being ridden over a huge XC fence.

I stripped mine back years ago, they now only have 3 'brands' Simple Systems, Thunderbrooks and Agrob's, no waste byproducts, fillers or bulking agents - they both look amazing.
They also have adlib hay and a multi vitamin.
Both barefoot, they are rugged because I can't cope with dirty muddy horses.
Click to expand...

LOL made me smile cant disagree with the first sentence however the second paragraph names some of the worse offenders in the feeding con!

Back in my young days there used to be three feeds in the feed room Chaff, Oats and Bran all locally sourced. The cost of raw materials in ANY bag of horse feed comes to about £3.50 max
Along with good forage you need no more the horses were in great condition under the care of people who really knew their job.
 
Last edited:
oats bran chaff and linseed in my feed room. and pony nuts for training ( treats). the whole horse food thing is crazy. marketing hype gone mad.
 
A lot of people also feed too much and don't vary the feed level to reflect the work the horse is doing.

I freely admit to feeding at a high rate at the moment but my mare has dropped a lot weight and it's part of her recovery as recommended by the vet. When she's back to weight she'll be back on Agrobs muesli.

I regard supplements as legal robbery. I use a small amount of micronized linseed daily for coat condition and haylage balancer for a few days if she gets runny poos from rich grass.
 
Yep - but I enjoy thinking about feed. I'm firmly in the fibre and oil camp, but I do try new feeds within that bracket, and supplements where I think they're relevant. I'm well aware I'm a victim of marketing, but there we go - I only have one horse, It's kept on part livery, so feeding is where I get to be in control.

Might as well be honest about it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top