Do you give your cobs hard feed?

[Sandylou]

Just wondering what you all feed your coblets through the winter?
I think I have made the mistake of thinking mine needs a feed 'to keep him occupied' while the others eat!
He only gets 1 1/2 scoops of Mollichaff calmer (unmolassed and chosen as it provides vits & mins) with a couple of carrots or apples once a day plus a big hay net at night (he is turned out in the day and srabled at night....24/7 turnout unfortunately not available). Although he is in great condition he is not being exercised half as much as I'd like and is starting to feel very well in himself.....very joggy and spooky!
I'm thinking I should stop the chaff?
What are your opinions you lovely knowledgeable folk?

 

[Jingleballs]

My HW cob gets hard feed all year round - he's on a 3/4 stubbs scoop of Happy Hoof, a small scoop of Fast Fibre mixed with seaweed, biotin and probiotics. He also gets a handful of badminton fibre nuts in his treat ball.

If I'm honest he's a tad overweight just now as he's not being ridden work but everything he's getting is low sugar and fibre based so not doing much harm.

He's mainly fed this as it gives me something to mix his vitamins with but in the summer when he's in hard work he does need some feeding - oh and this summer he was also on a small scoop of spillers instant energy to try and fire him up a bit.

 

[JFTDWS]

Yes, he needs it as he doesn't hold his weight in winter like he used to. Doesn't get fed in summer really, doesn't get fed if he doesn't need it (i.e. if he was holding weight on forage alone).

If your horse is in good condition or carrying more weight than necessary, and showing signs of excess energy I would decrease the hard feed accordingly.

 

[Brandy]

My welsh cob gets a double handful of alpha oil twice a day, with a litrtle splat of fast fibre (he gets this as its what I have in for the TB.....)

I don't think he needs it as such, but its nice to give him a little something when the others have theirs. (i know i know.....)

 

[saffytessa]

Mine get a bucket feed twice a day but if is just fibre not hard feed. They get 1/3 to 1/2 a scoop of happy hoof and a handfull of speedibeet soaked plus supplements. I like them to have something in their belly when its frosty when they go out and it encourages them to come in on a night. Keeps them happy.

 

[Sandylou]

Does anyone else feed mollichaff calmer? What's your experience with it?

 

[Archiepoo]

i dont feed my cob at all ,hes in everynight with really good haylage and thats enough for him, he goes loopy on and hardfeed,but he loves his treatball so he has that with a few chopped carrots in for him to play with.

 

[Hippona]

Does anyone else feed mollichaff calmer? What's your experience with it?

I feed it to my arab....don't know if its that or just his general management thats better now but no longer the deranged lunatic he was when I bought him.


Just to say.....chaff is not a hard feed- its fibre/forage.

I give my highland and cob a handfull of chaff morning and evening with their vits in. The arab has a couple of scoopfuls of Molli calmer for breakfast and tea. They all have hay in the stable and out in the winter paddock ATM.

 

[Sandylou]

i dont feed my cob at all ,hes in everynight with really good haylage and thats enough for him, he goes loopy on and hardfeed,but he loves his treatball so he has that with a few chopped carrots in for him to play with.

I think this is what I'm going to do from now on.
Any excess feed doesn't seem to suit him....he had a mad few months last winter on a lo-cal balancer with chaff. So I cut the balancer out this year but it seems that anything is too much.
Thanks

 

[Sandylou]

I feed it to my arab....don't know if its that or just his general management thats better now but no longer the deranged lunatic he was when I bought him.


Just so say.....chaff is not a hard feed- its fibre/forage.

I give my highland and cob a handfull of chaff morning and evening with their vits in. The arab has a couple of scoopfuls of Molli calmer for breakfast and tea. They all have hay in the stable and out in the winter paddock ATM.

Thanks tinselmoo.
I know chaff is really just fibre/forage but as mollichaff calmer has additives I wasn't sure what it's classed as
What chaff do you feed the highlands?

 

[Hippona]

Its most likely the carrots thats fizzing him up.....

 

[Jingleballs]

Does anyone else feed mollichaff calmer? What's your experience with it?

Few of the horses on my yard are on it - it works well with Y/O's stressy horse. I'm always trying to get my horse a bit more excitable so a calmer isn't something I'd ever feed.

 

[Sandylou]

Its most likely the carrots thats fizzing him up.....

Possibly.
He had a few carrots a day through autumn though and it didn't effect him at all?

 

[Archiepoo]

yeah i think people feed horses cos they feel better but it doesnt do their horses any favours,when my cob lived out 24/7 he had two feeds a day but now hes on livery he unridable on any hard feed -a complete loon! i even went through a phase when i tried every calmer on the market cos his behaviour was so bad and then the penny dropped that it was his feed-so i just stopped it and within a week his behaviour improved so much i knew it was the answer.hes still very sharp but not like hes plugged in to the national grid!

 

[Archiepoo]

re the carrots- ive made a point of trailling the difference with him having a few bits of veg and it doesnt make any difference to him but i know some dont get on with the sugar in carrots

 

[Sandylou]

Thanks archipoo x

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Fany, who is often mistaken for a cob but is actually a CB draft, is on haylage and that is it. She usually has a mineral lick as well but run out so will get it again after Christmas. She has the odd apple, pear, carrot etc. She holds weight very well and puts it on incredibly easily. I think too many people feed for the sake of it. I thought maybe she would drop weight and need feeding when clipped out but she hasn't.
FDC

 

[Archiepoo]

like i said i tried everything with "calmer" on the bag before i realised it was just the fact he didnt need the CALORIES in any feed-doesnt matter if its fibrebased or straights he doesnt need it!

 

[bryngelenponies]

My welsh cob cross gelding is a good doer and in winter I'd feed him just a scoop of hifi lite and a bit of fast fibre. They live out 24/7 unrugged and get hay once or twice a day. He looked well on the hifi and fast fibre- hardly any sugar in it and just the fibre which his tummy needed.

 

[4x4]

Had all the above problems with my mare and put her on Simple Systems, which was too much of faff, atm she is on A + P Fast Fibre with sugar beet and 2 haynets per day.

 

[Megibo]

mine has 2 heapy scoops of happy hoof and a level scoop of speedi-beet.

 

[picolenicole]

Mine gets a hand full of happy hoof and 1 1/2 hand fulls of Topspec Top Chop lite with this vits and mins. Out in the day (naked at the min) with one small section of last years hay, comes in at night when he has his tea. Then gets 2 sections of hay when I leave. Eveyone keeps saying it nice to see a cob thats not fat!! After the summer off he had I thought the weight would never go

 

[NU ABO]

Well, mine's a cob-type (Conn x ID) and he's still getting his hard feed, increased from summer.
He has:
- Dengie Hi-Fi Original Chaff
- Unmolassed Sugar Beet
- non-heating pony cubes

Plus his vitamins: Joint Supp, Biotin, Seaweed, Apple Cider Vinegar, Cod Liver Oil and Garlic

He has a little more energy than usual, but that's mainly because he hasn't had any ridden work due to his joints playing up (he had no Joint Supp or Apple Cider Vinegar for a month and I've only just started giving him Cod Liver Oil)
but it does help that I don't give him any heating feeds. everything he has is unmolassed and fibre-based.

 

[Baileybob]

My maxi cob gets fed x2 per day on Simple Systems, he looks great and is chilled and happy (not that he is ever really much different anyway, lol) he is in at night with good quality haylage too.

We have a few on it actually, who all do different jobs and they all look fab. I was a sceptic but changed over at the end of September and am really pleased with the results.

 

[FairyLights]

mine get a token amount as a carrier for a vit and min supplement.

 

[Teagan]

My cob and WBxTB (both in their late teens) get 1 loose stubbs scoop of hifi lite (will swop to original when this bag runs out) and one mug of Top Spec Conditioner/balancer for the vits, a glug of linseed and a scoop of garlic and a few carrots, once per day, and a net of haylege at night. They both seem to do well enough on it.

However, the cob used to be fed straights twice a day, oats at that, and her temperment never changed even if she was stabled 24/7 for what ever reason. I used to wish I could find something that would have made her a little more excitable but nothing ever seemed to work!

She is semi retired now from a sucessful showing career due to injury and is just a spring and summer happy hacker but she used to light up in a show ring and really enjoy her work. Ah, the good ole days.

Bless her, she is such a good solid friend.

 

[superted1989]

I've just had to put Markie on a diet! We had a couple of freezing weeks, now it's warmer than spring.
He was having 1kg of fast fibre (over 2 feeds), 2 mugs of lo cal balancer and a handful of fibergy with 150g of linseed. Now the linseed has been cut out and fast fibre is reduced to a token amount to dampen. He's in overnight and has 8kg of good hay.

 

[sianb]

The cob I look after (16.3 gypsy type) is on 2 hards feeds a day and in over night with a large haynet. He gets grass pellets, fiber beet, molly chop and course mix, along with a few carrots. We are trying to fatten him up though after his LWVTB home went sour and he had to be collect by his owner, when she got to him he was all ribby and boney and looked like he'd just been left in a field.

 

[TigerTail]

Just wondering what you all feed your coblets through the winter?
I think I have made the mistake of thinking mine needs a feed 'to keep him occupied' while the others eat!
He only gets 1 1/2 scoops of Mollichaff calmer (unmolassed and chosen as it provides vits & mins) with a couple of carrots or apples once a day plus a big hay net at night (he is turned out in the day and srabled at night....24/7 turnout unfortunately not available). Although he is in great condition he is not being exercised half as much as I'd like and is starting to feel very well in himself.....very joggy and spooky!
I'm thinking I should stop the chaff?
What are your opinions you lovely knowledgeable folk?

Id take the carrots out of that - theyre full of sugar and can send horses doolally - my friends mare chased mine over the fence on thurs and then galloped around for 40 mins without stopping, she was fed carrots the night before.....

The only 'calmer' ingredient in your chaff is magnesium, most uk pastures are deficient in this so feeding it ups the levels back to normal. However you can just buy magnesium much cheaper and chuck it in some chopped hay for the same effect. If he isnt losing weight i wouldnt be feeding anything other than hay.

 

[Tonty Tont]

I just give my little cob a mug of Rowan Barbary ReadyMash with a couple of handfulls of Hi Fi Lite

He doesn't need anything really, so it's mainly for his supplements and to keep him happy