Do you read feed labels?

TGM

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I wonder how many of your read the labels on your horse's feeds? If you have a minute I would suggest you do as you can learn a lot from it and it can be very helpful as well if you are contemplating switching to a different feed.

First thing to check is the list of ingredients - some feeds make a big play of being 'oat-free' or 'barley-free' which can lead consumers to believe that they are free of all cereals, which is often not the case. If you want to ensure that a feed is really cereal-free, because your horse reacts to cereals in some way, then look out for the following on the ingredients list:

Barley
Oats
Wheat
Maize

Maize is one of the starchiest cereals, which means it has the tendency to fizz up susceptible horses, but is still included in a 'calming' condition feed that is marketed as 'barley and oat-free'!

You may see ingredients such as oatfeed and wheatfeed listed and wonder whether they are also cereals. They are actually the fibrous husk of the oat/wheat seeds and so contain very little or none of the starchy centre, so are often found in feeds like high fibre cubes.

High Fibre Cubes are a popular feed these days and one would assume they are cereal-free, which is generally the case. However, I have noticed that one manufacturer has rebranded their 'economy cubes' as 'high fibre cubes' and the feed actually contains micronised wheat, so is not cereal-free. It is a good feed and I use it myself sometimes, but I just feel the name is misleading for those who assume it could be an equivalent swap for something like Spiller's High Fibre Cubes which are cereal-free and Laminitis Trust approved.

Another important thing to check on the label is the digestible energy content - this is, in effect, the 'calorie count' of the feed, and is usually expressed as mega joules of digestible energy per kilogram - MJDE/kg.

What I would call 'diet foods' usually have around 8-9 MJDE/kg - things like HiFi Lite, Happy Hoof etc, whereas conditioning feeds tend to supply about 12 MJDE/kg. High fat supplements are even higher in calories - Bailey's Outshine is 24 MJDE/kg, for example. This is particularly useful information if your horse is a poor doer and has a small appetite - you may find it easier to get them to eat small feeds which are calorie dense, rather than larger feeds with a lower calorie level.

So get reading your feed labels to find out what your horse is really eating!
 
Yes I always read the labels- especially if considering changing feeds- may sound a bit sad but thats what I did the other week and when you start comparing from company to company its actually quite interesting in how much the starch levels can be so different for feeds that you would think would compare like for like!

in actual fact one of the competition feeds I use is marketed as a competition feed when in fact its nothing but a high oil high fibre cube that is suitable for a lot more than feeding competition horses!
 
Yes!! And I've educated my Dad into it too. You have met my mare TGM....and that was on NO FOOD. Cerals send her into orbit.....

Current feed regime on box rest, is half rations of TopSpec Balancer, a scoop of AlfaA, and a scoop of TopSpec FibrePlus nuts in a snackaball.

By removing the cerals, she is much more rideable (If she can ever be classed as an easy to ride horse...) and doesn't' stress weight off as easily. When clipped and working, to give her some more energy if shes hunting I feed black sunflower seeds.

Overall its a cheaper method of feeding, as there was a vicious cycle of ceral mixes creating excess energy which ment working her harder to get decent work, her stressing with excess energy and the weight dropping off so needing more food.
 
Yep, I read the labels and I'm a bit of a freak because I am always looking at the feed sites to see what's new and what's got what in it. My horse tend to get a simple diet based on fibre and I've added oil to my WB's food to help him keep his weight through the winter.

This is a very informative post for those struggling with deciding what to feed/what to drop. My particular bug bear is where a manufacturer states that a product is non-heating because it doesn't contain oats, but then you look at the ingredients list and it contains both wheat and barley which are known to fizz some horses. So yes, I would always read the label and am a bit of a fanatic about feeding the right thing for my horse.
 
I always feed the labels and do loads on research before switching feeds or trying a new feed. I have a list of all the feeds I believe would be suitable for my two, with all the information about them
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I always read the labels and also get the weighing scales out when changing feeds etc, It actually amazing how many dont read/weigh out their horses food. i also do something else a bit geeky, i always save a bag of each of the feeds i am using at the time so if i need to refer back to it, i can. told you it was geeky!
 
I don't think that's geeky at all - I always INTEND to save a bag, but usually forget and go on the Feed companies websites for the info.

I've just changed feeds, and cut any concentrates fromStar's diet - she's on Alfa and Blue chip now.
I'm currently trying to fugure out if I'm 'doubling up' by feeding Blue chip instead of something like Pink Powder with the Alfa. Problem is, Blue chip don't publish their feed data.

The things we do for fun.................
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That's a really good post - good to highlight these things - I'm always banging on about reading the ingredients lists on packaging - my bug-bear is the "contains x" but has so little of "x" in it it won't do the job it's intended to do - but it's on the label so people assume it's got the necessary amount in it
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You may as well throw your money away!
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Kate x
 
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