Do you really need to add vit/min supplements to horse feed?

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Gorgeous George

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At the moment I feed alfa a lite and baileys lo-cal, with the lo-cal being added to ensure George gets his vits and mins. I was however thinking of moving him onto a more complete feed like healthy hooves or happy hoof (is one better than the other?) but he wouldn't need anywhere near the amount the feed companies recommend, so do I need to supplement with vits/mins or a balancer? George also gets 5-6 hrs grazing a day on good grass and 7kg hay and 1kg of hi-fi a day. Just trying to make his feeds simpler really, but I wouldn't want to see a loss of condition in his coat etc.

Opinions please!
 
If you carry on Lo Cal that has everything you need anyway....personally always feed a balancer as my horse has always looked better on one than not!!
 
I have never fed a balancer TBH. Horses are designed to get the maximum nutrition from the minimum amount and our pastures tend to be very rich compared to what they're designed to eat. I wouldn't bother feeding it to anything that wasn't in hard work TBH.
 
I think as long as you feed the right amount of the feed then the horse should be getting everything. But if not, then I would add an all round supplement. I dont believe grass is enough because all pastures are deficient in certain things.

Or you could just put out a pasture block so he can choose to fill up on more vits if he needs them.
 
I can thoroughly recommend happy hoof. Though I think coming into winter if you plan to work George you might find he'll need extra food to keep him looking and feeling good.
 
If you don't feed up the manufacturer's recommended amount per day, then he would need a vit & min supplement. As he is a big horse, I wonder why you want to feed something that is recommended for laminitics. Also 7kg of hay per day plus the 1kg of hi fi lite is not very much imho. I know you are on livery and have read your previous posts about feeding and that it is difficult for you to give more hay, but in the winter he will certainly need a lot more hay.
 
He is a good doer and he has been putting on weight on what I've been feeding him, aside from the grass, hay and hi-fi he also gets 2 feeds a day of 1 scoop alfa a lite and lo-cal (which I add for the vits/mins and interest of the pellets). The reason I thought of healthy hooves is that it is very similar nutritionaly (i.e same calories and fibre) as alfa a lite, but has pellets added for interest and I was just wondering if a vit/min supplement was really necessary, I was just trying to simplify his feeds for reasons I won't go into.

I have managed to sort the hay problem out and he has 3kg of hay when he comes in from the field at 3pm, his feed a bit later and then 4kg of hay and 1kg of hi-fi at about 7pm and a few handfuls of hi-fibre nuts in his ball - blimey any more and he will go pop!

Am I doing something wrong?
 
No! Seriously, I could never feed the recommended amounts, my horse would explode! I also don't bother with a vit/min supplement. He novice events on half a scoop of pony nuts and 24/7 turnout, and over winter has the same but with ad lib haylage. If I fed what the feed companies recommend he'd have 3.5kg of hard feed a day - not a chance!! All horses are different - if he looks well and has the right amount of energy for what you are wanting to do, then you are fine. After all, would you expect Tesco to say 'this is what a 5 foot woman should eat' and it to be fine for the whole population? Nope - so why we think horses will be any different I have no idea! I swear that so many behavioural problems are from people over-feeding hard feed.
 
I never feed the recommended amount of feed and never feed a vit/min supplement either. However my horse is only in light work and on good quality haylage.

Personally think these supplements are a total waste of money in most cases. All my horses look well and seem to survive.
 
We feed ours below the recommended level of feed. If you want a bit more interest for him then take a look at D&H safe and sound. We switched ours over from happy hoof as it has more pellets in it!
They both get 1 scoop of it in summer, and 2 in winter, and no vit & min supplements.
They're in medium work and have plenty of energy, when they chose to use it!
 
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