Does any one feed the basics anymore?

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basilbrush2009

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See so many threads about balancers and all sorts of supplements etc etc

Just wondered, does anyone just feed the basics any more? Ie course mix and a bit of chaff as a gesture after riding? Lol

I find it hard not to get wrapped up in all the lovely advertisments and promises however when i truely think about it, my horse really doesnt need that much hard feed if any .... any one else stingy like me?
 
I feed speedibeet and oats - but then I probably don't count because she also gets riaflex for her arthritis, linseed, milk thistle for her dodgy liver, minerals, yeasacc, oh yes and blue chip because when she goes through her phases of not eating that is all she wants. Shame she couldn't have picked something cheaper.
 
No, because my horses do not need coarse mix, as do many others!

I think now that people are taking a keener interest in their horses nutrition, people are looking into their horses actual requirements, and not feeding rubbish for the sake of feeding.
 
Mine get grass, hay & the odd armful of haylage, one is 26 the other one is 3 in June.

I do have some chaff and pony nuts to hand should i feel the need to feed them in the harsh winter months, but both seem to do very well, oh and the odd 10 mins with a Horsylix lickit.:)
 
Do you soak your oats crabbymare? Only because my vet is of an older generation who thinks the supplements are a waste of money. He told me to feed sugar free beet, chaff ( I use alpha) and oats, but soak them to prevent scattiness?!
 
I really hope this turns into an interesting and informative thread.

Correctly feeding horses is a tricky subject and getting it right is real skill, especially if you own a widely differing range of types/ages/work levels etc.

Very few horses would be kept on grazing that provides all the nutrients required. Apart from a few in Ireland, the vast majority of youngsters bred will have been raised on inferior pasture.

So come on everyone, lets see what can be learnt from how we all feed our horses.
 
el_Snowflakes said:
Mine gets a handful of chaff with a multivitamin supplement.
Click to expand...

Expand please - type, level of work etc.

I just wonder if some people would look at that answer and think that is the normal feed for most horses. I have one that is fed exactly the same plus adlib hay. That horse is a young heavy cob in light work. However, if I gave that to the big horse he would be dead in a month.
 
Well I believe in keeping it simple and hi in fibre.
My two over winter have haylage along side good grazing and a bucket feed twice a day consisting of hi-fi, speedibeet and a balancer...
...but I use D&H Suregrow as the balancer! Does anyone else?
 
I'm really keen to feed my big lad (17.2hh 7yr old poor doer) straights. I'm led to believe cubes are full of fillers and some even say the factory sweepings! Mixes tend to be high in starch.

I have 3 feed issues.

1. He can't tolerate micronised barley. His back legs fill.
2. He looses interest in big soaked feeds.
3. He's out 24/7 so I have to stand and wait while he's eating, which is another reason not to feed big soaked feeds.

He's on adlib good quality hay plus a big net of haylage when he's in each day.

Any ideas?

He's on 1 scoop Topspec Performance Cubes and large cup of Copra twice a day.
 
My 3 get low cal balancer and Hi Fi Lite or Hi Fi regular for the not such a good doer :)....he also gets cortavet as has had hocks medicated....

They have 24/7 summer turnout and around 12 hours a day winter turnout. 2 have adlib hay and the laminitic/EMS horse has rationed hay.

IMO too many horses have way too much unnecessary hard feed..... my lami horse competed Intermediate Endurance on Hi Fi Lite and 1/2 scoop pasture nuts a day....... :p

Most important to me is vit and min requirements are met :)
 
Irishbabygirl said:
Well I believe in keeping it simple and hi in fibre.
My two over winter have haylage along side good grazing and a bucket feed twice a day consisting of hi-fi, speedibeet and a balancer...
...but I use D&H Suregrow as the balancer! Does anyone else?
Click to expand...

I use suregrow as a complete feed for my yearlings, I then add a handful of reddigrass and a cup of speedibeet to ensure the little darlings remember to chew before swallowing !

All the responses so far, are not really detailing the work level of the horses they are commenting on, so we are not getting a true picture of food v work = an outcome.
 
My fella gets 2 feeds of a"cool and easy" coarse mix a day and a big net of hayledge at the moment. He is in light work and turnout is limited to a sand arena for the winter. In the summer he lives out 24/7 in a field and will get 1 small feed of the "cool and easy" and will still be in light work. He doesn't like very much beet pulp and will leave his feed untouched if there is too much mixed in so I just leave it out altogether because the "cool and easy" is a complete, balanced feed.

He doesn't need anything else. The only reason I give him the coarse mix when he is living out is because for work, he needs the boost a hard feed gives him. Grass puts condition on but doesn't seem to provide much in the way of energy for my boy. He is a good doer so I try to keep him in the not so good paddocks when possible.

Oh, sometimes he needs a copper supplement at the end of winter, but that's it.
 
AdorableAlice said:
I use suregrow as a complete feed for my yearlings, I then add a handful of reddigrass and a cup of speedibeet to ensure the little darlings remember to chew before swallowing !

All the responses so far, are not really detailing the work level of the horses they are commenting on, so we are not getting a true picture of food v work = an outcome.
Click to expand...

Sorry AA :o 2 of my boys I would say light/med work at the moment.....

Horse A - EMS/Lami - 10-12lbs Hay night. Hi Fi Lite & Low cal balancer. 12 hours turnout in winter (frequently in muzzle depending on grass coverage - we have a lot!). 24 hours turnout in Summer - still on Low cal balancer. Light/Med work. I will happily take him on sponsored 10 mile ride and can finish ride in 1.5 hours with him still going happily. Hacked 6 times a week (have no school). ArabxAndalusian - 20 years old

Horse B - Adlib hay night. Hi Fi & Low cal balancer. 12 hours turnout in winter, 24 hours turnout in Summer - still on Low cal balancer. Also fed Cortavet - has had hocks medicated. Lighter work in Winter - only hacked 3 times a week for about an hour. Prob 5 days a week in Summer. Would complete 10 mile ride but not at same speed.... Traditional Cob - 13 years old

Horse C - Adlib hay night. Hi Fi Lite & Low cal balancer. 12 hours turnout in winter, 24 hours turnout in Summer - still on Low cal balancer. Not in work......its a long story! Trotter - 7 years old

Hope that is more thorough :D
 
Grass and straw chaff, low starch. Unmolassed beet, pour hot water over a 70%oat 30% barley mix. Makes those like porridge. That was basically for my older gelding and older Gelding. Both TB's. and the other ISH who is in medium work. The others get a smidgeon. Depending on horse they get raw grounded flax in varying amounts. Yup you read that right. Oh the horrors. Nobody has died or tried to die either. I'm now using Lexvet vits and mins because its cost effective and does a good job. I also feed Gastroshield which has yeast as well as other things for digestion.

Thanks to HHO's for their posts on Lexvet vits. As everything else was not doable money wise. It was something that was actually available in Ireland and driven to my door by the tack shop that sells it.

Terri
 
as science advances, so will feeds though, the ability to get the *exact* level of micronutients for every horse/work load and situation etc...........so whilst straights have their places, new feeds are not neccesarily new fangled rubbish.

good doers and those in light work will do well on fibre based feed in small quantities and balancers are an ideal top up for those, but for horses in hard work, who are expected to give their job 100%, its not enough and i dont know any professional yard in any sphere running horses on such basics.

Mine eats Saracen Re-leve, linseed and Alfa A oil. So as low starch as i can get whilst getting enough fuel in the tank, he's competing PSG,schooling GP and has EPSM-not something easy to feed on straights. He's also a relatively poor doer.

horses for courses and all that, i know plenty of good doers in light work getting 50 supplements, 3 diff balancers, exactly 50 oats and 30 different herbs a day lol, and absolutely they dont need it and would do better on a good chaff and a single good balancer but sporthorses in hard work are a diff kettle of fish.
 
Well if feed is advancing with a bunch of fillers to carry all these nutrients they can keep there science. Look at people science. The best food you can eat are basics you make from scratch. Lots of fruit and veg and even that time old classic of porridge (oats) is still a very good food for you. Lots of carbs and even wheat, not so much.

KISS, keep it simple, stupid. I did not make that up. It's a rule I try to live by.

Terri
 
Personally I dont think that horses could get all of their required vits and mins, by say just feeding them grass, sugarbeet and barley.
 
Retired thoroughbred mare (21), lives out 24/7, unrugged - she can come into a barn if she wants but rarely does. She is on 5 acres of sheep grazing. She has ad-lib haylage in winter and occasionally a feed of unmolassed beet for a vit/min supplement. She's woolly and well covered, I'm very happy with her condition.
 
I don't really see course mixes (or cubes) as basics but more horsey ready meals.

I feed a mixture of old fashioned basics (ad lib hay, oats, bran, unmolassed beet and linseed), one newer straight (copra) and a blend of minerals targeted to the grazing.

I prefer to feed minerals separate rather than as part of the feed as then I can adjust the feed depending on time of year, weight, work levels and energy levels.
 
Mine get chaff with sugar beet in the winter, in addition to haylage and grass.

In the summer they get no hard feed, just grass and a salt lick.

If the forage is of good quality I don't see the need for additional vit and min supplements and feed them as nature intended - imo modern feeding has just got way too complicated.

One of mine hunts twice a week on this diet and copes just fine!
 
Adlib hay and a handful of chaff (Happy Hoof but only because I couldn't get Safe & Sound, which I much prefer). If he's lucky he might get an apple!

If he needs more condition and is still on adlib hay then he'll get some linseed meal. If that won't work (too much gives him a runny tummy so he doesn't get much), I'd introduce speedibeet into his diet.
 
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