Does anyone still feed a mix?

GrassChop

GrassChop

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I've always avoided any sort of mix because of what's in them and I'm worried it will end up making my fizzy mare extra spicy.

Does anyone still feed these?

To be fair, even in one of A&P's mashes, there are field beans. What even are field beans?!
 
And yeah... Shoot me, i use half a palmful of spillers cool mix to catch sometimes and to hide pills in. It's something we always make sure to have in though it's used very very sparingly. In winter the tb gets a bit more for calories. The worst ingredients in it IMO are the soya oil and molasses.
 
FieldOrnaments said:
And yeah... Shoot me, i use half a palmful of spillers cool mix to catch sometimes and to hide pills in. It's something we always make sure to have in though it's used very very sparingly. In winter the tb gets a bit more for calories. The worst ingredients in it IMO are the soya oil and molasses.
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I normally find it has barley etc in and it's so high in starch. I've never even tried barley just because of things I've heard!
 
Field beans are beans grown for animal consumption and will be added for the protein (and carbs/calories)- they have the advantage of being something that can be grown in the UK, unlike soya which has to be imported. (Not to say the ones used by A&P aren't imported, but they're perhaps less likely to be)
I feed A & P mashes- I've also fed barley which does IME make them a bit bouncier, but is an effective and cheap way of getting condition on a poor doer.
 
In think they're also a nitrogen fixing crop so help soil remediationn as well as being a good conditioning feed.

I use fava bean based pellets for my herbivorous species of fish as well and they're quite common for cattle too
 
I think a lot of the mixes are designed for poor/average doers, so they're going to suggest a feeding rate that isn't appropriate for a lot of horses, but they're much easier than mixing (and storing) vast quantities of different straights if you have an animal that needs feeding up.
 
Straights are quite hard to source now if you don't want to pay a bundle for delivery from online as well. My local store has said they can get them in but basically end up making a loss on them because they can only buy wholesale amounts and then people just don't want them anymore.
 
FieldOrnaments said:
Straights are quite hard to source now if you don't want to pay a bundle for delivery from online as well. My local store has said they can get them in but basically end up making a loss on them because they can only buy wholesale amounts and then people just don't want them anymore.
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That's good to know about field/fava beans!
The only straight I have fed is pure grass nuts or bran. I don't tend to get in any of the other stuff but always hear horror stories about oats, barley etc!

Mixes always look so nice but the ingredients and starch levels always put me off.
 
On the topic of feeding rates, the suggested max feeding rate for something like veteran vitality vastly outstrips what I can get into the old boy across 3 feeds! (Hence the barley- high calorie, low volume) I suspect it's because it (VV, not barley!) can be used almost as a hay replacer though.
I've found micronised barley and linseed fairly easy to get- the former is also fed to other livestock so mole valley stock it, but anything more unusual will, as FO says, be a hassle to get hold of. One of our local feed stores is very good about splitting bags of linseed down for horses, as if you're only feeding a supplementary volume of it, a 20kg bag will go off before you get through it!
 
I feed Saracen Releve to my older horse who has Cushings, as it's quite high protein (from peas rather than beans I think) and low starch. Can't use it on the younger one because he is itchy and apparently high levels of protein can cause inflammation in susceptible skin (hence why alfalfa has a reputation for causing itching). It was my feed consultant that told me that, and she put the itchy one on Equijewel - high fat, low protein.

She likes the Saracen products as she says they analyse every batch and adjust quantities of individual items to make the overall composition correct.
 
Yep feed Pure Feeds. Have done straights and many other combinations over the years. It works for my herd but I don't feed recommended amounts. Mine get a lot of grazing time and good haylage.
 
I do, but mainly as a treat after work (or if the weather is particularly awful/cold in their treat balls with their nuts.

It's a badminton country mix which is actually for the sheep but is OK for the horses too.
 
mariew said:
Does anyone still feed straight oats? In my youth I was at a stables of 100 horses, about half and half private and riding school. 95 % for fed hay and straight oats. Half rations for ponies and vitamins. They were all pretty good looking to be honest
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Same here whehn I was young but generally fed oats, chaff plus sugar beet in the winter. But I bet those horses worked far mnore than most of ours do these days?
 
Yes I have recovery, releve, enduro performance and sarascens veteran mix all in for different purposes. Does veteran vitality count too..? I find them very handy for palatability.
 
GrassChop said:
They are fava beans, you are right. I just don't know why a horse would need beans!
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Fava beans are actually a really good addition to horse feeds.
Shock horror, I feed barley and peas in the winter and oats before a competition.
Thank goodness all this is readily available here. Lupin seed is another popular and very useful feed.
 
I generally try to feed as simply as possibly but I’ve had a few horses that just haven’t gotten enough fat from grass and beet. I am currently using Ease and Excel with great results.
 
silv said:
Fava beans are actually a really good addition to horse feeds.
Shock horror, I feed barley and peas in the winter and oats before a competition.
Thank goodness all this is readily available here. Lupin seed is another popular and very useful feed.
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What is lupin seed used for? In thought they were an ornamental garden plant, haven't heard of them in the context of livestock foods before now
 
FieldOrnaments said:
What is lupin seed used for? In thought they were an ornamental garden plant, haven't heard of them in the context of livestock foods before now
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High protein and fibre. Its normally micronised or flaked. My friend was was really struggling with her TB and started feeding it after trying everything else and the difference is amazing plus his coat has gone really dark.
 
mariew said:
Does anyone still feed straight oats? In my youth I was at a stables of 100 horses, about half and half private and riding school. 95 % for fed hay and straight oats. Half rations for ponies and vitamins. They were all pretty good looking to be honest
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I feed one of my Speedibeet with straight oats and a bit of flaked maize (he always gets pink powder, Equijewel, carron oil and salt). He can't have soya or alfalfa though so can't have most prepared feed and it was trial and error to find something he could have that gives him enough energy!
The others just get some combination of Turmash and chaff because it's easier.
 
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