miss_bird
Well-Known Member
As the title really, i am thinking of going back to feeding straights but it has been so many years since i done it, that was looking for some advice/reminder please
Does anyone still feed straights
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Miss L Toe
Well-Known Member
I use Mare and Livestock instead of straights as a base for my feeding as oats need to be bruised and fed within days, broad bran is not available, I substitute beet pulp and alfalfa for this, in ye olde days we made chaff from stalky hay and oat straw, Dengie make good chaffs nowadays, expensive though.
I feed molasses free chaff with alfalfa when he is getting no work, and is on haylage In general I vary my feed with work and forage availability, when in work or needing conditioning, I feed 0.5 to 1,0 kg per day of M and Y except when there is obviously plenty of grass and he looks well.
Branded feeds have vits and minerals, otherwise you would have to buy supplements which tend to work out more expensive and can be overfed by mistake.
I feed molasses free chaff with alfalfa when he is getting no work, and is on haylage In general I vary my feed with work and forage availability, when in work or needing conditioning, I feed 0.5 to 1,0 kg per day of M and Y except when there is obviously plenty of grass and he looks well.
Branded feeds have vits and minerals, otherwise you would have to buy supplements which tend to work out more expensive and can be overfed by mistake.
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miss_bird
Well-Known Member
Gosh i remember the very scratchy chaff would not want to go back to that stuff, was an idea i was thinking about.
Maybe i am remembering things through rose tinted glasses but we seemed to have far less problems when we fed straights
Maybe i am remembering things through rose tinted glasses but we seemed to have far less problems when we fed straights
Miss L Toe
Well-Known Member
I don't know how many horses you have, but one of the simplest feeds is Allen % Page calm and condition. looks like black porridge but must taste ok!
marmalade76
Well-Known Member
I feed alfalfa chaff, suger beet, oats and basic H&P cubes with a vit & min sup and have been feeding this for ten years. I have tried feeding various mixes/pellet balancers, but always end up going back to this. I have found that a lot of these wonder products do nothing like the advertising promises but cost me money!
The sup I have been feeding lately is a combo of brewer's yeast, seaweed and linseed (I also feed calmag and salt/electrolites when needed) which is kind of a herbal Pink Powder. The price has just jumped up though, making Pink Powder cheaper so I will probably switch to that.
The sup I have been feeding lately is a combo of brewer's yeast, seaweed and linseed (I also feed calmag and salt/electrolites when needed) which is kind of a herbal Pink Powder. The price has just jumped up though, making Pink Powder cheaper so I will probably switch to that.
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miss_bird
Well-Known Member
14 at home at the mo have been using calm and condition, alpha a, stud and youngstock, supa barley rings, power and performane, competition mix, sugar beet, think thats the lot, lol
I have such a range to feed just thought going back to straights might be easier to be able to adjust amount rater than different feeds
I have such a range to feed just thought going back to straights might be easier to be able to adjust amount rater than different feeds
Miss L Toe
Well-Known Member
We had less problems because we were a nation of horse users, most owners had been brought up with horses and the family groom did all the feeding. In addition the vet had to diagnose on symptoms, no testing, no scans etc, Laminitis aka Founder were often diagnosed when today all sorts of tests would disclose numerous other disease not known about.
We were less sentimental ... horses had to work or go to the knackery, pleasure horses were carefully selected by horsemen for the job required, and good conformation and soundness was paramount.
We were less sentimental ... horses had to work or go to the knackery, pleasure horses were carefully selected by horsemen for the job required, and good conformation and soundness was paramount.
Damnation
Well-Known Member
I feed chop (Hi fi lite) and bran.
If my mare needs more energy I will feed her oats. She was on Barley but its rather heating as I found out
Last mare before she was PTS was on oats and Alfa A (alfalfa basically). Always looked amazing on that feed. Was worked properly and never had a problem.
Both mares are/were more sensible on straights then they ever were on these fancy Mixes.. (I am 19 btw)
If my mare needs more energy I will feed her oats. She was on Barley but its rather heating as I found out
Last mare before she was PTS was on oats and Alfa A (alfalfa basically). Always looked amazing on that feed. Was worked properly and never had a problem.
Both mares are/were more sensible on straights then they ever were on these fancy Mixes.. (I am 19 btw)
miss_bird
Well-Known Member
Thanks for advice, might ring a few feed companies for advice, as a bag of mix went up £5 in 3 months at my local feed merchants and it is just mad.
So thinking straights might be the way back to sanity for me and my bank balance
So thinking straights might be the way back to sanity for me and my bank balance
FairyLights
Well-Known Member
I used to feed straights when I owned several horses,with just 2 its not worth it IMO. However,14 is a significant number of animals. I would advise buying a good equine nutrition book,maybe a good look aroundAmazon would be a starting point. Its not difficult to feed straights IMO. just remember that bran has a very bad calcium/phosporus ratio,but good proteins. So, if including bran then a little limestone flour is usually added as that is pure calcium. all other grains ,oats an barley are good re c/p ratio but slightly on the p side ,,flaked maize not quite so good ratio but it is starchy and does put on weight. sugar beet has more c than p so can be used to help balance the ration. if the horses are having mostly forage ie hay or grass and not much grain then its difficult to go wrong as the grain is not a significant part of the diet. its more difficult and important to get it right if they are receiving 30 to 40% of the diet as grain.
my old horse book recommends 4 feeds a day ,around 1 lb of oats and 1 or 11/2lb of chaff each time.with hay mid day and evening. [stable kept hunters/polo ponies]. thats an awful lot of chaff and not much grain in each feed,so the grain is diluted and fed with bulk. horses and ponies did well for scores of years on this regime. i thin a lot of problems nowadays is that we try to fed 2 feeds a day and they are overloaded with starch athese feeds.
my old horse book recommends 4 feeds a day ,around 1 lb of oats and 1 or 11/2lb of chaff each time.with hay mid day and evening. [stable kept hunters/polo ponies]. thats an awful lot of chaff and not much grain in each feed,so the grain is diluted and fed with bulk. horses and ponies did well for scores of years on this regime. i thin a lot of problems nowadays is that we try to fed 2 feeds a day and they are overloaded with starch athese feeds.
miss_bird
Well-Known Member
Thanks again yes i have all the feed books and have prob ended up confusing myself, prob best to sit and work it out with good old pen and paper.
Did remember the bran-limestone flour.
Mine have allib grass or haylage depending on the time of year but with brood mares and youngstock they also ned the added feed.
Will go and baffle the old brain later, thought more people would still be feeding straights
Did remember the bran-limestone flour.
Mine have allib grass or haylage depending on the time of year but with brood mares and youngstock they also ned the added feed.
Will go and baffle the old brain later, thought more people would still be feeding straights
fizzer
Well-Known Member
We have a range of youngsters, good doers and not so good. I found Simple Systems a good base feed. http://www.simplesystemhorsefeeds.co.uk/
fab help line.
fab help line.
chestnut cob
Well-Known Member
I just feed Simple System pure alfalfa with supplements - also feed my supplements straight rather than expensive ready prepared ones. He gets linseed, seaweed, magox and brewer's yeast.
Maesfen
Extremely Old Nag!
Hands up! I still use straights! That and a combination of local feed man nuts too.
I have mares, (one new foal) and youngsters. They are fed (when they're in, nothing just now they're on good grass 24/7) morning, nuts (OH feeds and he wouldn't add a bit of this and that) pm., they get oats (just rolled, not soaked about £6 for 25kg) mixed with D & H Suregrow (£13.50 for 20kg, one of the best balancers on the market IMHO, not just for youngsters) local nuts, brewers yeast, dried linseed (both from Charnwood, lasts ages and much cheaper than buying small tubs locally) and SB to mix which helps with the calcium/phos ratio with as much haylage as they want.
Yes, a bag of mix would be simpler but the feeding recommendations would mean they need so much more to get the vits & minerals right and I think they are one of the causes of so many colic and laminitis problems; it was extremely rare to hear of a horse with colic when straights were fed as a norm coupled with the horse being fed for the work it was already doing and people being realistic as to what constitutes a healthy horse, not the obese things you see today in very many cases. Sorry, off soapbox now, as you can gather, it's something I feel strongly about!
I have mares, (one new foal) and youngsters. They are fed (when they're in, nothing just now they're on good grass 24/7) morning, nuts (OH feeds and he wouldn't add a bit of this and that) pm., they get oats (just rolled, not soaked about £6 for 25kg) mixed with D & H Suregrow (£13.50 for 20kg, one of the best balancers on the market IMHO, not just for youngsters) local nuts, brewers yeast, dried linseed (both from Charnwood, lasts ages and much cheaper than buying small tubs locally) and SB to mix which helps with the calcium/phos ratio with as much haylage as they want.
Yes, a bag of mix would be simpler but the feeding recommendations would mean they need so much more to get the vits & minerals right and I think they are one of the causes of so many colic and laminitis problems; it was extremely rare to hear of a horse with colic when straights were fed as a norm coupled with the horse being fed for the work it was already doing and people being realistic as to what constitutes a healthy horse, not the obese things you see today in very many cases. Sorry, off soapbox now, as you can gather, it's something I feel strongly about!
FairyLights
Well-Known Member
The whole horse feeding thng has become over complicated and fraught with angst. The OP has stated that she has youngstock, and presumably other ages of horses. Horses do best on grass,grass from May til end of Oct ,assuming that there is enough grazing per horse. thats all they need unless competing at a high level, like 3 day eventing. from Nov to May the grass 's nutritional quality changes and it isnt as good. all we are trying to do is to make the hay/haylage up to summer month grass standard. So, other products have to be fed to the horse. some will do well on hay or haylage alone, others need more input. the problem is then,what to feed? a few oats and a little barley usually does the trick but extra care needs to be taken with youngsters so as to avoid growth inconsistancies which may lead to OCD. So, if the horses were mine, i would feed stud mix to the mare,late pregnancy only, and to the foals,first winter only, and at all other times they would have good grazing and /or ad lib hay only. The other horses would get good grazing ad lib hay and in the winter chaff [which is chopped hay and straw, you can make your own, if you have a chaff cutter] a little soaked sugar beet and a little grain, either just oats or oat and barley and flaked maize mix, if you prefer,my horses did very well for 20 odd years on this, {flaked peas&beans [if you can get them] are high in protein and energy for the hunter ,add a sprinkle only}. the feed of grain, in any form, is only necessary if they drop weight, either through work or cold weather,some horses do well just on hay all winter.
FairyLights
Well-Known Member
Excellent post, Excellent feeding regime.
miss_bird
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone, yes also have suregrow.
It will either be simple systems or back to straights i think, most of the horses managed well on just adlib haylage last winter, but a coule of the stressy tb's did not do so well even with 2 feeds a day with the recommened amount it ended up being ott expensive and very worried about the whole lami thing with feeding those amounts (lost 2 last year with lami).
thanks again for all your help and Maesfen thats very good advice wil start lookin at something along those lines want to keep it simple and not play around with the gut balance too much as also had a horse with PLE last year and due to the unknow cause am very wary of messing around with changing feeds hence the long thought process before thinking of changing as i dont what to have to change again.
Yes i have range from 3 weeks to 17 yrs and ID's, TB'S and ISH, so that covers good doers, not so good doers and have to feed tonnes.
Yes we did feed straights when i was a youngster and had a range of horses then but like everyone else got sold with the mixes as it cut out all the mess and it was 1 feed done it all and it supplied everything.
Also done all qualifications in feeding many moons ago but again it has all changed also became very reliant on ready made stuff you forget about the simple straights so my may just dig out my old college folders and have a rumage around in there again
It will either be simple systems or back to straights i think, most of the horses managed well on just adlib haylage last winter, but a coule of the stressy tb's did not do so well even with 2 feeds a day with the recommened amount it ended up being ott expensive and very worried about the whole lami thing with feeding those amounts (lost 2 last year with lami).
thanks again for all your help and Maesfen thats very good advice wil start lookin at something along those lines want to keep it simple and not play around with the gut balance too much as also had a horse with PLE last year and due to the unknow cause am very wary of messing around with changing feeds hence the long thought process before thinking of changing as i dont what to have to change again.
Yes i have range from 3 weeks to 17 yrs and ID's, TB'S and ISH, so that covers good doers, not so good doers and have to feed tonnes.
Yes we did feed straights when i was a youngster and had a range of horses then but like everyone else got sold with the mixes as it cut out all the mess and it was 1 feed done it all and it supplied everything.
Also done all qualifications in feeding many moons ago but again it has all changed also became very reliant on ready made stuff you forget about the simple straights so my may just dig out my old college folders and have a rumage around in there again
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
When I feed mine I still feed the basics - I rarely if ever use a pr mixed feed.
Mine will get, Oats (whole) or Barley (crushed), Meadow Chaff, Sugarbeet, Freshly ground Linseed and salt.
In their paddock they have a vitamin/mineral block so they can help themselves.
I really am not prepared to pay for expensive feeds. I do not like my horse to receive wheat or soy products. There are too many negatives to feeding these.
Mine will get, Oats (whole) or Barley (crushed), Meadow Chaff, Sugarbeet, Freshly ground Linseed and salt.
In their paddock they have a vitamin/mineral block so they can help themselves.
I really am not prepared to pay for expensive feeds. I do not like my horse to receive wheat or soy products. There are too many negatives to feeding these.