Does this sound like a reasonable feed ration?

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Gorgeous George

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Ok further to all my ramblings and confusion about feed does this sound like a reasonable ration to be feeding a 16.3 middleweight horsey in good condition in light work who goes out 5-6hrs a day on good grass and has ad lib hay when in (approx 3-4 sections)
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, the following is per feed and he gets 2 feeds a day:

1.5 stubbs scoops of hi-fi lite (approx 450g)
1.5 mugs lo-cal balancer
1 measure of garlic

He then gets 2 handfuls of Baileys economy cubes in his boredom ball each day.

Thanks all for advice and patience
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Sounds reasonable to me. Remember to use a weigh tape to keep a check on his condition and adjust feed accordingly.
 
If you're horse has adequate energy for the work he is doing, is happy within himself, looks in good condition and weightwise is healthy (you should be able to easily feel his ribs) then you are feeding him well.
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Thanks, he seems very well in himself and I can see the hint of a rib and feel them easily which I guess is about right - see I just need some commonsense! Free weight tape is on its way from Baileys as we speak.
 
Hi there

It seems to me like he is getting a lot of food. to put it in prospective, a yard i worked on gave their advanced eventer 3 scoops of cool mix a day 1 1/2 per feed and garlic, salt etc. i would cut down on the feed but the hay sounds ok.

hope this helps. pm me if you need and more advice
 
Don't forget that a scoop of fibre-feed like HiFi is much lighter in weight than a scoop of mix, plus the mix will have a higher digestible energy content. So what looks like the same volume of food will have significantly different amount of calories.
 
Indeed TGM, as I said 1.5 scoops of hi-fi weighs 450g and is only 8mj/kg, 1.5 scoops of cool mix weighs somewhere in the region of 2.5kg and is around 10mj/kg so heaps more than George is getting and of course his balancer is just vits and mins with very minimal calories (and only mugs not scoops!) - ok I think I have just convinced myself that his ration is ok!
 
Seems like quite a lot to me. My Welshy (v good doer but now the right weight) is out at night and in during the day, he gets a handful of Hifi Lite to eat after I've ridden! He has a mineral lick in his stable and some soaked (at least 2 hours) hay for when he's in.

I would always feed less rather than more, you can always increase it if he needs more energy.
 
Hmmm George is a 16.3 middleweight though so there is a fair amont of him to support and although his condition is about right I wouldn't say he is a good doer as such. He gets ridden for at least an hour a day as well. Once I get my weight tape I will monitor him to see how he gets on.
 
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Don't forget that a scoop of fibre-feed like HiFi is much lighter in weight than a scoop of mix, plus the mix will have a higher digestible energy content. So what looks like the same volume of food will have significantly different amount of calories.

[/ QUOTE ]

Beat me to it TGM!

I also think the above regime sounds about right, plenty of fibre and a minimum of cereals which is perfect for the level of work he is doing
 
What sort of work are you doing with him? Mine is doing 2 maybe 3 schooling sessions a week (and he has to work hard!), 1 jumping session, 2 fitness sessions (fast work, and usually includes a few XC fences), plus one hack. I often hack him for over an hour after the schooling as well.

He does it all on grass, soaked hay (as in hay with nothing in, not just wet), and a handful of Hifi lite. In winter he just gets a bit of mix with some speedibeet for hunting.

You asked opinions and that's just mine....personally I would cut it right back and increase it if you need to. He will soon tell you if he needs more energy.
 
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