dont you just hate it...

StormyMoments

StormyMoments

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when you talk to one of those people who are selling a certain brand at a feed merchant and you feel like you cant say no thanks after asking as they make it sound so good and exactly what you need :rolleyes:

i did this this week end - we were looking at feed for taz as im trying to improve his feet and mix and chaff are not doing him any good at all :o

so my mum starts talking to the lady who was advertising top spec feed
which was fine but she as she should did a very good job of selling them telling us how much better he will keep weight on and how much better his feet will be and how we wont have to feed any additional supplements etc

so she loaded us up with top spec balancer and top spec alfalfa and then we picked up a bag of fast fibre for missy as she doesnt need anything special and taz needs 2 scoops daily so he will be going though enough on his own

so we get to the till and go to pay and its £51.45 and all i payed for was a salt lick the balencer and the fast fibre as the alfalfa came free

that means that everytime i go to get feed i will be spending around £55 :eek:

can someone please tell me im doing the right thing? is top spec any good?

if not i will take him off it when he has finished it all but i was shocked as i usually only pay £15 every 2 months for feed and now i will be paying £55 every 4-6 weeks :eek:
 
I don't rate all the hype of any of the large feed companies. Keep it simple - ad lib hay/haylage and lots of fibre. I used to try all new feeds and was very taken in by all the promotions, but I did a lot of reading and realised that what I was feeding was probably not particularly good. By cutting back to Fast Fibre and speedibeet with a handful of high fibre cubes, my feed bill is just about a quarter of what it used to be.
 
I use Top Spec Balancer Lite and Top Spec Fibre Cubes and have done for a while and people always comment how healthy my horses look and ask how I get such a sheen on my horses coats.

People think a balancer is expensive but I diod osme calculations,

Taking into account of how much you feed per serving and how long a bag last then take into consideration on how many bags of a standard but good quality feed like (as an example) Dodson and Horrell conditioning mix. The actual ocst of the balancer can be less ove rthe same period of time adn at the most equal to.

I perfer a balancer as they contain all the essentials so less supplements are needed and as your feeding a smaller quantity there is less risk of over feeding and over loading the stomach.

I tried a couple of balancers and Top Spec is the one my horses prefer.
 
Too much of a choice, I am at the moment feeding soaked grass nuts with a very good multi vit. He won't eat hi fi and as he can be a very excitable horse molli chaff is no good. He seems to be doing fine on the grass nuts and good hay.
 
Eeyore.1 said:
Too much of a choice, I am at the moment feeding soaked grass nuts with a very good multi vit. He won't eat hi fi and as he can be a very excitable horse molli chaff is no good. He seems to be doing fine on the grass nuts and good hay.
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i think my main 2 problems are his feet are crap and that he drops weight to the point he looks emaciated on ad lib hay and hay lage with 3 large feeds with build up and rugged up to his eye balls (-14 he was waring a 600g heavy with a medium poly and a fleece and was only just warm to touch :()

i was looking at supplements and there are just so many and there are so many different feeds im confused so im easily talked in to spending a lot of money on feed which i dont really have but anywho if that what i have to do then i will do it :o
 
I've just started feeding Top Spec Lite - at the moment the jury is out but my boy does seem to be doing quite well on it and has a very shiny coat.
 
I feed topspec lite balancer - its £25 but a bag lasts about 5 weeks - remember if you feed a balancer you are feeding full quota of vits/mins - be careful about feeding anything alongside as you could in theory be overdosing on some vits.

If you are feeding for weight gain then I would ring a couple of the helplines for advice so you have some more information but are not in a position of then feeling you need to buy something as that does sound like alot of money!.

topspec lite is great for me as I am only feeding for vits/mins not for weight gain (good doer)
 
meesha said:
I feed topspec lite balancer - its £25 but a bag lasts about 5 weeks - remember if you feed a balancer you are feeding full quota of vits/mins - be careful about feeding anything alongside as you could in theory be overdosing on some vits.

If you are feeding for weight gain then I would ring a couple of the helplines for advice so you have some more information but are not in a position of then feeling you need to buy something as that does sound like alot of money!.

topspec lite is great for me as I am only feeding for vits/mins not for weight gain (good doer)
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she went through with everything asking what his feet were like and his weight in the winter vs summer and reccomended the original balencer in the winter and the lite balencer in the summer as he then turns into a hippo. she also put him on the alfalfa because of his weight as well- he doesnt get any more supplements but i do put a bit of fast fibre in there as the alfalfa is very dry even with water - is that ok?

he now gets 1 cup of the balencer, 1 scoop of the alfalfa and half scoop of fast fibre twice a day
 
I really rate Topspec feeds, me and sis have used the balancers, i fed mine the senior and sis used the ordinary, i only reduced the sneior balancer roger was getting as he was so porky and on very good grass.
When my sisters mare was infoal about the only feed she would eat was TS fibre plus and she looked amazing.
 
Just the reason why i dont bother going to these type of events. Of course their food is the best - they are pushing their own products. Personally i dont rate Topspec. But im from the Spillers era.
 
StormyMoments said:
i did this this week end - we were looking at feed for taz as im trying to improve his feet and mix and chaff are not doing him any good at all :o

so my mum starts talking to the lady who was advertising top spec feed
which was fine but she as she should did a very good job of selling them telling us how much better he will keep weight on and how much better his feet will be and how we wont have to feed any additional supplements etc

so we get to the till and go to pay and its £51.45 and all i payed for was a salt lick the balencer and the fast fibre as the alfalfa came free

that means that everytime i go to get feed i will be spending around £55 :eek:

can someone please tell me im doing the right thing? is top spec any good?

if not i will take him off it when he has finished it all but i was shocked as i usually only pay £15 every 2 months for feed and now i will be paying £55 every 4-6 weeks :eek:
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Yes it will cost more, because you were not feeding him the right stuff and need something to make his feet better, some people can get away with feeding a cheap feed, but all my horses look far better than any others in the yard, because I feed top Q rations appropriate to their needs.
£7,50 per month for two ponies, is unrealistic.
Fast Fibre is a good feed for ponies at this time of year and will be good value but if the ponies are not doing well on it, you need to add something to the diet.
Ask your farrier for advice, feed your new diet and see how they progress, do not start and stop feeding, change the diet over a week.

I am sure there are good books on pony management which will help to educate you about management which includes feed and exercise and grooming and first aid. Ponies are dependant on you to keep them well fed and happy.
I am stunned that you got a bag of alfalfa for free,, and surprised you feed this to ponies, I can't work out your maths, but you will need to weigh out the feed and feed according to need and manufacturers recommendations
Once you have worked out your diet for each pony, phone the Top Spec helpline and go over it with them.
 
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Well as others have said I really rate Top Spec, did they tell you to feed the Alfa-A and the fibre cubes?? I would feed what they recomended, and as you have bought the feed use it and see how he goes during this 6 weeks before you decide that it is too expensive, fair enough if you don't think it's worth it then don't buy it next time noone is forcing you to, but if your horse improves then I think that's the answer. Would suggest he properly just needs one off the fibre range and the balencer if that makes sense though?
 
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