Feed advice, does this sound ok?

[1Lucie]

I have just recently purchased my first horse after riding for 13years but need some feeding advice!

My horse is irish sports horse (mostly irish draught than thoroughbred), 16hh 1, 7years old. I would describe him at the moment as average to slightly overweight. He is currently hacking/schooling 3-4times per week. In the 2 months i have owned him he has been living on fresh air (grass and few apples for treats).

He will be living out most of the year except for when the weather turns particularly bad.

I havent started feeding him yet but am considering feeding him the following once temp starts to drop:

Dengie hi fi original 1.5kg
Dengie Lesiure Vits and Mins

He will also have access to hay.

Do i need to add anything else to his feed? Will this be enough for him?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Herts05]

Personally I would just stick to hay until you have got to know one another and till he has got to his optimum weight.
In my opinion too many people automatically think they must use hard feed for their horses when in fact hay/haylage will do.
I've also seen posts here from people with overweight horses in little or no work who ask what they can feed their horse in order to increase their energy level. I'm sure that actually reducing feed and increasing work will lead to increased energy (e.g. fitness) as the horse has less weight to carry around

Some may tell you to give him a vitamin supplement, but again I wouldn't bother unless he shows signs of any deficiency

 

[Clarence09]

I think that is a really sensible diet for a new horse. If needed you could always increase the amount of Hi-Fi or add in some unmolassed sugar beet over the winter. Personally I think feeding a balanced diet is very important adding the vitamins and minerals will ensure that he is recieving everything that he requires. I would start feeding your horse the vits and mins now and continue through the summer as UK pastures tend to be deficient in certain nutrients!

 

[ThePony]

I wouldn't feed all that chaff - no point in it really! If he could do do drop a touch of weight, and you aren't doing hard work with him then he should be just fine with hay and grass, though I prefer to give ours vits and minerals. For that a handful of no-molasses chaff (am a fan of Topspec topchop lite) with pink powder or another vit and mineral powder added - there are loads to pick from! If you would rather just buy one product to do the lot then this stuff is fab, and you need to feed very little in order to give the right nutrition level http://www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk/whatproduct/general/no14.htm