Feed advice for new horse please

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Overgrown Pony

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Hey guys

My new lad arrived 3 weeks ago and I grabbed him a bag of feed (Rowan and Barbary Soft and Soak FibreMash) but i'm now looking to make an informed decision on a good feed to put and keep him on.

Here's his info:

17.2, 7yr old, DWB x ISH

Imported from Ireland a month before I got him. Was apparently hunted out there. Was apparently quite poor looking when he came over and did well on a month of ad-lib haylage and nothing else (24/7 turnout).

Condition wise he's looking quite good. Needs to muscle up. Has good skin and shiny coat. Could do with putting a bit of weight on.

Behaviour wise he's quite excitable at the moment. He wasn't when I tried him so i'm just putting it down to new home and environment (fingers crossed :))

He's turned out 24/7 on good grazing with a large round bale of hay which he's not really touching. He's only ridden a couple of times a week for an hour a time, very light hacking. This will be stepped up once the clocks change to more often and harder work and once my trailer arrives we'll be going to to RC activities too.

So what would you recommend?

Thanks so much xx
 
If he is not touching the hay, he may be getting a bit too much in the way of sweet [sugar loaded] grass, be wary of putting on weight rapidly.
He could be fed any of the branded high fibre mixes, with less than 12 megajoules per kilogram, ie nothing too fire him up.
I would tend to keep him in a few hours per day before his work, to let his belly empty and allow him to graze on a bit of hay.
He will be in light work for a month or so then in medium work, so the minerals need to be increased accordingly.
It is a good idea to find a good instructor as at this stage he needs to concentrate on his flatwork, if he has been hunting he may be bold and brave, but not properly balanced in his paces.
 
Personally i would stay as you are with spring/summer coming and the grass growing.
More feed may make him more excitable and if he's looking good then there's no need coming into summer.
I would see how he goes with his fittening work and look at diet again in a month or so - personally i've never fed hard feed in summer as we've always had good grazing - just a mineral lick in the field :)
 
Cheers for getting back to me guys

I was playing with the idea of only giving him a token feed of low energy mix/cubes and providing a multi-purpose vitamin and mineral lick in the field or powder in his feed.

What do you think?

I don't want to waste money on unnecessary feeds when he's doing well and looking good on grass alone.

I will obviously re-evaluate as work load and fitness levels are upped.
 
I would prefer to feed minerals with some tasty chaff [Dengie non molassed], then I know he is getting something, and you can inspect him every day for cuts and so on.
If you 're feeding only a token of hi fibre cubes he will not be getting a full ration of vitamins and minerals for medium work, also he is still young and needs something for growth.
I don't think you want to be too concerned with costs, I mean you are talking about a difference of one or two pounds a week.
 
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Your fibre mash sounds fine for a powder vitamin & mineral supplement - i wouldn't bother with a mix myself. :)
As i said, mine just have a mineral block in the field - this year my lami-prone pony will get a handful of Fast fibre just so i can get his Mag ox in him otherwise they'll have nothing :)

Just to add - mine still get checked for cuts etc twice a day despite having no feed!
 
I will buy him whatever feed he requires (money no object) but understandably don't want to be pummelling unnecessary hard feed into him if he doesn't need it.

His field is right beside my house and he gets thoroughly checked at least twice a day and would do whether fed or not.

I am aware that if he's not fed full rations (for his bodyweight) of a hardfeed he will require an additional vit and min suppliment either in the form of a powder in a token feed or a block in the field.
 
1kimmy said:
but understandably don't want to be pummelling unnecessary hard feed into him if he doesn't need it.
Click to expand...

Exactly - most horses are being fed feed they don't need.
I still stand beside my opinion of not feeding in summer unless in hard work or to get a vit supplement in - so i think a bit of mash and a powder supplement will be fine for your lad - and look at it again as his fitness increases. :)

Also I don't class medium work as hacking and some RC activities - that's light work to me.
And at 7 - his growing is virtually done, even for a WB.
 
I'm on the same page as you forestfantasy.

I always feed plenty hardfeed and hay/haylage in the winter to maintain condition but in the spring and summer as long as they're at a good weight a token feed after riding is enough in my eyes and going from experience.

Cheers for your advise guys :)
 
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