Feed advice

[Bex_X]

Was hoping for some help on what i feed of if theres a better feed my boys could be on.
i have a 27year old gelding whos not had a great life before coming to me.
Hes a trotter X stands at 14.1
Hes a easy horse to keep his weight stays the same and hes not a greedy boy however hes come into 2013 quite ribby he had his 6month check with the dentist who said hes lost a few more teeth but that was all.
He had his eye removed last july and he lost alot of weight after that
hes currently on
1 round scoop of hifi senior
1 small scoop of d&h sixteen plus
1 round scoop of rowan and barbury readymash extra (i have never seen a horse eat this like he does gets him self excited and makes lots of noise when he sees it being made)
he also gets codlavine supple joint and garlic
I also noticed hay is slowly becoming a problem with him so looking for a replacer anyone reccomend one?he cant have anything too mollased
He also seems quite dull in himself and his coat he does get brushed everynight and his coats looked dull since july last year maby its his age haha

my other horse is a welsh d
hes currently fed on hi fi good do'er
d&h lesuire mix
garlic
this feed was chosen after his work was taken from 6days a week to 1 day as i was not very well hes fitness was brought on last year and hes now in 6days work usally 1 jumping session 1 lunging session and the rest split between hacking and schooling.
I think he needs something more now as hes getting quite tired.He has also lost a lot of weight (he was a tank at one point) he actually could do with a little bit on but the grass is coming through now so he should be ok.
He can be a little fizzy at times but he just gets him self excited usally on hacks or funrides but at home hes fine and in the stable.
Just would like peoples comments would you change anything or keep it the same.
Im not a feed expert its been alot of trial and error but now feeling we might need another tweak

cookies if you read the whole thing

 

[Triskar]

Old horses generally manage to eat grass better than hay, so you will hopefully see an improvement when the grass growth improves. I feed grass pellets soaked together with sugar beet (I feed mollassed but you would need unmollassed I guess) as a forage replacer. I also give him a horslyx which is gives him his vits and mins in a palatable way.

 

[JenHunt]

ditto triskar regarding hay replacers - grass nuts, or speedibeet or perhaps even fast fibre would all give you a way of getting him plenty of fibre, without him having to chew too much roughage.

if he's still struggling once the grass comes through, try adding some linseed meal to his ration, as the extra calories from the oil in it will help him (and it's easy to chew too!)

 

[Bex_X]

Thank you for your replys im going to ask at the yard if he could maby graze one of the smaller paddocks for a few weeks theres a bit more grass in there i tried one of the large horselyx but he was scared of them silly horse he just snorted and stood with one wide eye on it even tried to bring it too him to show him and he nearly ended up on my head decided to leave in for a hour but he just stayed in the corner for the hour x_x do they get sillier as they get older? haha

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

for your oldie if he is having that am and pm I would suggest you add fast fibre. I have a 34 yr old who has improved enormously on a stubbs scoop soaked up twice a day. she doesn't manage much hay. also add oil to diet (veg/corn/soya which ever is cheapest/on offer at s market) I big mug each feed. you might also like to run some bloods for cushions.

 

[texel]

In response to your feeding query do look carefully at the constituents of the feeds (see below) you have mixed up all together to feed to your horse.

Feed manufacturers put together a type food; and there are millions to choose from for every type of horse/activity on the planet, these feeds contain various ingredients and printed on the bag are the feeding instructions.

Yet for some reason some of us have to just mix and match various feeds, from different manufacturers all together and pump various combinations of additional additives into our horses, such as garlic and various oils and then add extra supplements on top

As a result you really can't be sure what your horse is getting and in what amounts.

You could be feeding too much of one vitamin/mineral and not enough of another and your horse could end up getting sick. For example too much Vitmain A and the horse will lose weight and have poor skin and coat condition amongst other issues such as poor muscle tone and depression.

I suggest you sit down and do some research; contact some manufacturers and get some advice and stick to one type of food and select one type of vit and mineral supplement.

Oh and be aware that Horslyx does contain Molasses !

Choose carefully and wisely;

Rowan and Barbury Ready Mash;
Digestible Energy 11.30 (MJ/Kg)
Fibre 17.00 (%)
Oil 5.25 (%)
Protein 11.00 (%)
Starch 17.00 (%)
Vitamin A 10000 (iu/kg)
Vitamin D3 2000 (iu/kg)
Vitamin E 100 (iu/kg)
This food has added vitamins and minerals and it doesn't say which ones !

Hi FI Senior;
Typical analysis (%) ‘as fed’
Digestible Energy 8.5MJ/kg
Protein 12
Oil 2
Ash (mineral) 9
Fibre 30
WSC (Sugars) 10
Starch 1.6

Sixteen Plus Mix:
Analytical Constituents:
• Crude Protein 13.0%
• Crude Oils and Fats 5.0%
• Crude Fibre 15.0%
• Crude Ash 8.0%
• Copper 35 mg/kg
• Sodium 0.4%
• Lysine 6 g/kg
• Vitamin A 13,000 iu/kg
• Vitamin D 1,300 iu/kg
• Vitamin E 345 mg/kg
• Est. Digestible Energy 11.0 MJ/K