Feed advice

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Welshie95

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Morning :)
Looking for some advice for winter feeding as its drawing closer by the minute :(
My horse is a very poor doer in winter, drops weight like a hatrack, however one mouthful of spring/summer grass and he's waddling like a hippo!
He isn't being worked this winter, is stabled overnight with ad lib good quality haylage both in the stable and field (large holed haynet in the stable so he can get at it easily). His teeth are done twice yearly with no previous problem and he is on a 3 month eggcount with the whole yard so no issues there. He goes out from about 6/7am to 4pm and is unclipped but rugged according to the yucky Welsh weather (never wet or cold).
Last year I felt like I was feeding and feeding but it wasn't going anywhere, he was fed Calm and Condition, TopSpec Super Conditioning Flakes, TopSpec Cool Balancer and Alpha A Oil split over two feeds along with his supplements. He still looked awfully ribby for a 9 year old cob cross... This year I'd like to cut back and simplify his food so he's not spending hours over a bucket (slow eater) and I may even save some money.
I am thinking of keeping the Alpha A and balancer (maybe changing to powder supplement form to reduce bulk) and feeding Grass Nuts (since he thrives on summer grazing to the point where we strip graze him to control his weight) and/or Micronized Linseed (roughly 2 mugs per day from what I have read up from other posts on the subject).
Does this seem suitable and how much grass nuts would you recommend be fed (they will be soaked overnight)?
Hot chocolate for those who got this far :)
 
Hi, I think it sounds like a good plan! I'm in a similar situation with my boy. I struggle every year. He is currently on Alpha A Oil, Top Spec Cool Condition Cubes, SpeediBeet and Saracens Re-Leve. I am going to drop the re-leve as he isnt keen on it. Change to Baileys Conditioning Cubes and Micronised Linseed with the Alpha A and Speedibeet. Hoping for good results!! Good luck with you boy :)
 
I would agree with grass nuts and a high oil feedstuff too. You could add speedibeet as it is a good conditioner.
 
Awesome :D I've managed to find a tack shop near me which stocks the Northern Crop ones at £9 for 20kg so I bought one to have a fiddle around with before winter actually sets in. Has anyone found a good pellet to water ratio for soaking and for how long? It doesn't say on the bag or their website..
 
You can feed it dry. I do. Many on here would be gasping for breath at that notion heheee!

I do soak them too and they turn to mush in minutes so not too much water. I use Northern Crop and literally just wet it. Trust me on that on or else your horse will be eating soup! Better with speedibeet as it soaks up the water then you've got a sort of soft muesli texture. They don't expand with water... have a few yourself. Quite tasty.
 
tallyho! said:
You can feed it dry. I do. Many on here would be gasping for breath at that notion heheee!

I do soak them too and they turn to mush in minutes so not too much water. I use Northern Crop and literally just wet it. Trust me on that on or else your horse will be eating soup! Better with speedibeet as it soaks up the water then you've got a sort of soft muesli texture. They don't expand with water... have a few yourself. Quite tasty.
Click to expand...

Oops! I was messing about with it trying to figure out ratios and soaked it 1:4 (the 4 being the water!)... I only used a tiny bit sonot to waste any so lesson learnt! I have some Fibrebeet would that work?
Funnily enough mum tried some and said it tasted lovely too 😂
 
fibrebeet is speedibeet & alfalfa pellets mushed together and it does expand but not as much as speedibeet on it's own. It will definitely soak up the excess.

I don't do scoops so can't tell you ratios but basically I just add enough water to cover pellets and leave to soak in overnight then use in the morning. It's lovely and fluffy.
 
I think speedibeet would definitely be a good thing to add to the feed, also if you can feed him smaller but more frequent feeds 3-4 times a day (I know this isnt always feasible with work etc) but it give his body time to process the feed your giving him.
 
Have you thought about a probiotic to ensure his gut is as efficient as possible at absorbing the food he does eat? Yeasacc, or if the budget is tight, live yoghurt. If he can cope with cereals (as in not IR) then I find micronized barley is good for condition, my poor doer has his in a soaked combination of Equibeet and grass pellets and is doing okay on it.
For weight gain you need to have him eating at least 2% of his body weight in dry matter per day, 2.5% is better but it is hard to assess if he is getting haylage because of the moisture in it. I would aim for 2% dry matter plus whatever grass he is getting, in proportions of 90% GOOD quality forage and 10% hard feed
 
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