Feed Experts Advise

[milesjess]

Just looking for some feeding advice please.

I've got a 15.3hh, ISH gelding. He is a very good doer and in good condition/ weight.

Mainly due to the weather, he has had a couple of weeks off so I cut his feed right back (this kept excess weight off and the energy!) He was initially reduced to - x1 handful of Apple Chaff/ x1 large sized hayledge net (morning), x5 apples/ x1 large sized hayledge net (night). He also had an hour turnout so small amounts of grass too.

He put on some weight so all I'm giving him now is a meduim sized hayledge net morning and night. He is now back in work daily which is 30/45 minutes either lunging or ridden. I also put a less denier rug on him (he's got quite a thick coat). Condition wise he looks good and has a nice shine to his coat.

Should I start feeding him again on a hard feed? Is Hayledge likely to give him the nutrient he needs?

Sorry! He's my first horse so I want to get it right

 

[Dolcé]

Not an expert by a long shot but if you are worried about nutrients you could give him something like Baileys Lo-Cal or similar and then just monitor his condition on a daily basis to see whether or not you need to adjust his haylage.

 

[Toast]

Personally if he were mine, id be worried at how much sugar he was getting. Apple chaff is heavily molassed and while this is ok in moderation, i generally wouldnt feed it to a good doer. I also wouldnt be feeding 5 apples a day. Mine are lucky to get an apple once a week! Theyre far too full of sugar.

If i were you id first of all switch to a better quality chaff, such as Dengie Hi Fi lite. Id give a handful of this with a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement. This is really all you need to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs.
(this in addition to the haylage of course!)
x

 

[Heucherella]

I am no expert, but have a 'well rounded' clydesdale x ID. In the summer he had no hard feed at all, and I fed equibites to give him his vits and mins. Once the winter set in I replaced the equibites with a bucket of D & H Good Doer twice a day, which is chaff with vits and mins. It is excellent for him as he can have a lot of it without getting too many calories, and he looks good on it, and is happy, and is still slowly dropping a bit of his excess weight as the winter progresses. He loves it too!

 

[ThePony]

Personally if he were mine, id be worried at how much sugar he was getting. Apple chaff is heavily molassed and while this is ok in moderation, i generally wouldnt feed it to a good doer. I also wouldnt be feeding 5 apples a day. Mine are lucky to get an apple once a week! Theyre far too full of sugar.

If i were you id first of all switch to a better quality chaff, such as Dengie Hi Fi lite. Id give a handful of this with a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement. This is really all you need to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs.
(this in addition to the haylage of course!)
x

exactly this ^^
Less sugar def so switch to either dengie no molasses, or top spec topchop alpha lite or Badmington feeds alpha lite.
Then just a scoop of a vit supp powder so you can be sure he is getting what he needs.
If he is getting chubby on the hayledge then I wouldn't cut it down any further as fibre is so important. Instead change to hay and soak if needed.

 

[Oberon]

I'm in no way an expert

IMO if he is keeping his condition well on the haylage then he is getting enough calories.

All you may need to supplement is some of the vitamins and minerals that may be missing from your haylage.

Those of us who have done foreage analysis done seem to find a trend of needing copper, iron and zinc in the UK. Obviously levels vary from yard to yard, but it does highlight the need for additional supplementation.

I am personally not a fan of chaffs or chaff based mixes as I don't like being overcharged for ingredients that are very cheap to buy!

I am a fan of Dengie's (or any other brand's) alfalfa pellets (high in iron) and/or Speedibeet. And a good quality vit and min supplement.

Cheap and simple.