feed him someone

Shavings

Shavings

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i own a 6 year old TB gelding

who has a history of ulcers (now clear)

sensitive to sugar

doesn't need any energy (has enough on his own!)

has ad-lib hay in stable and field (fields little empty this time of year)


what would you feed him?

im not saying any more, but i currently am getting a lot of conflicting advise on what to feed him, so i want to know dear HHO-ers if they horse was dropped of to you this just this info what would you feed him?
 
You haven't mentioned his condition or if he is currently getting anything other than the hay.
Assuming he is an appropriate weight on the hay only I would give a vitamin supplement in a handful of chaff or speedibeet.
 
abbijay said:
You haven't mentioned his condition or if he is currently getting anything other than the hay.
Assuming he is an appropriate weight on the hay only I would give a vitamin supplement in a handful of chaff or speedibeet.
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i dont want to say what feed he currently gets

he isn't thin thin but needs more weight on (doesn't do winter all to well)
if that helps :)
 
Allen & Page are a good range for sugar sensitive horses. If you need hard feed - I presume you do - I would look at their website or call their helpline. Micronised linseed is good for addition condition without fizz.
 
I would give him the same as the tb here, soaked grassnuts, unmolassed grass chaff, I use Thunderbrooks, plus some linseed, if he required a bit more I would use alfalfa either soaked pellets or unmolassed chop with linseed.
I would feed at least 3 times a day, I know it is not always possible to give a late evening feed but I find it really helps poor doers to have the extra meal even if the total in 24 hours is much the same.
 
Ad lib hay or haylage.

How sensitive to sugar? Too much in grass nuts or are they manageable?

Kwikbeet is lower sugar and good to mix in with chaff to make it more palatable. My go-to for weight gain is micronised linseed, but I've seen excellent results with copra and all the horses I know love the stuff.
 
Just re-reading your thread again.

My mare who had ulcers doesn't do well with micronised linseed. She can handle the tiny amount that's in her joint supplement, but she gets sloppy poos if I add any to her feed.

She does absolutely fine with copra though.

Trial and error to get to that stage. I would prefer to have her on the linseed because of the benefits omega 3 oils are supposed to have for horses with joint problems - but her tummy says no.

I have never had a horse as sensitive diet-wise as this particular mare. I had to strip right back to hay and then add in one thing at a time to work out what her system can cope with. Stomach wise she can do lucerne, but she has pink skin and she got photosensitive in the summer on it. Kwik beet we can do in small quanities only.

She mainly has hay - and even then I need the low sugar stuff or I spend my life soaking it!
 
I feed my TB ad-lib hay, none in the field during the day, however have done previously when needed. Last winter she was very poor and fed Alfa-A oil, barley rings, equi-jewel and speedibeet. She has had just alfa and barley rings through summer and is back on equi-jewel and speedibeet now for the last 2 months. She does really well on this and I'm very happy with her condition wise, but I can't say I have experimented enough to know if she reacts differently when fed a higher/ lower sugar content. I just try to make sure her diet is high in fibre as a base.
 
Definitely need more weight? Or more preference on how he looks? I don't mean anything by it, just that peoples definition of lacking weight can vary.

I would keep up with the hay, and if the hay is decent enough, then maybe a handful of plain chaff to hold salt and minerals. Possibly a mug of soaked grass nuts or similar if the chaff is not palatable. While mine is not a TB, he was competition fit last year on this diet and he has no grass over winter, and had year old ley grass access from about August to December. He isn't diagnosed as sugar intolerant, but has had bouts of lami and is prone to ulcer behaviours when his diet isn't right.
 
Thank you every one lots of positive ideas here, i have done some googling and ordered some samples, that way i can make sure the fussy boy will eat them!

sadly yes Nugget he does need some weight on, not just lack of muscle, but i am sure we will get there its not been an easier 18 month for us with injury but hopefully now turned a corner
 
For just a bit more weight, I used to feed my old tb thirds, but only in winter as that was when he needed it, he had a sensitive tum too and this worked well with no adverse effects....
 
be positive said:
I would give him the same as the tb here, soaked grassnuts, unmolassed grass chaff, I use Thunderbrooks, plus some linseed, if he required a bit more I would use alfalfa either soaked pellets or unmolassed chop with linseed.
I would feed at least 3 times a day, I know it is not always possible to give a late evening feed but I find it really helps poor doers to have the extra meal even if the total in 24 hours is much the same.
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This is what my tb gets. Changed him from expensive TopSpec feed. I was worried he may drop weight but he hasn't. He also has equinox supplement but has only been on that a week or two.
 
He sounds similar to my 4 year old TB, who I feed timothy hay chop, spillers high fibre cubes, speedibeet, micronised linseed and forage plus winter skin and hoof balancer plus some digestive support.

I'm about to swap the timothy hay chop and spillers high fibre nuts for thunderbrooks healthy herbal chaff and nuts though as I'm not entirely convinced the spillers high fibre cubes don't have alfalfa in them and I don't want to feed her alfalfa. Can't find an ingredients list for them anywhere!

My aim was basically low sugar/low starch, plenty of fibre, linseed for condition and a good quality balancer. She also needs no excess energy!

Luna is holding her weight well on this, she's not in hard work though.
 
for a blood horse that needs no extra fizz I would feed grass chaff as in graze on, unmolassed sugar beet, micronised linseed or other products I have used are copra and equijewel, I would possibly try grass nuts but have known some horses go off them after a while, I have fed all of the above to my Arabs and never had any behaviour problems but mine do come out of winter looking okay.
 
My poor do'er who's had ulcers and is Cushings positive (so sensitive to sugar) is fed:

- Grass nuts
- Alpha A molasses free
- Micronised linseed
- Rolled oats if she needs extra

Plus ad lib hay :)
 
Pinkvboots said:
for a blood horse that needs no extra fizz I would feed grass chaff as in graze on, unmolassed sugar beet, micronised linseed or other products I have used are copra and equijewel, I would possibly try grass nuts but have known some horses go off them after a while, I have fed all of the above to my Arabs and never had any behaviour problems but mine do come out of winter looking okay.
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Agree! I feed my 20yo TB hifi senior, soaked grass nuts, speedibeet (unmolassed), micronised linseed and equijewel. In the summer when the grass is better I reduce the linseed and equijewel by half. He is looking and feeling great on this.
 
Id start with key flow pink mash (low in sugar and startch) with a good supplement.
I use pro balance.

Linseed will add condition, but if you horse has lots of energy dont over do it.

If horse needs more condition, add copra.
 
Depending on what work level you want ,I personally would just try adlib haylage . Personally I can never understand why people feed grass nuts when its all the same product at x times the price. Ditto speedi beet normal SB is a lot cheaper. If he needed more something like suregrow in small amounts would give all the mins and vits and an overall boost. Like I say a lot depends on the level of work.
 
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popsdosh said:
Depending on what work level you want ,I personally would just try adlib haylage . Personally I can never understand why people feed grass nuts when its all the same product at x times the price. Ditto speedi beet normal SB is a lot cheaper. If he needed more something like suregrow in small amounts would give all the mins and vits and an overall boost. Like I say a lot depends on the level of work.
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I feed grassnuts because you know what is in them, they are not messed about with, they are palatable, you can use them to add any supplements to, they are relatively high protein/ energy but low in starch/ sugar, they may be the same product as hay/ haylage but to the horse they are different and if you are looking for weight gain or just something to use as a carrier for supplements without too much fizz, the risk of too much starch or trying to avoid alfalfa they are extremely useful.
I wouldn't feed them alone for something in hard work but for low level competing they are good enough for most, my tb does well on them as do the rest of the yard so I will stick with them.

Speedibeet is more expensive than normal sugar beet but it has no added molasses so is safer to feed to anything that may need careful management.
 
One of my favourite products on the market is GWF fibregest no starch.
It's a small pellet based on copra, SB and hemp seed. Good conditioning value and pretty economical. I'd use that as a top up to ad lib hay
 
be positive said:
I feed grassnuts because you know what is in them, they are not messed about with, they are palatable, you can use them to add any supplements to, they are relatively high protein/ energy but low in starch/ sugar, they may be the same product as hay/ haylage but to the horse they are different and if you are looking for weight gain or just something to use as a carrier for supplements without too much fizz, the risk of too much starch or trying to avoid alfalfa they are extremely useful.
I wouldn't feed them alone for something in hard work but for low level competing they are good enough for most, my tb does well on them as do the rest of the yard so I will stick with them.

Speedibeet is more expensive than normal sugar beet but it has no added molasses so is safer to feed to anything that may need careful management.
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You can get unmolassed shreds at a little over £5 keep it simple is my motto . Ulcers have become such an issue as feeding has become more complex and we start feeding them what they are not designed to cope with.
 
I think he definitely needs more than just hay/haylage and grazing. The thoroughbreds I deal with thrive on a complete pellet feed plus hay in the morning and more hay in the evening. Be positive's advice is excellent. As usual.
 
popsdosh said:
You can get unmolassed shreds at a little over £5 keep it simple is my motto . Ulcers have become such an issue as feeding has become more complex and we start feeding them what they are not designed to cope with.
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your right I buy equibeet pellets it's the same as speedy beet as in unmolassed but needs soaking for 12 hours but it lasts twice as long and is about £8 a bag.
 
Pinkvboots said:
your right I buy equibeet pellets it's the same as speedy beet as in unmolassed but needs soaking for 12 hours but it lasts twice as long and is about £8 a bag.
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I used to use them, but the nearest feed place by miles to where I live now does not stock them, so am stuck with speedibeet. Should ask if they can get them in for me really...
 
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