Feeding? - A laminitic and OAP's

chickeninabun

chickeninabun

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We currently feed our v lightly worked OAP's ( both 27, one 14.2hh Welsh D, one 13.2hh Riding pony):
2 handfuls of HiFi Senior
1 scoop of nuts
1 scoop of cool mix
1 scoop of sugarbeet
1 scoop of bran

Twice a day. Out at grass by day, 1 full haynet a night.

Could anyone tell me the pros and cons of these different feeds?
Or a website/book with details of why you would feed each type of feed, seperates and concentrates. What I would ideally like is some kind of glossary of all the various feeds available!

I'm not too clued up on feeding but will soon be getting a mare that has previously had mild lami, so would like to know what to feed her for the best, especially as she will be in more work than the OAP's and is quite unfit, lazy and lacking any topline at the moment.

Thanks
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for the laminitic, i would feed on a high fibre, low calorie diet. so something like happy hoof or high fi lite, hoof kind etc something aproved by the laminitic trust!

oaps- to save you money you can just feed the coolmix rather then nuts or vice versa.
your coolmix will have crushed peas, pony nuts, barley, oats and mollases and vits and mins. your nuts has this crushed into a small nut. they may find it easier to eat the cool mix tho.
your bran tend to bulk the feed out, stop them rushing the feed. it also has a lacksative affect.
id stick with the hifi senior if the are eating it ok.some find it difficult as some hifi feed can be very coars and stalky.

there are loads of senior that you can feed that may save you money in the long run. just have a little mooch around your local feed merchant.
 
Seems like quite a complicated feeding regime! Nuts and mixes (when fed at or near the recommended rate) are designed to supply all the horse needs (including vit/mins) on top of hay/haylage/grazing. It is usual to feed them with some chaff (like your HiFi Senior) to stop them bolting them feed and people like to add sugarbeet because horses like the taste, it moistens the feed and is a good cheap source of fibre-based calories. Bran is a fibre source but not as well-balanced in minerals as beet or chaff, so can't really see the point of feeding it when you are already feeding the other two!

Would be simpler to cut out the mix and bran and just feed nuts (increased amount to make up for lack of mix) HiFi Senior and sugarbeet.

For the lami pony, you need to reduce soluble carbohydrates - ie starches and sugars. A lot of lami ponies tend to be overweight so don't actually need much bucket feed - a handful of chaff with a vit/min supplement is often enough. However, some lami ponies (particularly those with Cushings) are underweight and then you need to find feeds which are low in soluble carbohydrates. The Laminitis Trust approved feeds guarantee that soluble carb levels are kept low - they include things like Spiller's High Fibre Cubes, Speedibeet, Dengie Alfa A Lite, Dengie Hi Fi Lite, Spiller's Happy Hoof etc.
 
For my 38 year old welsh B (who was diagnosed with laminitis for the first time 3 years ago but is well now) I feed 1 scoop (big double handful size, rather than the massive scoops) safe and sound chaff, 1 scoop high fibre nuts and same amount of soaked, unmolassed sugarbeet (alpha beet in winter to aid condition). All three feeds are laminitis trust approved

She gets this 3 times per day so that the meal sizes dont get too big as she doesnt have a huge appetite. She doesnt get any suppliments other than succulents (watch the sugar content of these tho with laminitics) i monitor her grazing and she gets as much hay as she wants.

She looks well, has bundles of energy and gallops around all over the place, and hasnt had a trace of laminitis for the last year, so those feeds must be doing something right!!
 
My cob had laminitis last year - is on a permanent diet of
1kg of Happy Hoof} twice a day
2 pints of speedibeet} twice a day
10 -12kg of soaked hay - in stable and field
1 scoop of Formula 4 Feet
is on restricted grazing from end of Feb until about end of Oct and never turned out on frosty grass.

She is back in full work, farrier v pleased with her and hopefully will stay fit and well.
 
That looks complicated to me, too! My OAP (in his 30s) gets Show Improver Pencils at the moment (for the high protein) and pink powder, plus Hi-Fi Light. I'll lower the SIP in the Spring and might switch to Happy Hoof if he gets back to healthy weight. He would normally be on Happy Hoof in the winter.

My laminitic-prone (well, he's had it once), gets Hi-Fi Lite and Pink Powder. That's it!
 
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Firstly you need to determine what has caused the Laminitis in the past and then feed and medicate accordingly.

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She was apparently just left out on the lush spring grass. She doesn't get much hard feed at the mo, just a token bucket of chaff and nuts, but is a little lean.
 
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is on restricted grazing from end of Feb until about end of Oct and never turned out on frosty grass.

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I thought we might get away until end of March before restricting her grazing, as our grass is pretty poor, but will have to keep an eye of it, from Feb onwards. Never really worried about frosty grass before, but yes, the fructins (sp?) are out in force with the frost, aren't they?
 
Thanks TGM. Am in the know now!
Yes, our feeding regime seems pretty complex when it doesn't really need to be. It makes sense what you are saying about the mix and nuts being the same thing. And I think bran is just an old regime my YO has never got out of so we still do it.
 
[ QUOTE ]

I thought we might get away until end of March before restricting her grazing, as our grass is pretty poor, but will have to keep an eye of it, from Feb onwards. Never really worried about frosty grass before, but yes, the fructins (sp?) are out in force with the frost, aren't they?

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Our grazing is really quite good so have taken the descision to restrict early - can always let it out a bit if necessary. She is on her lammi diet year round so will get extra feed anyway - after last year its cruel to be kind I'm afraid. According to the Laminitis Clinic most laminitis occurs with lush spring grass and frosty grass - yes it is something to do with the fructans.
 
pink powder is a pre/biotic! my oap is on senior chaff sugar beet and barley condtioing cubes. and my lammi pony is on a handfull of allen page l mix with nettle hawthrone mint garlic and seaweed!
 
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