feeding a poor doer cheaply?

[TarantuLove]

I need to start economising due to financial difficulty

but feeding my boy in the winter is tough - he is a very poor doer but goes bonkers on starch/sugar/cereal etc. I have tried feeding him sugarbeet but he just gets a belly full of water! I have im on reduced amounts of Winergy Senior at the moment topped up with baileys lo cal balancer but just wondering if I can bulk him up any cheaper!

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
I have tried feeding him sugarbeet but he just gets a belly full of water!

[/ QUOTE ] I don't quite understand what you mean by this! Are you giving him very watery sugar beet? I've got to say that sugar beet is one of the most economical weight gain feeds if you work it out by price per calorie, although you would be best to look for the unmolassed pellets for your boy! I add a dash of vegetable oil to the beet as it is soaking to up the calories even more. You do need to weigh the sugar beet out before soaking though to ensure you are giving enough, and experiment with the best amounts of water to add.

The other most cost-effective weight gain feed is usually hay and haylage, so I presume you are already feeding him with adlib top quality hay or haylage so you are able to keep costly bucket feed to a minimum. Grass nuts can be a very cheap form of calories if you can get them locally - best fed soaked.

Other cost-effective non-cereal conditioning feeds are alfalfa and oil chaffs such as Mollichaff Alfafa Oil and Alfa A Oil. This may seem expensive compared to other chaffs but when you work it out on price per calorie they are actually cheaper!

 

[teddyt]

I agree with TGM, I would suggest ad-lib hay/haylage, even in the field. Grass nuts and unmollassed sugar beet. Instead of the balancer feed a vit/min supplement. That is all the balancer is giving your horse, it wont be helping put weight on as it is such a small quantity and low energy.

Alfalfa nuts (Dengie) are also relatively cheap but as with the grass nuts they need to be soaked.

 

[Kallibear]

I too don't understand th 'belly full of water' part? Does it give him the runs? I know one old mare who can't have sugarbeet as it gives her diarrhoea (as well as making her mental!)

If he can't have starch or cerals then look at alfala chaffs, as they are high in calories. The plain alfalfa one's (like Dengie Alfa-A) have a fair amount of sugar in them but the Alfa-Oil has no sugar but is more expensive. It is however VERY good for weight gain. A cheaper version would be buying a plain, unmolassesed alfala chaff (someone's bound to do it) and adding your own oil (cheap supermarket vaggie oil). You will then need to feed a supplement with added Vit E, but they won't break the bank.

As it's all fibre (and he can therefore stuff himself full of it without issues) I'd be giving him a huge bucket of alfalfa and sugarbeet mixed together, with added oil and a vitamin supplement, to work his way through over night, and as much a good quality hay as he can eat.

 

[kezimac]

soya oil or corn oil best for weight gain - my vet said 1/2 pint a day. horse soon piled weight on!!!

 

[Halfpass]

Simple system feeds worked for my girl and I am feeding half the amount of a normal mix that didn't put on an ounce!!

 

[TarantuLove]

thanks

i have bought some alfabeet and alfa oil to feed him just whilst Im trying to sort out his diet.