feeding a poor doer?

[emmilou]

Hi all,
looking for a bit of advice. at the moment my pony is on:
1/2 scoop barley
1 bran
1 cup nuts
1 calm and condition
1 scoop Speedy beet
and chaff

at the moment i just seem to have so many bags of feeds it getting rediculous! but he just doesnt seem to be blooming with health. he does seem in good condition but im sure theres got to be a better and simpler diet out there for him?
anyone have any advice?
thanks always x

 

[madhector]

how come hes having bran?

 

[emmilou]

well, he's a windsucker and was advised it was good for him to try and prevent ulcers.
to be honest i am not sure it this has any benifits so any advice would be great!
thanks

 

[madhector]

sorry, am always interested in why people feed it thats all, you do seem to have a very complicated diet

maybe try simplifying it by combining nuts and calm and condition, e.g just feed the calm and condition, should have all the same nutrients he needs as the nuts, barley is good, i found something called barley plus which was very good at putting condition on,also you could swap the plain chaff for something slightly more conditioning like alfa a or oil

 

[ThomasTank]

how about trying cooked linseed ?

 

[emmilou]

well thats why i need help i think. why to many different feeds!sounds good what you said tho. he is on ready grass with oil added because i found alfa-a made him a bit mental!
will deffinatly look into barly plus too. nearly out of the old stuff so will invest in a bag.
is it very heating as he can be a ...little tempremental!

 

[ThomasTank]

or flaked maize???

 

[madhector]

if you do decide to carry on with the bran and you are feeding it regulary try adding some limestone flour, as bran can create an imbalance in the diet, having a higher ratio of phosphorus to calcium

 

[emmilou]

is linsead difficult to do?
a woman at my old yard used to feed it and it took her ages and involved all sorts of equipment? ive seen linsead oil but never looked into it cooked?

 

[madhector]

barley plus should be no dif from ordinary barley as far as heating goes

and you can buy linseed ready cooked save the trouble

 

[ThomasTank]

I make it up a bit like sugarbeet but using BOILING water and then let it steam for 24 hours with lid on. puts weight on and gives a lovely shiny coat

 

[emmilou]

reallly? didnt know that. how does it come (packet wise)?
always assumed it was a do-it-yourself thing!
so stupid!

 

[emmilou]

hmmm, think will try ready cooked stuff as leaving it steaming overnight may not impress the mother-in-law! especially on the new cooker!

 

[ThomasTank]

if you are really interested then i could tell you more but wont bother if not ( not offended either) coz my typing is slow and i am quite illiterate when it comes to these computers

 

[madhector]

i buy it in a bag, is powdery, looks a bit like brown flour, be careful if you cook it yourself as can be v.poisonous if not cooked prop.

 

[ThomasTank]

just leave it in the pot in the feed room. no cooker needed

 

[emmilou]

re thomastank: i would like to know as i think this may be the answer!
also Mad hector: do you just add the powder straight or re-hydrate it first?

sorry for the silly questions x

 

[ThomasTank]

hmm lots of people think that but i dont cook mine, just use a kettle. apparently the nasties dont have any effect on horses but they do on cattle

 

[emmilou]

ahhh ok. i thought you ment let it simmer on the cooker! ops! well thats easily done. how long shall i boil it for?
thanks x

 

[madhector]

add it straight, comes in fairly small bags, use i think 25g a day its very easy, not expensive either, ask in your local feed merchants, most stock it

 

[ThomasTank]

hold on a mo and i will get typing - better to ask a silly question than make a silly mistake although they are not silly questions so dont worry

 

[emmilou]

many thank Madhector. appreciate the advice. i think ill have to ask my local feed supplier and see which he stocks? (he's not that great when it comes to variety!)
think i will go with:
Calm and condition
bran (cut down on and try and stop as i dont think it helps)
barley plus
linsead
and ready grass
sound ok?

 

[madhector]

sounds much simpler, please let me know how you get on

 

[emmilou]

will do!
will try and get a before and afer pici so i can so you all what great advice it was!!!

thanks

 

[TGM]

How much hay or haylage does the pony get? If it is a poor doer you need to feed forage adlib.

 

[ThomasTank]

I have a 30yrs+ cob who last weight last year, was quite ribby. I was talking to someone about him and she told me i was feeding him all wrong (saracen 16+ chaff and sugarbeet) . so on her advice I changed him to 1 full scoop crushed oats, 1 full scoop alfa a, 1 scoop bran , 1 teaspoon limestone flour and a dollop of linseed. Everything twice a day exept linseed once a day reducing as horsey puts on weight. To make linseed put 1 third linseed in plastic tub and put 2 thirds BOILING water on and put lid on and leave 24 hours. the linseed will go gloopy. feed a handful each day reducing to every other and so on. they love it. there will be a bit of water lying on the top so just mix in.It only lasts about 3 days until you have to make some more. one sack costs me about £14, and will last the year. I hope this helps you, thomas is back to normal and is lovely and weighty and really shiny. dont hesitate to ask any more

 

[emmilou]

he does get adlib hay which is good quality although he rarely eats more than about 3 big sections. he also has great grazing so he's deffinatly getting the forage!
dont get me wrong, he's not underweight but i do think his condition is not as good as it could be x

 

[madhector]

that prob works out cheaper than how i buy it, might give it a go

 

[emmilou]

did you find that bran did him any good?
im not sure whether to keep him on it.
i think ill substitue the oats for the calm and condition but the rest does sound like good lines to follow x

 

[ThomasTank]

i am forever indebted to this lady and think everybody should do it . lol