feeding advice please!

[DayleAshley]

My cob is currently on baileys no 4 n dengie original twice a day with hay over night. I go through roughly 2 bales of hay a week. The thing is I'm hearing more and more about people feeding more hay and cutting feeds right down. Just wondered if anyone has an views/ experience with this? He's only in light work but isn't the best doer. Am I better off carrying on as I am or is the more hay/less feed a better option for him?

 

[Oberon]

The horse's digestive system works on fibre. It (in a rough, short hand version) processes and sorts in the stomach, absorbs (most) minerals in the small intestine and ferments fibre in the large intestine and converts it to glucose.

50% of the calorie yield comes from fermenting fibre in the large intestine.

Bagged feeds and conditioning feeds based on grain are rapidly digested in the small intestine for a quick source of glucose and energy. The problems come when said horses do not need such rapid replenishment if they aren't in such hard work. Also the cereals mess with the pH and bacterial flora of the gut and can cause ulcers - or at least make the gut work less efficiently....so the conditioning feeds can make the horses into poor doers!

Molassed feeds are unhelpful and un-necessary IMO.

I am not personally a fan of Dengie products as they are based on alfalfa (which doesn't agree with some horses or my land) often molassed and also sprayed with mould inhibitors - unmolassed hay chaff does the same job but cheaper.

Unless a horse was in very hard work or has special needs a requires more dietary support, I would always consider grass/hay/haylage to be the bulk of the diet. Then supplement minerals to cover the short fall in balance that can be so common, plus any individual needs.

I have a young, good doer who manages just fine on forage and gets balanced minerals in a spot of Fast Fibre (plus linseed in winter).

However - I have an elderly, Cushings horse with poor dentition.

He gets grass and haylage but is supplemented with
Fast Fibre (fibre base)
unmolassed beet (rapidly fermented fibre)
balanced minerals (copper, zinc, salt, magnesium)
lysine (amino acid)
herbs for circulation and immunity
turmeric (joint health)
micronised linseed (omega oils)
2000IU Vitamin E (for his Cushings)
Yea-sacc (to buy the gut flora a beer and say thank you)

and in the midst of winter I give him unmolassed hay chaff as extra.

You can use calorific sources of fibre for weight without needing cereals or molassed feeds....

Fast Fibre, unmolassed beet, unmolassed hay chaff, soya....to name a few.

 

[Holly Hocks]

I have a poor doer TB - well not particularly poor as far as TBs go, but doesn't hold weight as well as a native for instance. She gets one feed of Fast Fibre per day and is out grazing 24/7 (or as much as possible in this rain). When she comes in she just gets hay or haylage. I used to feed her conditioning feeds, but they didn't actually do anything. I much prefer the high fibre, low starch, low sugar feeds. And she looks fabulous with amazing feet!