Feeding does not have to be complicated!

LEC

LEC

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Do we make feeding too complicated?

The horse has not evolved in the last 100 years and if anything they have far easier lives but have we been taken over by the access to media and advertising and thus making our lives more complicated?

I feel people do not feed enough good quality fibre (which should be 2% of their body weight) and then buy too much hard feed and rarely have a clue what is in that hard feed or what it does.

Thoughts?
 
My thoughts are the same as your thoughts, or even more so. I have horses who work for a living (display and film), and not one of them has had any hard feed at all for over 3 years. BUT...they are all easy keeping breeds (mostly Spanish or Friesian), and we have exceptional grazing and hay. We don't feed any supplements either. Obviously many horses will need to be fed according to their body type, developmental stage and workload, but really, it's not all that complicated. Modern marketing has a lot to answer for.
 
Probably we do make it too complicated, I think just because there are so many different feeds on the market. I know some people who just feed their horses "whatever" because so and so uses it for their horse, I find that a bit weird. I think everyone should put research into what and why they feed their horses. Personally, I love researching feed and feeding what I feel the horse needs, I'm quite sad that way I think! My mum certainly thinks I'm odd for enjoying reading about horse feed... I'm bored right now as my horses are all doing well on their feed so I haven't been able to change it for a few years! BUT I may have a new horse coming... yey research time!
 
LEC said:
Do we make feeding too complicated?

The horse has not evolved in the last 100 years and if anything they have far easier lives but have we been taken over by the access to media and advertising and thus making our lives more complicated?

I feel people do not feed enough good quality fibre (which should be 2% of their body weight) and then buy too much hard feed and rarely have a clue what is in that hard feed or what it does.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I completely agree . . . and there are several factors:

1) Too much choice - the market is literally flooded with products - all claiming to be the best (thanks to slick marketing)

2) Not enough knowledge/education on the part of owners . . . it's sad but true that far too many people buy horses these days without having a good grounding in proper horse management

3) Not enough unbiased sources of information - too many nutritionists work for or with feed companies and those who don't are not that easy to find . . . even vets aren't necessarily great sources these days

I have to admit to being seduced by the slick ads produced by the feed companies when I first embarked on horse ownership . . . after much reading, research, trial and error and being chucked off a lot (good old molasses), I have found a feeding regime that works for my boy . . . high fibre, high oil, low starch, minimal sugar . . . and lots and lots and lots of forage - good quality grass/hay/haylage.

It's a little like rugging (another contentious issue) . . . too many people don't look at the horse in front of them and make management decisions for THAT horse, rather than following the latest trend/habits on the yard/their friends, etc. Horses in light work (and I would argue that most leisure horses are in light work) do NOT need huge buckets of hard feed. Frankly, most amateur competition horses probably need less bucket feed than they get - or they need more fibre-based feeds (straights, etc.) and fewer mixes.

Sorry - I am rambling now . . . basically, I am agreeing with you :).

P
 
I love researching feed but always come back to nuts, sugar beet and chaff! Cheap and effective! I also rarely risk being bucked off over winter. Mine gets no hard feed in the summer yet is eventing at novice level but he has access to amazing grass.

I find the trick with horses is to get it right in October to see you through the winter with weight. If looking poorer than hoped you start shovelling the feed in. I always get a February drop off so feed more or boost it a bit ready for eventing in March.

I always do two haynets over night but 2nd is filled every other day.
 
Yes I agree feeding has been made too complicated but with science and all research that's put into days feeding for horse's it has become a big competitive market. I do believe of feeding as close to a natural diet as possible like, alfalfa, Lurcence, grass but that's MHO
 
Mine has unlimited good quality haylage, is out on 10 acres that of decent grass, and he still drops weight in winter unless he gets plenty of hard feed. The young horse (who is over a hand taller) is out on the same grass, has double netted hay, no hard feed, and is worked much more vigorously (hunting, hunter trials, galloping hacks and show jumping) and he is chubby - he also has much higher energy levels. So depends entirely on the horse!

I agree you pay a lot more for ready mixed branded feeds.
 
I agree with you, but am also aware some horses for various reasons do need extra, but not too many. Problem is the feed industry realises we 'pamper' and bring out the best ever new feed. The range available now is just far too expansive.
 
I agree to a point. Horses are individuals and the vast majority of owners do not have access to good quality grazing especially during winter and early spring. I have 7 at the moment and not one of them has the same nutritional needs, even the pair of 2 year olds are different.
 
AdorableAlice said:
I agree to a point. Horses are individuals and the vast majority of owners do not have access to good quality grazing especially during winter and early spring. I have 7 at the moment and not one of them has the same nutritional needs, even the pair of 2 year olds are different.
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I think you're confusing complex with individual . . . of course you should feed your seven according to their nutritional needs, especially the youngsters . . . but individual doesn't need to mean complicated (as in a mix, seven different supplements, etc.).

P
 
So true! Whether it's the fact that I didn't grow up with horses so had to learn it all for myself, or the way I've been trained with Uni and work, but I always question why...

Why do they need to be fed molassed mixes? Why do they need shoes and boots etc? If someone can explain the why to me, then fair enough, but if it's just 'because' then why should I take their word for it? I'd rather take advice then do my own research to see if it would work for me.

Unfortunately quite a few people at my yard think I'm a bit weird/fluffy because I only feed a token handful of chaff and speedibeet with a vit/min balancer and linseed plus ad lib haylage. I did my research and a bit of judicious trial and error with feed rather than believing adverts. I only rug according to how my horse feels temp-wise, I only clip depending on how much he sweats rather than what looks smart, and I do groundwork as needed. I must be going wrong somewhere - he looks good and seems happy, and is respectful and trusting enough that anyone can handle him and he will follow me past anything... I don't even tell them what weight my rugs are - since mine is in a 180g and the others are in 350+!

We're not perfect, but I think asking 'why' helps to improve my breadth of knowledge...
 
My feeding is very simple .basically mostly they eat haylage . When they need it I add Chopped straw oats speedibeet and micronised linseed sometimes some alfalfa . Salt anf some sort of vit and min supp.
 
LEC said:
Do we make feeding too complicated?

The horse has not evolved in the last 100 years and if anything they have far easier lives but have we been taken over by the access to media and advertising and thus making our lives more complicated?

I feel people do not feed enough good quality fibre (which should be 2% of their body weight) and then buy too much hard feed and rarely have a clue what is in that hard feed or what it does.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Completely with you! I feed speedie beet and ultra grass with grass and adlib hay... If he gets skinny he has linseed meal to combat the weight loss. I'm sick of food companies putting all kinds of crap in feed that we pay for but the horses don't need!
 
MagicMelon said:
Probably we do make it too complicated, I think just because there are so many different feeds on the market. I know some people who just feed their horses "whatever" because so and so uses it for their horse, I find that a bit weird. I think everyone should put research into what and why they feed their horses. Personally, I love researching feed and feeding what I feel the horse needs, I'm quite sad that way I think! My mum certainly thinks I'm odd for enjoying reading about horse feed... I'm bored right now as my horses are all doing well on their feed so I haven't been able to change it for a few years! BUT I may have a new horse coming... yey research time!
Click to expand...


lol i'm a lot like you!!!

All mine are on a fibre based diet, Two of mine just have hay throughout winter and the others are not on a lot.

Feed companies have a lot to answer for with the amount of horses that suffer from ulcers/Lami etc....
 
I agree. I have an Arab x and a tb and whenever I've tried a new feed it's not been pretty! So I've gone back to basics - I just feed fast fibre, hi fibre complete nuts and some Alfa a oil for their coats. Seems to be keeping the fizzy pony calm and good weight on my retired boy.
 
I am currently trying to feed up a slightly under weight horse. I am feeding speedibeet, alfalfa with a soya/linseed oil coating, brewers yeast and micronised linseed. YO would love me to feed her 'mash' which has all of the above plus a ton of mollases, split peas, oats, wheat and various other random grains at 4 x the price of what I am feeding, Mash in my opinion is like feeding a kid Haribo for lunch. I do think feed Companies have a lot to answer for.....
 
I don't like the kind of complexity offered by feed manufacturers, but I'm not sure that the KISS principle really applies either. Equids offered real free-choice grazing (say ponies on Exmoor) graze/browse on a huge variety of plants - grasses, rushes, gorze, herbaceous plants of all sorts, as well as more woody sorts. Any horse kept in a field with a hedge will browse along it - I hate seeing hedges fenced off for this reason. So a horse kept in the same fenced field all year round and fed hays similar in their composition to its grazing, with perhaps a scoop of mix or chaff thrown in, might well benefit from more diversity in its diet even if it appears to be doing well.
 
I was completely bogged down with all of the ins and outs of feeding but decided to simplify it and now just feed a good balancer, chop and a token gesture of kwikbeet. Seems to be working well so far :)
 
I am very new to all this feeding and was amazed and amused by the money that can be spent. feed merchants must thank their lucky stars for horse owners.

i bought my WB and had no idea he needed feeding! that might sound nieve but i thought grass would be the lot.

anyway several months on and i am finding my way. he is a thin skinned soft thing that loses weight in a draught so he has needed some conditioning feed and i have added some linseed.
The thing that makes me laugh is my livery. everytime i get something to try for my boy she starts using it for her fat mare who is over weight. its getting out of hand with her recipe card for feeding. she has it printed out if i am left to feed it. it must 7 items now making up the feed.

the funny thing is its putting on weight so shes reduced the hay but still keep with the linseed and conditioner!

adlib haylage is the base grass if we had it, then balancer then these other conditioning bits but i am hoping once we get to a good condition we can maintain with less input.

i think she thinks its being kind to feed everything possible.
 
The secret to keeping weight on a horse is to spot it quickly and to react. Once it's lost weight in the winter it's too late. Badminton horse feeds before they were taken over by Baileys did this amazing stuff called triple top up which was perfect for doing just that as pure calories and no energy. I loathe outshine as a product and I am very upset Triple Top Up was removed. On my list is key flow as they had an excellent calorie product which was a great price. Based on rice bran.
I looked at slobber mash very carefully but far too high in cereals and I would not dare to get on my horse who is only ridden at weekends!

I spend a lot of time looking at feeds to try and work out what each component does. I also like to quiz the reps about what it really does and quantities needed and then work out if there is anything I feel I am missing. I feed a vit/min supplement instead of balancer for that reason as refuse to pay for pellets at double the price to a basic vit/min supp.
 
Totally agree. I started off feeding them all completely different things. Life is so much easier on a low starch and sugar diet, all get the same basics in different amounts. Or not when not needed! The feed room is much neater too lol.
 
LEC said:
The secret to keeping weight on a horse is to spot it quickly and to react. Once it's lost weight in the winter it's too late. Badminton horse feeds before they were taken over by Baileys did this amazing stuff called triple top up which was perfect for doing just that as pure calories and no energy. I loathe outshine as a product and I am very upset Triple Top Up was removed. On my list is key flow as they had an excellent calorie product which was a great price. Based on rice bran.
I looked at slobber mash very carefully but far too high in cereals and I would not dare to get on my horse who is only ridden at weekends!

I spend a lot of time looking at feeds to try and work out what each component does. I also like to quiz the reps about what it really does and quantities needed and then work out if there is anything I feel I am missing. I feed a vit/min supplement instead of balancer for that reason as refuse to pay for pellets at double the price to a basic vit/min supp.
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But i thought that any increase of calories energy also increases?

As in you can't feed extra calories without having extra energy?
 
Good point! I guess I aim for calories through fats such as oils rather than protein.

Just been watching a very good point on US Eventing conference about feed that you cannot expect horses to work off the equine equivalent of the Atkins diet and they need sugars and starch for energy. Also that most colic is caused not by grains but changes in fibre and that fibre needs to be blended if you are changing it.

The other point made was for a horse to go up a body score it needs an extra 5000 calories a day for 90 days.
 
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I'd generally like to feed any horse bog standard pony nuts and sugar beet. However sometimes this is not possible!
 
Completely agree with a lot of the sentiment here. My horse is fit and well muscled on non-molassed chaff and balancer. Can those feeding vit/min supplements rather than balancers give me some pointers please?! :)
 
Used to be a chaff/sugar beet/pony nuts situation here too,

now a fast fibre (as he is keener on this than unmolassed beet), oats, linseed and vit/min supplement (equimins advanced complete). Grazing not quite so good here as it was at home but we are finally on the better hay. For him he did drop a bit with moving and due to having to use not quite so great hay he was getting more fast fibre as a replacement.
 
I do give my horses a bit of chaff (low starch, no molasses) and if in a bit more work, a mug of staypower cubes which are also low starch. They live out apart from coming in for a few hours of work and stuffing their faces with hay, we have far too much grass and they need muzzles on. The horses also love having their feed so it keeps them happy :D but I remember being asked to look after my friend's horse, the recipe I had to follow for his feed was incredible :eek: there was bran mash, chaff, pink powder, glucosamine, msm, more joint powder, vit and min supplement, cod liver oil, pony nuts, competition mix, some herbal calmer, some of that liquid electrolyte stuff in a squeezy bottle.. I think that was it. She then insisted on tipping boiling water over the lot of it, I tried to tell her that she'd destroy all the proteins and render all those expensive supplements useless but she was having none of it . It was too much bother to boil the brain mash separately.
 
ester said:
Used to be a chaff/sugar beet/pony nuts situation here too,

now a fast fibre (as he is keener on this than unmolassed beet), oats, linseed and vit/min supplement (equimins advanced complete). Grazing not quite so good here as it was at home but we are finally on the better hay. For him he did drop a bit with moving and due to having to use not quite so great hay he was getting more fast fibre as a replacement.
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Same here but mine has beet not fast fibre and a bit of chaff coz she is fussy.
 
Have started to look around for a new feed for my veteran (well 16) year old horse). He is of very excitable temperament with the attention span of a gnat, however, I have found that recently he runs out of steam half way through a lesson. There is such a choice out there all the manufacturers promising this and that but analysing the contents is a minefield. I just want an energy giving feed without the fizz is it too much to ask for? I have been bought up with horses and things were much more basic years ago, I remember when a cereal mix called Mainring first came out - crikey it was like giving a kid a load of skittles!!
 
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