Feeding grass / hay.....Nothing else. That's it

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lazybee

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Everyday on here I read about:
Various supplements
Linseed
glucosamine
Molasses
Alfalfa
Balancer
minerals
magnesium
barefoot diet
Calmers
1001 different types of herbs
hacking mix
sugarbeet
bran
carrots
apples
brewers yeast.
1001 manufacturers magic mixes
The list is endless.

My horses are out 24/7 all bar one is working as he's too young. They live on grass and what ever else they browse from the hedges (They often eat leaves from here or there and young twigs brambles etc) and a bit of hay in the winter. THAT'S IT. They don't lose condition in the winter. No health issues and four out six shoeless. The youngster, (not working) grows hoof like mad and needs trimming once a month.

What I was wondering, are owners getting away from the natural equine diet too much and could this be causing many of the common problems we see these days? Horses aren't designed to eat grain. Are too many people taken in by feed manufacturers? I really don't think it's the rocket science some owners believe it is. There must be others out there, surely I'm not alone. Or have I just got lucky pasture?

Discuss :)
 
Great in theory, but unfortunately not all of us have access to grazing that would support that kind of diet.

I'm on a livery yard, which I love, but we are on small acreage, on low lying, wet, clay soil....really not great for grazing...but we manage.

But then, I don't feed a long list as above. Just a fibre based feed with a balancer supplement and oil.
 
Ours don't eat a lot TBH. We have two TBs. They are out during the day in the winter and 24/7 in the summer.
Apart from the grass they both have hay, some hifi and a few fibre nuts. Both look amazing. I don't know why, they just seem to do so well. In fact my mums ex-racer was on full rations of conditioning cubes, alfa and a million supplements but he was starting to get far to full of himself. I said to my mum she sould just give him hay for a while and since on his new diet he has actually picked up in condition and is much happier in himself.
I think if a horse is happy, healthy and comfortable they don't need a lot of feed).
 
Mine isn't fed, but he's a cob and a very good doer. I would suggest that you get an analysis of your grazing done to ensure it has everything the horse needs if that's all you're giving.
 
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