feeding help ''long''

[siani1989]

right i have 5 horses - want some feed advice please - i not feeding at minute as all on lush grass but when in for the winter.

robbie 17hh id x tb 9 yr old - medium work 1 hrs school 6 days

tilly - 15.2hh 29 yr old good doer shire x id x tb retired

spice- 15.2 arab good doer 3 competitions a week sj and dressage 2 days schooling

filly - 2yr 5 mnth appy x no work yet

ozzy 4 yr 16.3 hh just broken very light work

i am seriously no good with decding feeds for them - i dont mind seperate feeds for each horse
help very much appreciated

 

[siani1989]

sorry its soo long

 

[wizzlewoo]

Its difficult to suggest specific feeds for the horses but i can really recommend my feed company, they do free delivery for pallets ofr feed including chaff to anywhere in the country, with 5 horses you wouldnt have trouble getting through 50 bags. have a look at the website, they also do a feedinging advice. http://www.falconequinefeeds.co.uk/home.htm

 

[kerilli]

i have a basic few feeds that i mix and match and adjust levels of, for similar sorts.
i use: Readigrass or Graze On (basic for all except fatties) Hi Fi, Happyhoof or Chaff of some sort (basic for fatties), Alfa A (for growing youngsters, or more energy)
Baileys Stud Balancer, Baileys Topline Conditioning Cubes, Black Sunflower Seeds.
Speedibeet.
Depending on whether they are young or old, fizzy or calm, need a bit of condition or the opposite, they get various mixtures of the above.
if that's too complicated, why not call the Baileys advice line, i've always found them really helpful.

 

[KatB]

I base my feeding on Alfa Oil, Speedibeet and a high spec vit/mineral supplement or balancer depending on workload.

You can use the above and add soaked Oats to the ones in more work/needing more condition?

 

[TGM]

Unless any of them are serious fatties I would make sure they have as much hay or haylage as they can eat, which will reduce the amount of hard feed they need to maintain weight.

As a base feed for all of them you could choose either a vit/min supplement such as Benevit, Equivite etc, or a balancer such as Baileys Lo Cal, Top Spec etc. This will ensure they they get all their vit/mins. (Balancers will provide extra protein and probiotics too which may be helpful for some horses). You can feed this in a couple of handfuls of chaff of some sort - personally I prefer alfalfa chaffs like Dengie Alfa A.

Monitor their weight with a weigh tape once a week to see if they are maintaining, gaining or losing condition. If getting too fat then you could reduce the hay slightly, soak it to remove excess carbs and/or double net it to slow down consumption.

If losing then introduce higher calorie fibre feeds such as Alfa A Oil, dried grass products, beet products etc. If you still need extra calories or extra energy then you can slowly add some oats or barley as long as the horse has no laminitic tendencies.

This is quite a flexible approach which is suitable when feeding a number of horses with different requirements.

 

[amycov]

Okay so start off the the chaff. Hi fi lite for the good doers, and Alpha A for the ones in harder work and also the ones that are still growing. Benevit Advance supplement for all of them. And then a medium energy mix for the idxtb and the arab. Amounts to suit workload. If they start losing weight add some speedibeet. That made sense in my head...not sure if it does written down. But for the retired, lightwork and no work i would just give a handful of chaff (hi fi lite or Alpha A) and the supplement.