Feeding Horses Cow Feed mixes , good or bad for them ??

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treacle86

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Does anyone have any experience of Horses being fed cows mix type feed ? I dont really know what is in it, looks a bit like a coarse mix for horses.

A friend who is a farmers daughter often feeds her horse and pony some of her dads Cattle feed , She says they absolutely love it , and it is full of protein etc and that they keep great condition on with it , But I am sure I was told or read somewhere that cow feed stuff is bad for horses???

that it can contain certain ingredients that are for cows only , antibiotics or something ?

Just wondering who is right really , is it bad for them or do you think it depends on individual horse ??

xx
 
Cattle feeds can contain certain ingredients that are useful for cattle but poisonous to horses.

At my old yard, they reared cattle and when the young son had a pony, they used to feed it cattle feed (cake). It never hurt him, but it was not good stuff to be feeding a horse.
 
Depends, though. My grandfather (a farmer), always said there were things in some of the feeds that could be transferred to other feeds made in the same factory.

I have never known a horse suffer from eating cattle feed, though.
 
Thats kinda what I thought , My friend insists that horsey people and horse feed companies just say that its bad for horses so we keep buying expensive horse feed!!!

Her horses seem happy and healthy enough eating it But i have always believed that there can be ceratian things that are bad for horses, and their digestion is very dif to cattle , I have said to her she could have a prob with hers if they colic or worse, But she reckons as they had eaten this for ages they are fine !!!

I just wanted to see what everyones views were !!

thanks guys . x
 
I'm sure it would be tempting if there was lots around bought in bulk etc but I wouldn't. It probably is high in protein (I have no idea about cow nutrition but milkers or beef cows - need lots of protein) which wont do the horse any harm and yep it's conditioning but I bet it's also incredibly high in starch from the high cereal content - therefore potential for loopy / fizzy / excitable horse! Also the vits and mins in cow feed wont be balanced for horses like horse feeds are - I'd steer well clear.

I used to have a pony on loan from a girl who lived on a farm, when the horse went back home I went to ride it on the farm (girl didn't live at home anymore) - her dad had been feeding the horse animal feed - I think cow feed, it was co cereally and had things like barley rings in it - this mare was living out (thank god) and he's just been giving her a big bucket every day - well when I got there she was so tense and wound up (she had that type of personality to an extent anyway). I rode her in the field and it was terrifying she was completely bonkers, lathered up and over excitable. Cow feed definitely didn't agree with her!
 
Major NO NO!! cattle and horses have a completely different digestive system and some of the cattle mixes would have a much higher amount of protein. she is asking for trouble...and if she competes the cattle feed is not tested for competition use so she may run into trouble there.
 
but sure there are plenty of basic budget feeds available out there. or if she wants to go down the straights route and feed that then buy oats and oat balancer and feed that way. one thing she may need to check is that if she makes her horse sick insurance are perfectly within their rights not to pay up as she is feeding something not designed for horses at all and as such her negligience could cause the illness.
 
We have about 700 beef cattle and their ration is designed to get them fat as quickly as possible.
Don't feed cattle feed to horses.
It will have the wrong minerals, very high protein, sometimes if premixed it will have unsoaked sugar beet.
I would say your friend has just been lucky up till now.
 
Why would you knowingly feed your horse something that was designed for a cow? Completely the wrong nutritional mix and high potential to cause problems now or in the future.
 
My memory isnt as good as it was so I may be off track, but.............cattle feed contains high(ish) levels of copper and other trace elements which are completely wrong for the equine. Why feed something designed for one species to another? I cant get to grips with people anymore
frown.gif
. Mairi.
PS, ask your friend if she would feed 'Butchers Tripe' to a rabbit!
 
Thats my thoughts on it but when I suggested these points to her , re cows digestion , Insurance being void etc , she said they have been fed it that long , and they do fine on it , shes set in her ways I think !!

Like walrus said about the girls dad feeding the pony , thats what usually happens with my friend , hers live out too , and her dad juct chucks them a bucket each day !!!

I can only imagine what they would be like if they didnt live out , they would prob be loopy too !!

xx
 
I would never feed cattle mixes to my horses ... however I know an awful lot of people over here who do! One friend of mine has fed cattle mix to his horses for over 50 years and apparently hasn't lost one horse (he has a large herd) due to digestion problems in that time. Doubtful it is that harmful to horses, but of course that would depend on how much fed and what % of minerals/nutrients etc are in it. I personally can't see much point in it because the price of the cattle mix is the same as a generic horse mix - strokes for folks though.
 
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