Feeding horses more naturally...

[Laura-Maybe-IV]

Hi all

I am seriously considering cutting out all concentrates and feeding my horse just very good quality hay, with a small amount of chaff with vitamins and minerals and her joint supplement.

She currently has good hay, with dengie healthy hooves, pony nuts and fast fibre. She holds her weight well she's a TB and is currently in light work, I am considering it a friend mentioned it to me the other day and she really rates it for her horses, plus feed is getting so blooming expensive as is everything!

Does anyone else do this and does your horse still thrive? Do you have any problems with it at all?

 

[*hic*]

I prefer to use a small amount of sugar beet rather than chaff but mine that are on this regime seem to be doing perfectly well

 

[mulberrymill]

Mine are on soaked grass nuts with some chaff to give them something to chew rather than slurp. Added micronised linseed, vits and mins and a little oil. They all seem to thrive on it, maintain condition and have plenty of energy. I used to feed all sorts of cereals and mixes, but dont any more. Occasionally pasture mix just for the taste really, but they dont seem to notice if it isnt there, so probably more for my benefit than anything. Oh and of course they get loads of hay

 

[ridefast]

If you want to feed minerals have a forage analysis done on your fields by forage plus, then you know exactly what and how much to feed. My horse lives off grass, hay, the minerals balanced to the forage goes into a small feed of roughly 30-50g hi-fi nuts, 30-50g bran, 100g linseed and she gets extra herbs specific to what she needs, so for example she's recently had a liver infection she's getting milk thistle

 

[ridefast]

If giving minerals most horses don't like them if the feed's too wet, just damp the feed enough so the minerals stick to the nuts

 

[meesha]

My 2 have come out of winter looking great on ad lib Haylage and half a cup each of top spec lite morning and night, you should give one cup morning and night per horse but I am too tight. They don't have chaff, hard feed or anything in with their top spec balancer and they don't eat it too quickly. The key is good quality forage. One of mine hunts occasionally and the other is a 19 year old field ornament. Both are bright eyed and shiny and the ridden one is very full of beans ...