Feeding... not an original topic, sorry..

[Evil_Cookie]

Hello...
I have a few Q's on feeding my mare.
I'm planning on changing my mares feed from:
1 red (stubbs) scoop of Alpha A lite
up to one red square scoop of cool mix depending if she's been ridden or not.
steel force minerals supplement, (general supplement)
To:
1 red (stubbs) scoop of Hifi lite
1 red (stubbs) scoop of unmollased sugar beet
A general purpose supplement
and cal mag
Oh and soya oil if extra energy is needed or maybe veg oil if its a good idea and energy isn't a problem?

She's a loopy tb mare, lives out 24/7 and is barefoot. Would this cover everything she needs? I'm planning to start fittening her up for endurance rides next year and a few christmas shows. She's ridden about five days a week, light work I'd say, hacking, schooling...
Can anyone recomend a good general purpose supplement?
And would this diet work?
Any help much apreciated
Thankyou
EC

 

[Tempi]

why do you want a general purpose suppliment if she dosent need it? id go without the suppliment personaly as its just added expense.

how about allen&page calm and condition? along with some alfa-lite? that will help to build her muscles up but not overheat her.

also i dont see the point of changing to hifi lite if shes fine on the alfa-lite. if shes doing well on the other feeds i personally wouldnt change anything, jsut leave her as she is.

 

[AmyMay]

Are you changing her feed for a particular reason??

As for suppliments - can't recommend Feedmark's Benevit enough. Not particularly cheep, but my liitle horse looks wonderful on it.

 

[Evil_Cookie]

I want to put her on a high fibre low sugar diet and cut out as much starch as possible, because I think some of her loopy behaviour is down to this. Also want an anti lam diet... and also it should be cheaper... no... it will be cheaper

I also don't like the amount of aditives and mollases in her cool mix...

EC
I'll look into feedmark thanks

 

[AmyMay]

If you're looking in to a high fibre diet - them Spillers High Fibre Cubes, and either Alpha A or HiFi should be great.

Not sure it will necessarily be any cheaper - but may possibly be better.

 

[Happytohack]

I would go for Spillers Hi fibre cubes, hi fi and unmollassed sugarbeet. If you are not feeding the cubes up to the manufacturers recommended daily amount, she will need a broad spectrum min & vit supplement (Feedmark's Benevit is excellent). If she is quite fizzy, you are best not to feed any mixes. If you want to go for a completely starch and sugar free diet, check out simple systems feeds - www.simplesystem.co.uk

 

[Theresa_F]

I am now using Simple Systems, and my boys are looking good. They were very helpful and their total eclipse is a good supplement to the diet.

Their helpline is good.

Mine are not fizzy, but I wanted them to have as natural diet as possible.

 

[Marilyn]

I'd feed Hi Fi Lite and a really good quality feed balancer like Equimins pro bio www.equimins.com. I have my two on it and they look amazing

 

[MagicMelon]

You havent said if she holds weight in the winter? If she's a typical TB and doesn't then I wouldnt think her new diet would do much good as there's nothing conditioning in it.

So your on the CalMag secret too then?! That seems to be the latest craze just now!!

Why are you changing from the Alfa A Lite to the Hi Fi Lite? The Alfa A range will get her a little bit of slow release energy but is also a bit more conditioning than Hi Fi Lite (which really isnt). The Alfa A Lite also should be low in sugar (it is recommended for laminitics on the bag).

Mix wise, maybe a calming type one like (already recommended) Calm & Condition or Ride & Relax which I believe doesnt have barley (might well make her fizzy since Cool mixes tend to have it in).

Unmollased beat like speedi beet or the new Fibre Beet would be the best for fibre I think.

Soya Oil is better than veg oil IMO. And will make her look good!

A general supplement could really be about any all round one. Dengie do one, as do D&H, Equimins, NAF etc. and they're all probably about the same. Im currently feeding one of mine on the Super Codlivine supplement because it also has B vitamins which some others dont.

As long as she gets ab lib hay (or haylage) then Im sure she'd be fine on this diet. You know her, so feed her what you think is best!

 

[Evil_Cookie]

Hi MM
The mare doesn't lose weight unless she's kept in, last year she went through till january without hay or feed, just grass and didn't drop weight. I am doing more work with her now, but looking at her belly and energy levels I feel she's getting a little bit too much. Would soya oil bring a conditioning element? I don't want to add too much to the diet, I feel I change her food too often as it is, I want to find a diet that works and stick to it now, just adding anything extra if it's really neccasary.
Another thing I'm considering is that I have another mare in the field with my tb mare, a cleveland bay with a colt foal at foot. Eventually I will put the cb mare on a similar diet once the foal is weaned as she is succeptable to laminitis. (They swap bowls occasionaly) Theyre both tubby, (the mares) and have grown thick winter coats, though I do rug the tb.

Oh and the cal mag craze, lol... its addictive, spending £9 on what would cost £100 or more from a specialist equestrian supplier. I'm adding that because of both the loopy behaviour and feet which are at risk of lami...

I'll look into the codlivine, does your horse have any problem with the taste? or doesn't it smell/taste much? I've tried giving my mare those codlivine treat things and she spits them out. I'd try that supplement if its the most comprehensive but I'm scared she'd turn her nose up at it

EC