Feeding straights for morons - please help!

[Ranyhyn]

Considering starting feeding straights, please can you officionados(sp) help me out with a few basic questions..?

Be gentle, I have rarely ever fed anything! Mare is 16.2 ISH fat arse, excellent doer. Will be brought back into work mid Sept.

Ok so:
a) what do I buy?
b) how do I prepare - what needs soaking and how long
c) is it just play by ear as to how much? - Clo is only on fittening work, so I assume up the ration as work increases IF she needs extra?

Thanks in advance and choccy cake with cream to anyone who can help

 

[Persephone]

My mare was on straights as she had so many allergies.

Also a 16.2 SH mare good dooer

She had Speedibeet, Alfa A Mollasses Free, Rolled (i think) Oats and Propell/Redcell.

I only soaked the Speedibeet (obv) not the oats.

 

[TGM]

What are your reasons for wanting to feeding straights? Allergy, cost, distrust of manufactured feeds, etc? Because the strategy might be different according to the basis for your choice!

When I fed straights I fed a mixture of either beet and/or alfalfa together with either barley or oats. The beet and alfalfa help to counteract various deficiencies in the cereals. My choice of cereal was guided by what was cheapest at the time! (Remember that some horses are allergic to barley, so introduce with care). You might want to feed a vit/min supplement or balancer as well.

Regarding quantities, start with a small amount and increase/decrease according to condition and energy for work.

 

[only_me]

I would just go for the basics - maize, barley oats and chaff

I would usually feed slightly more maize than barley, and more barley than oats, and then some chaff, and add a vit/min supplement once a day

I would play by ear on the how much of each, and don't need to soak any of that lot, if you buy flaked/crushed barley, flaked maize and rolled/bruised oats

 

[Ranyhyn]

Reasons are people saying their horses looked good - plus, I hoped with a fatty I'd have a little more of a handle on what went into her, but still being able to keep energy up? Just some naive musings!

 

[be positive]

Feeding straights is not as simple as feeding prepared mix/cubes you do need to get the balance right,if you have just one horse this means several bags of feed in use,some of which will lose feed value fairly quickly.

You will also probably need to add a broad spectrum supplement.

I would recommend looking into a fibre based diet that is already balanced by the manufacturer .Allen and Page do a range to suit most types they are additive free, low sugar and starch.

If she is a good doer she will probably get extremely fat on a cereal based diet if you feed at the recommended levels .

 

[martlin]

Reasons are people saying their horses looked good - plus, I hoped with a fatty I'd have a little more of a handle on what went into her, but still being able to keep energy up? Just some naive musings!

First question - does she need any feed?
With every new horse coming to me, I start from the basis of ad lib forage, Lo-cal balancer and a handful of grass chaff. What forage depends on what horse are they a fatty? are they greedy? are they lazy/sharp etc.
If they need more, they get haylage, if less, good hay and if real fatties - old/stalky hay, sometimes mixed with straw.
If good quality forage and balancer is not enough, I up the chaff, add some sugar beet and if still need more, I add whole oats. The only thing I soak is the sugar beet.

 

[Ranyhyn]

TBH she was fed before coming to me - albeit next to nothing. Currently she isn't fed anything at all and wouldn't be until she actually starts working, so we're looking 10weeks plus into any fitenning programme, however I like to start reading up on things and getting ideas early - so when/if the time comes, I'm prepared

 

[Firewell]

Like Martlin I feed my TB (in medium work, prone to weight loss) ad lib forage, chaff and lo cal balancer and he does really well. In winter he gets kwick beet and oil added. If your horse is a fatty I cannot see why they would need anymore than a balancer in a handful of chaff? A balancer should have everything in it to keep them bright and well. If more energy is needed and the horse is porky then it needs more work to make it fitter. Cereals will only make the horse overweight as they provide calories/energy it's the same thing. The most I would add if I was you and I was set on straights would be a handful of oats if your horse was in hard work, the correct weight and dropping off or feeling flat. If you feed oats though you need to feed Alfa to add calcium and Alfa is calorific too....

 

[be positive]

You were asking about supplements to help feet so maybe start on farriers formula as a basic with a fibre feed either HiFi or fast fibre that should be a good starting point and could then be adjusted as the work increases if required.

 

[ajn1610]

Youngs do an excellent product called shreddi, which is a combined chaff and sugar beet that doesn't require soaking. My mare who is a poor doer has that, ad lib haylage, micronised linseed and supplements. She looks well and events happily on that. As others have said unless you are doing something major exercise wise a good, high fibre, foraged based diet with a balancer and maybe some oil thrown in will do you fine, you probably don't need cereals at all.

 

[martlin]

If you feed oats though you need to feed Alfa to add calcium and Alfa is calorific too....

Or you could just supplement calcium I'm not a big fan of alfa, I'm afraid, quite a few horses seem to react badly to it, not necessarily as in loopy, but rashes/swellings and general trouble.

 

[Tnavas]

TBH she was fed before coming to me - albeit next to nothing. Currently she isn't fed anything at all and wouldn't be until she actually starts working, so we're looking 10weeks plus into any fitenning programme, however I like to start reading up on things and getting ideas early - so when/if the time comes, I'm prepared

Your basic feeds are -

Whole Barley - fed boiled to soften the husk - generally fed to poor doers
Crushed or Extruded Barley - fattening, good source of protein, good energy, low fibre. Crushed Barley needs to be fed within 2 weeks as it tends to lose feed value once crushed. Extruded Barley is stabalised and lasts well.
Whole Oats - Excellent source of protein, Provide energy, but lower in carbs than barley so less fattening, high fibre
Crushed Oats - as above but once crushed need to be fed within 2 weeks as the begin to reduce in feed value.
Kibbled Maize - very high in energy and not generally fed unless you want to fire up a lazy horse - generally given to racehorses for a coouple of days prior to a race as contain high very soluble energy.
Sugarbeet - excellent source of fibre and calcium - contains about 30% mollases
Speedibeet - again excellent source of fibre & calcium no added molasses so good for fatty
Chaff/Chop - excellent source of bulk to open grain mix, slow down eating and encourage chewing. No need to buy a 'Brand' name - chaff is just chopped up hay or Hay/Straw mix
Chaff - Can be made from Meadow Grass or Lucerne or from Oat Straw or from Oat straw complete with the oats (Oaten Chaff)

Your horse will need protein to help build muscle - so it is important to start introducing some feed even in the early days of getting her fit.

For a good doer I would suggest that you feed
Whole oats - introduce by a cupful at a time
Oat Straw Chaff or Speedybeet to open the mix - generally 2 to 3 times the volume of grains.
Find a good Balancer that contains just vitamins and minerals or leave her with 24hr access to a vitamin/mineral & salt block.

Feeding straights is not rocket science though some feed manufacturers would have you believe it is beyond the scope of mear mortals - you can now control specifically what your horse truly needs and you will be leaving out the undesirable foods such as wheat, soy, copra and others.

 

[AengusOg]

This is a bit long, but it is a copy of notes I put together for someone else recently. It might help.

Brief Explanation of Energy Requirements of Horses

Horses need a certain amount of digestible energy for maintenance of bodyweight (BW). Anything less than their requirement will result in weight loss; anything more will cause weight gain.

The digestible energy (DE) value of feeds is determined by measuring feed intake against faecal loss, but this requires a degree of scientific approach and a device called a bomb calorimeter. However, the calorific values of feeds are known, and can be expressed in megajoules (MJ) of digestible energy (DE).

Another method is to estimate, and to use a total digestible nutrients (TDN) system, where 1kg TDN = approx. 18.5 MJ DE.

The energy requirements of a horse are determined by many factors; type/breed, its age and target mature weight; its workload (if any), and other factors such as whether it is in foal; ambient temperature, and climatic and environmental conditions. A horse's temperament may also have some bearing on its energy requirements, as stress can cause energy to be used, resulting in weight loss.

Other than grass, which contains a lot of water, the energy content of a feed is usually expressed in terms of its MJ per kg dry matter (DM). For example: the energy content of oats is described as 86%DM, 13.5MJDE/kg; that is, 13.5 megajoules of digestible energy per kilogram consumed. We need not concern ourselves with the %DM here.

The next point to consider is the requirement of the animal. Mature horses at maintenance, ie. doing no work, require 1.5-1.75kg of average to good quality hay per 100kg bodyweight (BW) per day, expressed thus: 1.5-1.75kg/100kgBW/day.

Climatic conditions, such as very hot weather, may dictate that the horse need only have the lesser amount, whereas colder weather may require that the greater amount, plus some grains, are fed to give more energy in order to avoid weight loss.

Similarly, less may require to be fed in order to avoid weight gain.

Diet management requires that the owner determines the daily requirement of the horse in MJ DE so that this may be used as a guide along with other factors, such as those mentioned above, for the management of the horse in relation to its weight. For example: the daily requirements for a mature horse of 400kg BW, at maintenance, is 58MJ DE, whereas a similar animal, weighing 600kg has a requirement of 79MJ DE.

Overfeeding of any horse will result in weight gain. Excess energy in the horse can result in excitability or behavioural problems.


Working out a Feed Regime which Suits your Horse

Having determined the requirement of the animal in question, the owner/manager has then to determine how that requirement will be made up.

For example, we know that timothy grass, in flower, may have a value of 8.5MJ/kg.

Knowing that a mature horse weighing 600kg would require 79MJ DE/day, we can know that it would require just over 9kg of grass/day to meet that requirement for that horse. If that amount of grass is not available, or the horse cannot eat that amount in a day, then the shortfall needs to be made up by other means.

That is where the feeding of hard feed may be required in order to supply the appropriate amount of daily energy to prevent weight loss in the horse. The energy values of grains are well documented (I have a full list here), and it is fairly easy to work out a cost-effective diet to suit any horse.

Hays can be relied on to provide about 8.0 to 8.5 MJ of DE per kilo, depending on type and quality. Lucerne (alfalfa) is higher at up to 9.0 MJ DE/kg, depending on the stage at which it was harvested.

Figures from the National Research Council, Nutrient Requirements of the Horse, National Academy of Science-National research Council publication, suggest that a horse over two years old, with an expected mature weight of 500 kg, is considered the same as a mature animal in its nutritional needs, in terms of its daily requirements of DE, and that these requirements are for 69 MJ of DE.

Therefore, if fed hay alone, the horse would need to be fed about 8.1kg of hay to meet that requirement. That is: a requirement of 69 MJ DE met by 8.1 kg hay at a feed value of 8.5 MJ DE per kg (8.1kg hay x 8.5 MJ DE/kg = 69 MJ DE/day).

Anything fed over this requirement would result in the horse acquiring excess energy over and above its daily requirements.


In Summary

Knowing the horse‘s requirements, and being able to calculate the values of feed to meet those requirements are the basis for good husbandry. However, the ambient temperatures and climatic conditions have some bearing as well. Horses must be fed and managed accordingly, with frequent assessment of the horse’s weight, condition, and energy levels being used as a further guide to his requirements.

For example: a horse at grass for part of the day, with a hay ration, and a small hard feed, in summer, may need to have his ration reduced to keep him within, or slightly below, the target of 69MJ DE/day, whereas the same horse in winter may require fully that and perhaps more.

Feed by eye and the horse’s performance, and always increase exercise first and feed up to, but not in excess of, the required level of performance.

A good quality mineral block, available ad lib, will ensure that all the available nutrients from the horse’s feed can be taken up efficiently.

I have lots of information on this subject, with formulae for calculating energy requirements for all levels of growth, maintenance, and performance. I can give you copies if you want them.