Feeding straights?

kimberleigh

kimberleigh

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 June 2012
Messages
888
Location
Ireland
Visit site
Was just browsing the Red Mills website (as that appears to be easiest brand to get hold of where I am!) and looking at the ingredients list of their mixes. After reading another thread here I was wondering is it actually be better to feed straights? If so what people use each one for?!

Just for reference I have a 4 year old TB mare, and a Connemara mare who is hopefully in foal. Neither are in work and are out 24/7 on average quality grazing. The TB very much needs feeding and the Connie doesnt - at the moment TB gets Alfa A Oil, Red Mills Grocare balancer and have finally managed to get hold of micronised linseed so she will be on that too from tomorrow. The Connie gets a handful of Alfa A just so she doesnt chuck her balancer about!
 
I don't know. I use to feed straights but the idea of a balanced, complete feed that you get with commercial feed appealed to me.
 
mule said:
I don't know. I use to feed straights but the idea of a balanced, complete feed that you get with commercial feed appealed to me.
Click to expand...

As a child I was on livery yards who only fed straights, but was too young to pay enough attention! Now I like the ease of mixes but given theyve got so much stuff in them, I wonder is it all necessary?!

I want my TB mare to gain weight but not have unnecessary amounts/types of feed, and fear she is likely to be ulcer prone so obv dont want to exacerbate that and minimise as much as possible
 
Last edited:
I feed chopped grass chaff with micronised linseed, salt and unmolassed sugar beet if they need it in winter, I don't feed anything with molasses or alfalfa it sends my horses stupid, I don't like a lot of the balancers and mixes that contain all sorts of stuff that I don't really think horses need so I keep it simple, they both look good and have plenty of energy without being silly.

I have fed Copra and I would also feed rice bran or grass nuts but that's about it, if I wanted extra vitamins and minerals I would just supplement with a powder rather than with feeds that have it added in, as you normally have to feed so much of it to get the required dosage so it works out expensive.
 
I have been feeding alfalfa, fibre beet, micronised linseed and naked oats to a veteran arab cross who lives out all year round and keeps in good condition on this diet without being silly or hot. I add a general supplement from Pro Earth over Winter but I will not buy commercial feeds where the ingredients can change unpredictably according to what is available/cheapest for the manufacturers since one of my horses refused point blank his usual horse nuts when I opened a new bag.
 
I feed straights just like for humans it’s healthier and cheaper .
And I can use a quality supplement I choose
I do have a bag of mix gain horsefeeds freedom mix just in case as I have one horse who sometimes needs a bit of mix to tempt him.
I would feed mix if I had a horse competeing seriously ( because it screened ) and also if I have one horse I might consider it is because it easier .
I would never buy a cheap mix unhealthy things go into mixes a the low price points .
 
I do feed mixes - but am fussy about which ones. As Goldenstar says a lot of c*** goes into cheap mixes. Until a couple of years ago we competed very heavily and NOPS feeds were a necessary precaution. DD is at Uni now and we mostly hunt or compete unaffiliated so it probably isn't necessary now. I do tend to forget we are now free to dope our horses if we want to! I'm happy with my feed solution so I hadn't really thought of changing but to be honest straights would do just fine.

You sometimes need more space for straights - depending on your feed solution. You don't have the guarantee of quality / non contamination you do with a competition safe feed. But you do absolutely know exactly what the horse is getting. And I suspect it might actually be cheaper than decent competition safe feeds - although possibly not cheaper than the cheap mixes available.
 
I really only feed speedibeet and linseed - I could buy a 'complete' feed that basically amounts to feeding the same thing, but then I wouldn't be able to alter the amounts. Feeding it the way I do means that I can feed my little fatty native youngster through to my big poor doer in a reasonable level of work with the same two sacks of feed.

But I don't have a fussy eater, don't have to feed supplements/medication that the horse doesn't want to eat, and I don't mind soaking beet. If I did then I would happily buy some of the simple mixes/pellets instead.
 
I just feed very simple straights as its cheaper and I was sick of having different feedbags clogging up the feedroom. i've a few very different types of horses to feed, from minis, foals, good doers through to eventers in tough work. I prefer it this way as it lets me alter the parts depending on how much work the horses are in and I alter the ratio to add weight, or when they ease off work.
 
She isnt a fussy mare at all, and im inclined to believe she will eat anything!

Shes been here 6 weeks now and although she has put on a little weight, it isnt the amount that I had envisaged - plus coat is a little dull.

Will be sticking with the alfa a and linseed, as they've worked well in the past for me, but wanting to add something extra...just not sure what!

Have read that equijewel is very popular, as is extruded full fat soya - both of which I can easily get hold of as have stockists local (availability of things is a pain here...had to drive almost 50miles and pay €38 for 20kg linseed, from what seems to be the only supplier in ireland 🙈)

Bluegrass horse feeds seem to be fairly readily available too
 
I only know one person who uses it, but she swears by it as went through quite a few different feeding approaches and her big tbxshire (3/4 tb), always just tended to get a bit poor and somehow lacking in something in winter. And she had the same problem that she struggled to feed what she wanted to feed because of the availability around her.
 
I started using the blue grass turmash as well, and they look great on it. was trialling it, but i think il stick with it now.
 
Another Irish person here! :D

I'm another who switched from complete feeds to straights and balancers. I would highly recommend Bluegrass Oat Balancer. Its only about €14 a bag and you are meant to mix it 1 part balancer to 3 parts oats but I vary this depending on the horse and their workload. I feed beet pulp with it to ensure the calcium:phosphorus balance is right, it adds a bit of moisture and makes it palatable (pretty sure oats and balancer on its own would be horrible and dry!). It also contains biotin which benefits their coats and hooves.

I have used it on all mine, from mares in foal, youngstock right up to hunters. I just vary the amount of oats depending on their condition and can add a bit more balancer if they need extra protein (in foal mares, youngsters etc). I would highly recommend equijewel if you need to put condition on a horse, I have had great results from it! I don't find it makes them fizzy, but a horse in good condition will naturally have more energy than one who is underweight. Havn't tried linseed yet so can't comment on that.

We got a hunter who was a picky eater and wouldnt always finish his dinner so I moved him on to Red Mills Conditioning mix to encourage him to eat. From looking at other conditioning mixes it was the most calorie dense and I think he found it more palatable. He piled on the weight and was so shiny! I'd recommend it if you want to stick with mixes.
 
Horses need plenty of fibre in the gut, so hay. straw, chop. maybe soya hulls. They also need carbs to a greater or lesser degree depending on the work they are in, so good hay, maybe a cereal such as oats or barley, and protein for rebuilding soft tissue (and developing more as in in foal mares, poor doers) and immune systems, so grass pellets, good hay, possibly a supplement such as whey powder.
I like straights, I find too many processed food include elements I would far rather either not include, such as garlic, or have in the right percentages for my individual horses. I do feed supplements, as indicated by soil/forage analysis and or presenting problems like poor hoof quality, but as required not as an overall amount.
You will notice though that good hay comes in all three categories - if your hay or grazing is good enough you won't need much in the way of bucket feeds, except to carry supplements. All the rest is thanks to the marketing men - and the saddlery shops who mainly stock the processed versions
 
For stuff like Linseed sign up for DPD parcel wizard and order it via Ebay or an online feed store like Milbry Hill. DPD won't charge you extra for a 20kg sack and only charge €3.85 for the delivery from NI. I keep show chickens and all my feed comes from Ebay and is delivered by them as it's not available here! Not useful for large quantities but for balancers or linseed very useful. Plus most places have free UK delivery so you only pay the €3.85 for the onward shipping
 
Im having great success with Bluegrass Re-Leve, KeyFlow pink mash, linseed and a basic youngstock balancer - the TB has put on condition nicely and the Connie is content with just her balancer and handful of alfa a!
 
I much prefer feeding straights, but if I was feeding compound I wouldn't touch Red Mills with the proverbial barge pole.

Would you be better off getting your linseed delivered rather than driving all that way? Feedmark charge £12 for up to 25kg of stuff, for example.
 
Rowreach said:
I much prefer feeding straights, but if I was feeding compound I wouldn't touch Red Mills with the proverbial barge pole.

Would you be better off getting your linseed delivered rather than driving all that way? Feedmark charge £12 for up to 25kg of stuff, for example.
Click to expand...

I got OH to pick up the linseed when he was working that way, so no delivery/fuel addition to cost, but €38 still seems steep to me 🙈
 
Straights wise when we fed them it was flaked maize, crushed or rolled oats, barley (Smelt like heaven when we fed them boiled barley after hunts etc.!) and think there was bran, although it was probably about 12 years ago when we stopped with straights so was younger lol. We always fed vitamin mineral supplement though.

Now I feed bluegrass releve, expensive but a really nice feed, none of ours ever had ulcers so we don't feed for that but it just feels "clean" imo and they all look really well on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top