Feeding the retired

U

Undecided

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 June 2012
Messages
502
Visit site
Horse is a 8 year old barefoot retired cob x Arab x warmblood with no lami/foot issues in the past. He is retired (with rugs) out at grazing with haulage in the field, with a couple of nights in overnight winter in the bad weather. He thrives in summer on the grass and can get pretty porky, come winter and you'd think I had just rescued him from malnourishement! He is currently fed 1 stubbs scoop alpha a chaff, 2 mugs Bailey's lo cal balancer, 2 mugs TopSpec Super Conditioning Flakes and a small scoop of Fibre beet to hide his supplements in (Turmeric, Synequin and MSM). I am thinking of swapping the Fibre Beet for soaked grass nuts as he does so well on actual grass and maybe swapping the balancer for a powdered balancer to reduce bulk (I know it's a lot of feed). If he does well on the nuts then maybe he could come off the flakes altogether too. What are your opinions? He only gets a handful of soaked Fibre beet for his supplements in summer but nothing else.
 
I dont think that is a lot of feed but it is a bit muddled, feeding a low cal balancer for a poor doer seems rather pointless, you could give him more in the bucket as it is mainly fibre and if you can split it into 2 or 3 feeds it would help him use the calories better, oil in some form would be less bulk, micro linseed is deal. If you up the fibre content you can give him pretty much any amount so he can eat at his own pace if he is not hassled by others.
 
Eat said:
I dont think that is a lot of feed but it is a bit muddled, feeding a low cal balancer for a poor doer seems rather pointless, you could give him more in the bucket as it is mainly fibre and if you can split it into 2 or 3 feeds it would help him use the calories better, oil in some form would be less bulk, micro linseed is deal. If you up the fibre content you can give him pretty much any amount so he can eat at his own pace if he is not hassled by others.
Click to expand...
I tried him on linseed oil one year and he went potty, would this matter if he wasn't in work? Surely he would utilize the crazy to keep warm? He comes in every day to eat so no worries about being hassled!
 
AngieandBen said:
Its a bit of a mixture of feed! I'm a big fan of just fibre feeds, both my 23 and 21 year olds get unmolassed beet and linseed, they are out on plenty of grazing, usually lose a bit of weight in the winter which is what they should do.

http://www.stanceequine.com/product-coolstance-copra

This is supposed to be great for keeping on weight
Click to expand...
Our grazing isn't very good with 5 horses in one field, there is grass out there but it has nothing in it which is why we're feeding haylage out there too. I've heard of the linseed, do you have to soak it? And do you feed with some form of chaff?
 
I have a retired arab as well and the same as you porky in the summer and a bit on the light side in winter. I keep things VERY simple with him, I anticipate the weight drop and feed ad lib hay (survives quite happily with just hay and grass in summer) and then when he looks like he really needs more he gets Ready Mash and does well on it. Yes a bit more spritely but I quite like to see it in a veteran horse. I also chuck in some turmeric and he absolutely loves it!
 
Rosesandhorses said:
I have a retired arab as well and the same as you porky in the summer and a bit on the light side in winter. I keep things VERY simple with him, I anticipate the weight drop and feed ad lib hay (survives quite happily with just hay and grass in summer) and then when he looks like he really needs more he gets Ready Mash and does well on it. Yes a bit more spritely but I quite like to see it in a veteran horse. I also chuck in some turmeric and he absolutely loves it!
Click to expand...

What does the ready mash given that others wouldn't? Do you give chaff with it? Mine gets turmeric too for his arthritis however I don't know if it's just the lameness talking but I haven't noticed much difference :(
 
Grass nuts are probably a good idea, I'd swap the balancer to pink powder. Have you thought about calm and condition?

Mine is currently on equerry conditioning nuts which are doing a fab job. They also do a conditioning mix that you have to soak.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top