Feeding vitamins without giving hard feed?

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FinkleyAlex

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Trying to avoid feeding my rising 5yo as a) he's a very good doer and b) he is food aggressive due to being bullied over food when he was a baby (nothing nasty - he just gets very stressed if he knows its being made or sees it coming towards him). He's on adlib hay but I don't want him to miss out on vitamins minerals - is there a lick or another method of providing him with vitamins other than the usual powder in hard feed option?
 
There are Dodson & Horrell Equibites. They are a treat sized vitamin cube. If anyone finds a magnesium one in a treat let me know please. My mare is suddenly turning her nose up at her feed with it in.
 
If your forage is of good quality, theoretically a vit/mins supplement should not be required……well, being a cheapskate, that is the school of thought I abide by!!!
 
I cannot remember the name but there are rectangle green herbal biscuit cubes in a green bag and they contain vitamins and some of the bags have stuff for joints too or added garlic or whatever, there are about 5 varieties to choose from and you give about 4 biscuits daily. Or Feedmark make Slim Aid a vitamin and mineral pellet but you only feed one tiny scoop daily so can hand feed it.
 
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How about vitamunch?

They're like a cube of grass (I think ryegrass) which are full of vits and minerals.

Definitely worth a shot as they're very natural, taste similar to grass and hay, and you don't have to feed them in hand - you can either leave one in the field, or buy a vita munch hay net (these are so cute: they're tiny!) and tie it to the fence.
 
If he is a good doer and his feet,skin and coat look ok and his hay is good. I would not worry and let the forage do its job. The grass will soon be yielding all that he needs if you are not working him.
 
I use equimins advanced complete pellets, it works out at a couple of handfuls a day and seem tasty enough :p. Having had forage tested I know we are a bit lacking on our chalk soil and add magnesium too as our Calcium levels are so high. Grass doesn't always yield everything ;).
 
Hello. A lick such as Rockies is a good idea but you cant guarantee that he will take enough in for his size. If you stay with the grass only route I completely agree with ester in that you need to get the grass tested - if you google grass analysis for horses there are various companies that do this - however you would need to also be testing for vitamins and minerals which will make the analysis expensive. I would be looking to work out a way to encourage your lad to be more relaxed about feeding and maybe getting an instructor or natural horseman/woman in to help if you need some new ideas.
 
I have a rising 4yo and haven't fed her anything but grass this year. Never been better.

The horses have a lick in the field and they all take whatever they need and it seems to go more in summer than it does in winter so I respect that they have more of a requirement in the summer months.

Ours live in a herd and and have had this lifestyle more or less and have lived/are living well into their 30s.

Don't knock ol' dr green... unless you have a horse thats got troubles with sugar like EMS or Cushings then, good old grass and hay is plenty.

And this is from someone who has learnt the hard way that less is most definitely more!
 
He's in fantastic condition - lovely shiny coat and lovely hooves - he looks much better than my elderly gelding (who is pumped full of various conditioning feeds due to his age but still can't produce the same shine!). I always thought hay didn't have much nutritional value as it was dried? I'm tempted to not use anything in that case - I definitely don't want to hand feed him given his age so maybe I'll get a lick and chuck it in his field and he can self supplement!
 
FinkleyAlex said:
He's in fantastic condition - lovely shiny coat and lovely hooves - he looks much better than my elderly gelding (who is pumped full of various conditioning feeds due to his age but still can't produce the same shine!). I always thought hay didn't have much nutritional value as it was dried? I'm tempted to not use anything in that case - I definitely don't want to hand feed him given his age so maybe I'll get a lick and chuck it in his field and he can self supplement!
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Hay making is a process that preserves the nutritional value of grass. Moisture is practically the only thing lost and anything up to 30% moisture content can be ensiled or baled depending on what animal you are feeding. The nutritional content of hay is really dependant on the quality or stage of growth of the grass you are about to preserve before you cut it. The leafier the better :)
 
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