Following on from the 'feeding horses badly thread' - advice needed

[sonjafoers]

I've just read 3 quarters of the thread and am a little confused. Apologies if this has been done in the thread but I didn't make it to the end.

I have a goodish doer & one that drops off in winter but is fine the rest of the time. Both are hunted, one also does XC and the other SJ. As a generalisation I would say they are in light - medium work.

I came off a mix a while ago & currently feed TopSpec, Baileys Outshine & Alfa. My good doer doesn't get anything else but Nov-Feb the other one needs a boost. I have been toying with the idea of Grass Pellets but am not sure how to feed them.

Question 1: I feed a max of 1 scoop of alfafa daily. Having read that alfafa isn't good for them should I change this to something else? I use the TopSpec one which isn't molassed.

Question 2: If I added grass pellets in winter would it help maintain weight? If so in what quantities should I feed it? Should I soak it?

Question 3: Having read the other thread I am wondering if the balancer is harmful - is this the case?

Sorry for the questions but I'm now totally confused

 

[Maesfen]

No doubt I will be corrected if I'm wrong but there are a lot cheaper ways of getting a shine than using Outshine plus I also think that if you are using Top Spec balancer then you shouldn't need Outshine at all as the balancer should be supplying everything your horse needs which in turn will give you a good coat.

I admit, I'm not a chaff fan at all unless you have something that bolts a feed because the horse should be getting enough roughage from the grazing and long forage that you feed anyway, that shouldn't be restricted at all so from my POV, I'd ditch the alfa completely unless you can't feed sufficient roughage in any other way.

Grass pellets I like (surprise surprise, lol!) and I would prefer to use them to a chaff (soaked of course, consistency depends on what your horse prefers; mine prefer it crumbly rather than soggy) and I find they are great for putting/keeping weight on without inducing silliness.

If I was you and you wanted to keep to Top Spec, then I would be adding the grass nuts and forgetting about the Outshine and alfa completely but that is probably completely wrong as I'm confused too because I'm normally a straights person and usually feed oats and sugar beet with brewers yeast and linseed plus just Suregrow for my youngsters so not the right person to ask really!
Went to a feed talk recently where the speaker was decrying the mixes as very bad that her firm produces (and promotes of course!) and telling us we should be using fibre and nothing else preferably from completely another brand than who she's employed by which all seemed a bit weird; it won't surprise me in the least if she doesn't last much longer with her firm if she can't even recommend them!

 

[sonjafoers]

Thank you Maesfen, I do need to feed some sort of short chop as one of mine virtually inhales anything she's given.

I have tried feeding purely fibre but my other one won't eat enough of it to maintain weight, she won't eat more than a stubbs scoop in one sitting so drops off quickly in winter even with haylage, so I normally add a conditioning cube. I was hoping the grass pellets may be an alternative and it sounds like it could be an option.