Good doer feed advice needed

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Lorrie66

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Hello there - quick bit of advice on feed. I have just bought an 8 yr old Andalusian who is a good doer apparently. I am just getting to grips with the complexities of horse feeding! Currently he has just one small hard feed a day which consists only of a 1/4 scoop of chaf & the same of bran and some garlic flakes and bit of water- basically as advised by previous owner & bran added as advised by livery he is now at. He has hay ad lib.

Is this one feed ok /worthwhile? And roughly how much hay should he eat a day? He is just 15h and has a lovely coat and covering & looks v healthy and I want to maintain that.
Thanks !
 
I know this doesn't answer your question but I have recently bought 'The Horse Nutrition Bible' from Amazon and found it very informative and helpful regarding what to feed. Different people will give you lots of advice and it can get confusing, you will soon work out what's right for you and your horse.
 
Best thing to do would be to ring a feed company like Allen and page / dengie or similar for free advice and also get samples as well.

I feed my good doers hifi apple and fast fiber alongside vits and a balancer in summer time.
 
If he's on ad lib hay and he's not underweight then I wouldn't feed anything; Always suprises me how much people feed their good doers, even this time of year, hay/grass is all they should need unless they are underweight.

I have two native ponies and they get half a carrot in the morning, they are out 24/7 on good grazing and don't get hay either, both look good
 
If he is in good condition now and has enough energy for his work, then he doesn't need proper hard feed. If you are worried about whether he is getting all his vitamins and minerals, you could think about adding a broad spectrum vit/min supplement to the chaff - something like Equivite or Benevit.

As for hay, I'd give him as much hay in the stable overnight as he can eat, unless he is getting too fat.

You may find if you ring a feed company they will advise more hard feed than he really needs!
 
D&H didn't they advised mine gets a handful of chaff to hide the vits and mins and that's it! Shes out at grass 24/7. Try giving Dodson and Horrell a call, I really rate them.
 
Firstly, congratulations on buying a PRE! They are bright and buzzy in most cases. I've had my boy for over 2 years and he lives on hay and half a handful of good doer per feed. He gets worked every day and hacked for a couple of hours at a time. He needs nothing else and goes like the duracell bunny on this diet.
As said in some of the other posts, please don't overfeed and don't be tempted to give hard feed just because others do, these horses will exist on fresh air and are hot enough in most cases. Hope this helps.
 
THANKS EVERYONE
thanks for all the advice. He seems absolutely fine on his token handful each morning & hay & he is turned out every day too. I will look at some vit supplements - but he has a small carrot most days & I've tied a swede up in his stable which he seems to love !
 
If he is looking well on what he is on then stay as you are, cut it down on the summer to nothing bar a cup of Lo-Cal balancer to make up for any lack of vit's etc....in the grass. Then feed any hard feed to give him a boost if energy levels are low.

Play it by what you see and feel, you'll learn about him inside and out and you'll know what to feed him, have confidence in what you know, you don't come across as a idiot.

Ask for advise if a problem occurs.
 
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