Has anyone NOT fed hard feed over winter?

[Chinchilla]

Look up.
What did you do instead?
I am currently trying to plan everyone's winter diets; I f---ing hate feed planning and - as we are trying to get forage and feed sorted before we need it - I'm seriously, stupidly, desperately considering, do the good doers need hard food at all, or would they manage on just hay (lots of it)?

 

[Red-1]

I had one who just had hay. He was a pretty fancy horse too. I did give a hand treat when I caught him of formula 4 feet, but literally just a treat hand fed.

He looked great, good condition and in light work. He was age 12.

My new horse was only on hay the winter I bought her, it was all she had been eating for months. I do feed her some chop, but I have had her since March and she is only on the second bag (!) so it is very much a token thing to get some vitamins in. She has just turned 5.


I do think we over feed in this country. Even the mare I did 3 day with (CCI*) only had a 3lb scoop of Spillars HDF H&P cubes twice a day! She was fit, healthy and full of running.

If they are cold or stressed they may need more, but if warm, fed ad lib hay and not in hard work then they should be fine.

 

[fidleyspromise]

The only reason mine are fed hard feed is because a hoof supplement is needed (hard feed is 100g each). If it wasn't for that requirement mine would be on hay only.

 

[Antw23uk]

I only started feeding my two haylage in February for the winter just gone! They were on a token feed to get a balancer in them but unlike the years before I stuck to just one small bucket feed a day this winter (chop and balancer) I plan to do the same this year. Shoes off, winter paddock and hayalage when all the grass has run out! They came out of winter lovely a light but warm and happy if not bored and ready for work again

 

[Pinkvboots]

My 2 had no hard feed from November to late January they just had 3 feeds of hay in the field everyday, I broke my ankle it was just one less thing for me to try and do on 1 leg, they looked fine didn't drop any weight in fact they looked a bit too good coming out of winter and they were only on just over 2 acres over the winter.

 

[Rollin]

Our good doers get Safe and Sound with no hard feed but next year two will live out with just hay and a good quality lick. Weather here is quite mild. Last winter fat girl was rugged in a summer sheet, it made no difference. Out she goes this winter. Poor girl.

 

[pippixox]

Again mine only have a small amount even in the winter for supplements that I feel they need. I would rather feed more forage if they lose weight. Tiny bit of beet and chaff with linseed and supplement.

 

[Sophire]

I've owned my old girl for 8 years now, she's had hard feed for 2 of them. She lives off fresh air. She's been out 24/7 retired for 2 years and she's not had a scrap and is fine! Ad-lib haylage from around Nov-March

 

[Clodagh]

I hunted on no hard food. Ad lib top quality hay kept her condition beautifully. After Christmas, when we started going twice a week she had cubes as well but from September - Christmas just lots of hay.

 

[milliepops]

The old dears only get some cheapo nuts to make them come over and hang around long enough for an inspection If they got hay in the field I'd give that instead.

Of my ridden ones, one gets hard feed all year but the other really wouldn't need anything were it not to carry her salt/ supplement. So she has grass nuts. Don't overthink it!

 

[Queenbee]

Look up.
What did you do instead?
I am currently trying to plan everyone's winter diets; I f---ing hate feed planning and - as we are trying to get forage and feed sorted before we need it - I'm seriously, stupidly, desperately considering, do the good doers need hard food at all, or would they manage on just hay (lots of it)?

Not stupid at all Beast went all winter without hard feed last year - prior to that he would get a handful of grass chaff as a token in the evening but I grew tired of wasting feed as I would always still have half a bag left at the end of winter. He has his paddock approximate 1 acre - possibly less, a straw bed although we will most likely be on shavings this winter due to the inevitable shortages and 2 large haynets stuffed with hay or hayledge. He's a 16.1 MW hunter type and came out of winter looking perfect

 

[Chinchilla]

I think you lot have probably just saved my sanity; if I can just feed them hay, I don't have to spend hours trawling the feed sites looking at nutritional analysis! Yay! And it will save money.

Second question then: are balancers necessary? They don't have one in summer, never have had one ever actually. Should they be getting one? Healthy nativey pony type thingummies.

 

[teddypops]

I have 7 ponies and I usually only feed 2 or 3 of them. The rest just have hay and do very well on it. I have never fed balancers.

 

[Highflinger]

I have three - live out 24/7 and only the 28 year old , rugged (ridden) got a feed from Jan - Mar and that was more of a token but did drop a little weight after the very cold and wet period ( this year will give grass nuts) . One was unrugged all winter (unridden) and only had hay and maintained his weight and the other had a rain sheet (so dry to ride) and only had hay and put weight on over winter.

 

[Denbob]

As a light hack/leisure horse who really doesn't do anything mine didn't get anything this winter gone. He might get a bucket with some extra hay in in the morning to shut him up while everything else has their breakfasts but I really try and avoid hard feed.

Although if he's looking particularly scurfy/itchy while his coat changes he'll get a breakfast and dinner of literally a pinch of chaff and linseed which he'll lick from the bottom of the bowl

 

[PapaverFollis]

If she didn't seem to need Vitamin E (she does) The Beast would get nothing. As it is she gets a cup of speedibeet with her Vit E oil, salt and a hoof supplement cos I've gone soft in the head. She gets this small feed year round.

Granny gets junk food with her bute in and will probably get a bit more in winter.

But really the only additional they get in winter is more haylage. I'm not convinced of the necessity of balancers myself. I was, now I'm not.

 

[Cortez]

I haven't fed our horses any hard feed at all for nearly 17 years. I have fed a couple of extremely thin rescues during that time, but nothing else. Ours are, however, a good doing breed. I will only increase feed if the horses drop weight. It's never happened

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I don't do hard feed at all. they get a tiny handful of soaked agrobs cobs if they get anything in the winter. they didnt get any supplements last winter but have since put them on equimmins as I thought their coats could be better and I'll probably continue with that. they always have a salt lick and I add salt to feed throughout grass growing season

 

[Celtic Fringe]

Ad lib hay or haylage only for two TB's one warmblood and one cob - all living out on 4.5 acre field with lots of natural shelter. My old cob had soaked grass nuts and cubes from Christmas onwards. All came out of winter in good shape - they lost some weight but weren't thin.

 

[Nudibranch]

I don't really. Just a handful to keep them easy to catch, so then I add linseed and salt but quite honestly I didn't even add those for 20 odd years and my horses were just as fit and healthy as the ones I have now! The only exception was a poor doer TB who got unmolassed beet.

 

[TheMule]

I feed soaked grass and alfalfa nuts with a mineral supplement through the worst of winter when they have very little grass (generally Jan and Feb) but don't feed hard feed as standard as mine are on lovely mixed grazing with hedges and trees to browse

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Topaz gets no hard feed at all, she's training PSG, competing advanced, and actually does better on hay as she gets fat on grass (in summer) or haylage (winter).

The oldie gets her pracsend with a handful of grass nuts and her and the youngster got some grass nuts + linseed over winter if looking a bit ribby.

All are barefoot, with lovely shiny coats, hard feed is not needed and just pushed by the feed merchants in my opinion. The 25 year old is keeping weight on far better now, now I feed only straights and hay/ grass/ haylage, than she ever did with any of the processed feeds including the very expensive ones), make of that what you will...

 

[antigone]

Second question then: are balancers necessary? They don't have one in summer, never have had one ever actually. Should they be getting one? Healthy nativey pony type thingummies.[/QUOTE]

I wonder about this, too. My two are both good doers who are not doing much. One was fat when I got her and a I fed a supplement when she was on soaked hay and oat straw as I thought vitamins were getting leached out. Now she is having some grass I am slowly reducing it and when it has run out I will not be replacing it.

Trying to work out which supplement is best has driven me to distraction and I am sick of all the marketing hype, too. They will have grass and hay during the winter and it will be interesting to see if there is any difference in them. Human vitamin supplements have been shown to be unnecessary and just make expensive wee. Probably the same for horses.

The most important thing for me this winter will be making sure the come out of it a bit on the thin side.

 

[Chinchilla]

Thank you everyone Looks like the fatties will be on just hay then.
Has anyone managed to do that with poor doers too?

Also, in regards to feeding hay, which is better: meadow hay, or specially grown "just grass" stuff?
I always thought meadow hay as it has a bigger variety of plants in it but not sure...

 

[Clodagh]

I always gave them a cattle type lick thing and a salt lick. Not the molassed things in a tub but just the big lump you tie to the fence.

Meadow hay best, rye grass too strong for horses (in my probably dated opinion!)

 

[Follysmum]

I stopped feeding mine a balancer last year and now they just have linseed salt and brewers yeast with a small amount of grass chaff and grass nuts. They all came out of the winter a lot trimmer, coats lovely and silky and hooves are rock solid. I would definitely say mine are better without the balancer.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Thank you everyone Looks like the fatties will be on just hay then.
Has anyone managed to do that with poor doers too?

Also, in regards to feeding hay, which is better: meadow hay, or specially grown "just grass" stuff?
I always thought meadow hay as it has a bigger variety of plants in it but not sure...

I only ever increase forage if mine were not carrying enough weight and it seems to work, but then my horses don't get really get high calorie conditioning feed anyway so not really worth increasing that for weight gain.

 

[Cortez]

The best thing for weight gain is good quality hay or pasture. I've had a few rescues, including emaciated starvation cases, and the very best thing is highest quality forage. Beet pulp, BTW, is forage.

 

[Translationsneeded]

One gets a handful of feed for meds. Other gets nothing at all (well a salt lick and the occasional carrot!)

 

[SEL]

The only reason one of mine gets a bucket feed is because 1) it's bribery as she can be a PITA to catch and 2) she needs vitamin E and a protein supplement. It's just a mouthful really but she thinks it's great

ETA - if you do have one that drops then grass pellets and a bit of linseed are good.