Has anyone used Simple Systems feeds?

[Blizzard]

I contacted them yesterday and they have sent me a diet, (for a 17.2hh gelding who needs condition on and has muscle wastage).

They have gone into a lot of detail explaining it all scientifically, over my head ha ha, but it is going to work out at £85 a month for the first few months, then half that afterwards!

So Im just wondering does anyone use Simple Systems and what kind of results have you had?

(If I dont go for this its going to be Alfafa oil, Blue chip original, and either oats or a contditioning/build up mix I think.)

He isnt getting any hard feed now where he is, Im just in the process of buying him.
Thanks.

 

[Dovorian]

I did and it seemed to work well for a month and then both horses went off eating it. Don't know why but back to nuts/chaff and no probs at all. Maybe it is because it is 'wet'?

 

[Blizzard]

Yes it did sound a bit soupy in the description!

 

[evsj]

Crikey, that sounds really expensive! I swapped to SS with good results but just used the Luciebix and Total Eclipse which was enough to keep condition on and energy in. Soaking the stuff is a bit of an art but you soon learn how much water you need to make it the right consistency. Too sloppy and horses don't seem too keen but with just right amount of water it is like a bucket of damp chopped alfalfa.
The SS diet is based around no cereals and no molasses which is alot different to your alternative feed plan. SS is good for those horses who can't cope with these ingredients (my mare's aggression reduced as soon as I cut the molasses).

 

[Blizzard]

Luckily he is a chilled out chap anyway so Im not too worried about him getting heated up, yes I thought £85 a month was a bit steep!

 

[TGM]

I like a lot of the SS philosophy and it is definitely a good diet for those with cereal or molasses intolerances and I like the way it is fibre-based. However, I have heard of people with poor doers finding that the diet wasn't right for their horses because their horses were rather picky about it - the addition of a bit of molasses and cereal can help the fussy feeder be more enthusiastic about eating!

Interestingly I have a book by Jane Van Lennep (co-owner of SS) which starts a balanced diet can be obtained by feeding alfafa, beet AND CEREAL, along with forage such as hay/haylage!

I follow a similar regime feeding my horses plenty of good quality haylage, plus Alfa A. My veteran mare who has been prone to weight loss gets micronized barley and veg oil as well. If your new horse is not intolerant to barley or molasses and is not inclined to get fizzy on cereals, then a good cost-effective diet would be Alfa-A plus micronized barley plus veg oil, together with, of course, plenty of top quality hay/haylage. This would almost certainly work out a lot cheaper than following the SS diet suggested!

 

[Blizzard]

Thank you Mistletoe, no he doesnt have any intolerences at all.

What is micronized Barley and how would I get hold of that, is it readily available at the feed merchants?

 

[Theresa_F]

I have been very pleased with Simple Systems - they have lucie stalks, greengold and total eclipse. Am just starting to add their version of speedibeet.

My boys look great, enjoy the feed and I like the way they feed, lots of fibre and no cereals.

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
What is micronized Barley and how would I get hold of that, is it readily available at the feed merchants?

[/ QUOTE ] It is basically barley that has been heat treated to increase its digestibility - sometimes called flaked barley. I've never had any problems sourcing it - all the various feed merchants I've used over the years have stocked it.

The nice thing about feeding it with alfafa is that the low calcium content of the barley is countered by the high calcium content of the alfafa.

 

[Blizzard]

Thank you! I will be a feed guru by the end of this week, learning so much! Ive only ever had good doers where keeping the weight off is the issue!

 

[dressagecrazy]

This is the 2nd post ive seen in as many days about SS feeds both saying that its going to cost £80+ to feed. Is it a new gold plated feed that i havent heard about lol.

Ive been on SS feeds for nearly a year now with 3 big horses i spend £120 every 2 months so it costs me a lot less. I feed Lucibix,Purabeet, Ruffstuff, Topspec and Instant Linseed. All my horses are doing great on it. It does come as a bit of a shock buying in bulk at first but you get used to it.

Im intrested at what they have told you to feed?? As ive noticed they seem to push the same diet.

 

[Blizzard]

Dressage crazy, this is what they have told me to feed:

(its for a 17hh gelding, out of condition, muscle wastage etc)

This is what they said:

For this horse I would suggest our Luciebix, Lucienuts, Purabeet, Total Eclipse and Instant linseed.

And amount wise:

maximum amounts are 1% of body weight in Lucerne per day, 0.5% of BW in PuraBeet and we suggest feeding both the Total Eclipse and Linseed at 25g per 100kg BW. Assuming he should be around the 700kg mark I would look to putting him on something along the lines of 2kg of the Luciebix, 2kg of the Lucienuts, 2kg of the PuraBeet, along with 175g (1.5 tea mugs) of the Total Eclipse and 175g (nearly two tea mugs) of the Instant linseed, dry weights and per day. I would suggest keeping to a ratio of 2:1 Lucerne to beet.

If feeding the suggested amounts £85.95 (approx) although hopefully he will pick up within two months and therefore the forages will be able to be halved (depending on what work load you intend to get him up to).

 

[TGM]

Bl**dy hell - that is a lot of bucket feed to give in terms of percentage bodyweight! Much more cost-effective to feed as much good quality hay/haylage as he will eat, then top up his requirements with bucket feed!

 

[PapaFrita]

I think Druid (forget what she's called now

) used to feed SS (she's now on soaked oats!!!!

)

 

[Blizzard]

LOL well tbh I cant see myself doing this simple systems. For me that is far too much food to give a horse, and I cant feed him 4 times a day, and I think thats what it would need splitting up into!

I think Im joining the soaked oats club!

 

[dressagecrazy]

Do you feed Hay/haylage as well??
I still think thats an awful lot for one horse. But who am i!!

Once you get the feed & try it you will tend to feed it your own way. I didnt feed the reccomended amounts as it was way to much considering mine get ad lib quality haylage as well. SS gave me the maximum amounts i could feed for each horse. They would of got extremly fat on the maximum amounts even in the amount of work there in. TBF ive had to cut my WB down recently as he's started to put weight on. I do tend to feed by eye & weigh tape one a month.

Good luck with it if you do go with it, mine love it.

 

[Blizzard]

Yes he will be on adlib haylege too.

I think I will try the oats and normal foods and if I dont see an improvement I will invest in the SS!