help/advice please what to feed

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bedbug

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I have just purchased my horse and I asked what he was fed and the answer was nothing. There seem to be so many different options out there these days for feeding so I am now completely bemused as to what I should feed him.

He is out 24/7 on grass which is quite lush. I have been told that he is a bit underweight (sorry no photos and still trying to find a weight measure tape).

Now I personally don't think he looks to bad, I certainly wouldn't look at him and say he needs feeding up, but is missing a bit of muscle on his quarters as he has not been regularly exercised.

He will now be ridden probably about 5 times a week and I have purchased some think fly to help to keep the flys away so would like something to mix it in with.

What would you suggest I feed him, he is a welsh section D
 
Dengie Hifi chaff and a balancer topspec one are the best. Provides all vitamin and minerals. if you need to put topline try baileys topline conditoning cubes.
 
I would leave him a week or two with just the grass and see if your grazing is enough to start putting on the weight he needs. Most welsh live on fresh air and if they do get too porky its the devils own job to shift the excess poundage once its there!

My ID has grass, hay and a vitamin and mineral supplement in literally a handfull of chaff and a carrot. He is only just backed so is just pottering about doing really basic stuff.

Invest in a weigh tape and use it weekly for a while and just see how you new horses weight is changing. If you need some energy then you can look into mix or cubes but I suspect that grass will be enough for most horses at this time of year.

Better for good doers to be a bit lean at the moment as the grass is really shooting away. Far too many people cant guage just how much work horses are actually in....I bet 99% of all horses here are actually in light work.
 
Firstly to find out whether your horse is the correct weight or not, you need to learn to condition score. This link will help:

http://www.mvol.co.uk/paragonvet/equineinfo/ageing/body.vm

(Ignore the fact it is about veterans, the scoring system is applicable to all equines, young or old.)

As others have said, you may find you don't need to give any extra hard feed at this time of year - if you want to feed a supplement then you can just feed a handful of chaff to mix itin with.

My daughter's pony works 5/6 days a week including schooling, jumping, competing and hacking, and just has a handful of high fibre cubes twice a day as a token gesture when the others are fed.
 
It's important he has a well balanced diet as he will feel, look and perform better. If a person is deficinet in any vitamins or minerals this can cause them to feel a bit lethargic, stuffy etc, and this is also the case with horses. A vitamin and mineral supplement will ensure your horses specific nutritional needs are met but without the calorific content of a hard feed. If nec. try mixing it in to a low calorie chaff e.g. happy hoof just to ensure he eats it.
 
Hi,
I echo what the others say and leave him for a little bit and see how he settles on good grasing and work.
I have recently changed to simple systems feed - its amazing. I am not usually one to get so...I can't think of the word... but any way I have a changed horse through it in every single way. Its all forage based so its a feed that the horses digestive system can process. I really don't mean to soud so pushy about it - I was very pushed into feeding it but am so pleased that I did (won a hunter class 3 weeks after feeding it)
 
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