Help...Opinions on what to feed my new girl please??

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jess_ruby

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Ok so after not having horses or a while due to different circumstances, I am finally getting back into it :D have just put a deposit on a beautiful 2 year old British sports horse cross Welsh D. So can I just ask what you all think I should feed her? Including supplements? Maybe something that will help tendons joints etc so maybe glucosamine what does everyone think of that or some kind of all round supplement? I will definitely be using Garlic and I am also getting I would say good quality hay delivered, she was previously on haylage but im not a massive fan of the stuff so have decided to stick with hay.

Thanks in advanced guys!! If anyone want to see photos will post them :D
 
2 years old? Grass and good quality hay. Garlic isn't of much benefit to horses though some feel it repels flies. At 2 years old, I doubt your horse will need joint supplements.
 
I agree. Grass and good hay when required. The risk with growing youngsters is overfeeding them and then you get issues related to them growing too fast.
 
I've had youngsters in the past and have feed them just not with this breeding, I like to give them at least a little bit of feed as a reward feel with some feeds it can start to give them good muscle structure etc.. Had my other youngster on just horse and pony nuts, happy hooves and garlic and extra biotin as her hoof structure wasn't the best, should I go for something along these lines so it's not too much just a little feed when she comes in? Thank you for your replies :)
 
Have just had hay delivered, looks and smells fine maybe a little dusty but overall i'd it's ok. Was trying post a photo but no idea how to! :(
 
Well my purebred arabs have done OK with minimal hard feed, I can't imagine anything that's part Welsh (generally really, really good doers) needing a huge amount of hard feed. I believe that garlic can upset the gut flora, so isn't recommended anymore. If you really want to give a token bucket feed (which I understand and have done myself) then go for something really simple. I have gone back to straights with my hard feed and the horses do seem better for it. They love a handful of oats and if I want to bulk it out then a handful of unmolassed straw chaff and a small amount of speedibeet works well. If you really want to feed a supplement then something like the forage plus ones, equivita or Pro Earth's Pro Hoof or Pro Balance are good.

To post a photo I upload to photobucket (but a similar photo hosting site works just as well) and then paste the IMG code in the forum reply box. :)
 
Didn't know that about garlic so thanks for the heads up! :) So do you use any cereal mix or nuts? I was looking at something like fast fibre or just horse and pony nuts or any suggestions? probably with hi-fi molasses free to bulk it out, possibly a little bit of speedibeet if i feel she needs it but then i'm a bit forgetful with putting it in soak then get carried away doing something else then when it's feed time there's none :O Wouldn't touch oats unless I really needed too i've witnessed one too many loopy horses on them, Ive looked at the supplements you suggested I like the look of equivita so will most likely go with that! Also do you think it's best to split the amount i'm going to give her between an am and pm feed? Going to see how she gets on with the hay and it's a bit dusty for her will soak it a little
Thanks for your help with the photos too i'm slightly clueless with the forums! :)
A friend has just suggested suregrow by d and h but i'm not sure about this one I don't want her to grow too rapidly
 
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if you have good grass and decent hay I wouldn't think you need anything else during the summer. if you feelyou want to give her a small feed then maybe a half a scoop of light chaff to put a supplement in and this should be fine in one feed...this time of year she doesn't need speedibeet or any sort of mix,.try and resist the temptation to give her lots of feed as while she is young she shouldn't be putting on too much weight. from the breeding I ould imagine you will be fighting the flab most of the time....we really do need pics!!!!!!!!
 
Thank you i've decided to just go for hi-fi molasses free, an allround supplement like the equivita, then a couple of chopped carrots so thanks for your advice :) Then later on in the year i'll go for a speedibeet or something if she needs it... Right here goes with the photo upload not the best pictures will get some more Monday when she gets here really cannot wait!!



 
She does look lovely. :) Such a sweet face.

I don't use mix or nuts. One of my horses is quite sensitive to what he eats (some things cause photosensitivity) so I keep everything as simple and plain as possible. That particular horse is quite a hot, reactive boy but oats don't heat him up more or effect his skin, so they are a safe food for him.

I do split supplement in two when I feed them, mainly because it seems to be more palatable that way.
 
Faracat said:
To post a photo I upload to photobucket (but a similar photo hosting site works just as well) and then paste the IMG code in the forum reply box. :)
Click to expand...

Legend I'm going to give this a shot!!

This is my 2 year old fine-boned stationbred (pending picture success), and so long as his ribs are covered I'd much rather a young one be lean - too much damage can happen from them carrying too much weight. He gets pony pellets which has some vits and minerals (and selenium which we lack in NZ), approx a handful as a thank you for a doing a training session. I like establishing a reward for working early on, but if no work that day = no feed. So my opinion would be to do the similar, just a handful or two when they're being awesome in hand or picking up their feet for you, or for standing still... but I think it spoils them to associate me as a feed dispenser.

KCmCm2hHMT77k5wr7


EDIT: Image works when I open in a new tab, but not in the message?
 
jess_ruby said:
Didn't know that about garlic so thanks for the heads up! :) So do you use any cereal mix or nuts? I was looking at something like fast fibre or just horse and pony nuts or any suggestions? probably with hi-fi molasses free to bulk it out, possibly a little bit of speedibeet if i feel she needs it but then i'm a bit forgetful with putting it in soak then get carried away doing something else then when it's feed time there's none :O Wouldn't touch oats unless I really needed too i've witnessed one too many loopy horses on them, Ive looked at the supplements you suggested I like the look of equivita so will most likely go with that! Also do you think it's best to split the amount i'm going to give her between an am and pm feed? Going to see how she gets on with the hay and it's a bit dusty for her will soak it a little
Thanks for your help with the photos too i'm slightly clueless with the forums! :)
A friend has just suggested suregrow by d and h but i'm not sure about this one I don't want her to grow too rapidly
Click to expand...

D&H Suregrow is for youngstock so it would be the safest bet if you do want to give a token feed.

Though it sounds like you want to buy all the bags.
 
splashgirl45 said:
she looks like a nice sort...good luck with her..looking forward to the pics when she gets to you., I bet you cant wait...
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Thank you :) Will definitely get more pics whens she's here yes super excited!! :D

Faracat said:
She does look lovely. :) Such a sweet face.

I don't use mix or nuts. One of my horses is quite sensitive to what he eats (some things cause photosensitivity) so I keep everything as simple and plain as possible. That particular horse is quite a hot, reactive boy but oats don't heat him up more or effect his skin, so they are a safe food for him.

I do split supplement in two when I feed them, mainly because it seems to be more palatable that way.
Click to expand...

Yep i'm in love with her already :) Ok thank you for all your help!

Equestrienne said:
Legend I'm going to give this a shot!!

This is my 2 year old fine-boned stationbred (pending picture success), and so long as his ribs are covered I'd much rather a young one be lean - too much damage can happen from them carrying too much weight. He gets pony pellets which has some vits and minerals (and selenium which we lack in NZ), approx a handful as a thank you for a doing a training session. I like establishing a reward for working early on, but if no work that day = no feed. So my opinion would be to do the similar, just a handful or two when they're being awesome in hand or picking up their feet for you, or for standing still... but I think it spoils them to associate me as a feed dispenser.

KCmCm2hHMT77k5wr7


EDIT: Image works when I open in a new tab, but not in the message?
Click to expand...

I managed to get the picture up he looks great :) Yes that sounds like a great idea as do want it as a reward and also as part of a routine so thanks!

9tails said:
D&H Suregrow is for youngstock so it would be the safest bet if you do want to give a token feed.

Though it sounds like you want to buy all the bags.
Click to expand...

Just looking for opinions think i'd run out of money before I bought all the bags though! But thanks for you're input i'm just going to go for a light chaff with a supplement, have been advised my dengies nutritionist to go for alfa-a orginal and alfa-a balancer and the lady recommended 1 scoop a day (400g) of the alfa-a orginal and 2 coffee mugs (400g) of the balancer and this is all she would need and if she needed more calories to up the orginal as apparently she could have up to 2kg per day :O So i'm going between theses 2 options and dengie are sending me some samples :)
 
I would be very wary of using the feed company's recommended amount. They do over estimate massively IME. If your horse is suddenly ballooning on their recommended amount, ask yourself why.
 
That sounds like far too much food to me. Also look at the ingredients in the balancer to check what's in it. Some big branded ones are very bad value and contain a lot of filler. The supplements on my list are quality ones. :)
 
Faracat said:
That sounds like far too much food to me. Also look at the ingredients in the balancer to check what's in it. Some big branded ones are very bad value and contain a lot of filler. The supplements on my list are quality ones. :)
Click to expand...

Yep I'm going to stick the molasses free hi fi and the equivita you suggested then when winter comes I'll look at adding something else in :)
 
The balancer is VERY expensive. I looked at it feeding along Alfa A Oil. Its also hard to get hold of. Have a search on this feeding part of the H&H forum regarding supplements v balancers. I intend, once my horse has been moved onto it, to test the grazing in our summer fields and then to work back with what is missing. Its not expensive and I am taking the view that it will save money by not making me spend money I don't need to on his supplements.
 
A common mistake is to try to chase the horses condition ,with feed .A young horse goes through a series of growth spurts and during these times ,will draw on fat reserves . Young horses will from time to time look a little light and lanky. But if you start throwing feed at them to "rectify" this, you will step onto a metabolic rollercoaster. As has been said earlier,dont overfeed youngstock. Good meadow hay and a modest amount of a suitable ballancer ,and above all ,TIME TO MATURE.
 
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