help, what can i feed my 2 yr old

[amberlou]

When amber was a foal there was lots of diffrent feeds to give her to help her grow ect, but now shes two and i want somthing to help her grow, she only stands at 13.3hh at the mo, i no she will still grow but possible not all that much so does anyone know what i could give her?? At the moment i am feeding her ecomeny mix and dengi hifi which doesnt really do all that much. What would you suggest?

 

[Scarlett1980]

You should look at winergy equilibrium growth. mixes and cubes aren't ideal for growing horses as they contain a lot of starch with can cause bone growth disorders.

this new winergy one has no cereal in it apparently and gives them a nice, safe growth curve.

they said in trials foals fed this vs. normal stud mix were bigger, stronger, less likely to misbehave and had better immune systems!

pretty impressive really. you should look on the website www.winergy.com

 

[amberlou]

ok thanks will do xx

 

[Scarlett1980]

let me know what you decide, i'm always really interested in this!

 

[sleepingdragon10]

Since when does starch cause bone growth disorders? Think you'd have to be alot more specific than that before you could categorically say that was the case!

 

[Scarlett1980]

starch has been proven to cause a glycaemic response which is a rise in blood glucose. Insulin is then produced to turn this glucose into glycogen which can be used for growth. Peaks and troughs in blood glucose (known as the feeding/fasting cycle) have been PROVEN to have a direct result on the growth curve and conversion of cartilage and bone.

Although it is accepted that bone diseases are multi-factoral, as a horse owner or breeder, nutrition is one aspect of their development you can control.

A growing body of evidence has linked the negative nutritional management can effect DOD (Ralston 1996, Treiber et al 2004) - Not my words - published papers for the whole world to read and learn from!

Studies have PROVEN that the safest diet for the growing horse is one based on fibre and oil with precise nutrient supplementation and carefully controlled, low levels of starch. Such diets reduce the effect of the feeding fasting cycle.

I'm not just saying this because its a fad, there is so much information about it on the internet and at breeding conferences. It is fairly recent research and doesn't mean what we have been doing for years is wrong, just that there is now evidence to show there is a better way of doing things.

i find this fascinating and am happy to discuss it x

 

[joanne1920]

Hiya i feed my 2 year old cob the following, he has had a bad start as he came from gypsies....
morning... 2 scoops of dengie hifi good doer, i mug of baileys lo cal balancer + carrots and water so its not too dry, turnt out during day in at night,
evening feed... 2 scoops of good doer, 1 mug balancer, 1 scoop limestone flour (good for bones and teeth as teething at 2) 1 sccop of mint, 25ml pro pell plus to help boost his immune system, he also has ad lib hay...

you could keep her on what shes on but ad limestone flour and a multi vitamin supplement....

 

[Theresa_F]

Mine is doing very well on simple systems - lucie stalks and green gold. He has total eclipse supplement and black sunflower seeds. In winter he also has speedibeet. I like this diet - no sugar or starch and high in fibre. Also gets a handful of carrots in his feed.

He has ad lib hay.

Before SS he was on alfa a lite, speedibeet and equimins youngstock supplement.

He looks fantastic and is growing well.

 

[cariadssogreat]

joanne1920 has got a good plan going. However cause I have a foal,a two year old and a brood mare I use baileys stud balancer which is about £15 a bag but quite frankly is bloody fab stuff. Have used it for years and years ( used to be called grow n win) and its always have fab results.

 

[emmajanerushton]

i like to use a balancer, in babies under 3 dodson sure grow, or buckeye grow n win with a alfa based chaff topped up with a youngstock mix,

Mt 3 tear old was on this until last year he now tubby and just on a ration of balancer, hi fi, and a handful of hi fibre nuts

my yearling colt gets fed twice a day on afla a oil, dodson & horell ultimate balancer, and dodson & horrel phase 2 mare & youngstock mix, topped up with hi fibre nuts.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
use baileys stud balancer which is about £15 a bag

[/ QUOTE ]
How much????? I've just ordered 3 bags of the stuff....

 

[sallyf]

Thats right it is about £15 a bag but the max you would have to feed without any stud mix would be 1kg a day so a bag should last at least 20 days so not that dear really.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Thats right it is about £15 a bag but the max you would have to feed without any stud mix would be 1kg a day so a bag should last at least 20 days so not that dear really.

[/ QUOTE ]
Phew - thanks Sally. Had never considered the cost - just put an order in with the feed merchant.

Tbh - as long as it does the trick (ie, lots of goodness, and no weight gain), I don't care how much it costs

 

[amberlou]

thanks does anyone know if the winergy equilibrium groth is a feed or a supplement? i think is am goign to try her on that for a while plus its only £10.45 for a bag which isn't bad price xx

 

[Scarlett1980]

winergy equilibrium growth is a complete feed so you don't have to add anything to it. They described it to me as a prescription which is why they can make the claims they do. If you add anything to it, it will change the formulation.

I just feed 3kg per day of it, nothing else at all - no chaff, no supplements and she's never looked or behaved better!

Ring them and they will tell you how much yours needs x

 

[sallyf]

Dont forget the winergy bags are only 15kilos

 

[Scarlett1980]

But worth every penny in my humble opinion!! x

 

[sleepingdragon10]

...and how much does it cost per bag? Seems (potentially) rather expensive to me

 

[sallyf]

I didnt say i wasnt good it is fantastic stuff.
We trialled it two years ago and would feed it to everything if i could afford to.
Trouble is at £600 a ton it just doesnt add up for eleven hungry broodmares and youngstock.

 

[Scarlett1980]

I can get it for about £9.90 a bag. WINERGY found me a supplier that offered a good price for buying a tonne at a time - they said they would help find the best solution so maybe ringing them and asking for their help would be a good idea.

Also, I use it for either really special horses or ones with a particular problem like ERS or laminitis and then use the Low energy one or spillers slow release cubes for everything else which works out ok.

And cos you don't have to but any chaff or supplements its not too bad at all.

 

[sallyf]

We payed £9 a bag for the last lot but it still comes out at £594 per ton.
Compared to the £425 we are paying for saracen mare care and level grow.
So unfortunately for us no contest,

 

[Scarlett1980]

wow, £9, thats good! I think I have had so many with problems that now I just can't afford to take the risk. I would rather pay more for feed and less for vets bills etc!!

I understand where you are coming from though, on a professional scale it is expensive but when you've only got a few I definately think it's worth the extra.

 

[sallyf]

If it ever comes down to a sensible price which it will eventually we would use it on everything from mares stallions the lot.
It is expensive as it is new and they have to cover the costs of research initially.
I work part time for a large company and the buyer was saying the other day that the cost price to retailers is starting to come down so hopefully soon this will be passed on.
It just takes time with all these new things.
The more people that buy it the quicker it will come down.

 

[amberlou]

thanks every1, ive ordered 2 bags of it because it takes 2 weeks to get to the supplier i use, i will let you know how it goes. xx

 

[joy]

My 7/8 TB colt at 2 lived out 24/7 without a rug (because he wouldn't wear it) and feed wise in winter had sugar beet pulp, Alfa A, linseed, cup of Blue Chip, scoop of economy cubes, carrots and as much good quality hay or haylege as he could manage.
Now at 4 and an incredibly good doer of 16 hands he has two feeds per day of 1 pint of same economy cubes, HiFi lite, carrots, a multi vit and linseed plus unlimited hay, his feed requirements have actually been reduced and he still won't wear a rug.

 

[amberlou]

i suppose it saves you money in buying rugs