Highly calorific feed?!

floradora09

floradora09

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I have a TB who isn't really a poor do-er, but is living out this winter hopefully and I want to keep the weight on him. He is also a windsucker so when he has to work to get the grass, he just windsucks instead (very annoying!). I've just ordered lots of winter rugs for him so he'll be well prepared in that department!

At the moment he's having:

1 mountainous heaped scoop of Alfa-A Oil
3/4 scoop Heygates Conditioning mix

Normally I would then add Speedi-beet as the colder weather set in, but i was wondering if there was anything else like this I could feed instead? Boiled barley/linseed? Bran? (I know nothing about the nutritional contents of these so please explain!).

In an ideal world I would also feed ad-lib hay but it doesn't always match up with the yard policies on feeding hay in the fields (except when there really is NO grass/snow!).

Many thanks! :D He's not in poor condition now but I wouldn't mind seeing a little more fat on him before the winter! xxx
 
The most calorific feeds are all oil-based, as oil is very dense in calories. So things like micronised linseed, Outshine, Equijewel, Triple Top Up, etc. The calorie content is expressed in MJDE/kg so check the manufacturer's website for the calorie content. Some of the oil-based feeds have 20+ MJDE/kg which is significantly more than normal conditioning mixes which are usually about 12-13 MJDE/kg.

Remember that chaff type feeds are very fluffy and so the heaped scoop of Alfa A Oil you are giving probably weighs only 500g, so would be good to increase this, especially as you are not able to give hay in the field. Is he being fed twice a day? Is he going to get any hay at all?
 
He's being fed twice a day, and will be from now on until next summer. I'm not sure what YO's plans are with regards to winter field groupings etc, but I imagine that they won't get hay until there really is very little grass, plus most of the other live-outs are very good do-ers who seem to survive off fresh air alone!! I think she's keeping an eye on him (has offered us a field with more grass in to encourage him to graze rather than windsuck!) so I'm not worried too much about the hay issue, but would like to make sure I'm doing everything I can to give him energy in his feeds.

Also is it possible to give them too much oil? I'm not adding it specifically to his feed but I don't want to overdose if you see what I mean! Thanks so much TGM :) xx
 
Any of the "oil based" feeds mentioned above will have feeding indications on them. If you're feeding straight oil it's definitely possible to feed enough to put a horse off (as well as make a mess) which is one reason I don't much like that method. (I haven't also found it cheaper, as some people claim. Good quality oil is quite expensive and you can't keep it in the quantities you can store hard feed.)
 
Rolled maize has the highest calorific value of all cereals. Like others have said though - oil would probably be best. Just remember that if you feed more than 50ml of oil a day to supplement with magnesium.
 
Although I've not tried it (due to difficulties obtaining!) I've heard that you can get wondrous results with coconut-based Cool Stance (if you can get it, that is!!)
 
Inky_and_Sunny said:
Rolled maize has the highest calorific value of all cereals. Like others have said though - oil would probably be best. Just remember that if you feed more than 50ml of oil a day to supplement with magnesium.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it is vitamin E you need to supplement with not particularly magnesium for high oil diets
 
Humble said:
I'm sure it is vitamin E you need to supplement with not particularly magnesium for high oil diets
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if you feed more than 100ml of oil per day..you are supposed to supplement with Vit E.
100 IU of vit E per 100ml of oil. and if I remember correctly you shouldnt feed more than 500ml of oil per day. no idea about magnesium though.
 
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