How efffective is the difference?

[parsley]

I was looking at the energy levels in Hi Fi origional and Hi fi Lite the other week (I lead a very interesting life!) The lady in the feed shop said that if it was for a good doer (our pony) I should choose the lite version. BUT when I looked at the energy the lite version was only 1mg joule less energy per KG than the original version. It also had a little bit less protein. I asked her why there was so little difference and she said that more protein in the original version would make them put weight on.

Questions!
How much of a difference will 1 mj per kg make to weight gain
will reduced protein help keep weight off?
is the lite version worth the extra money?

(I just bought low sugar mollased chaff straw in the end - I am still not sure how you can have low sugar mollases either

)

 

[Jemayni]

Ooer that made my head hurt!

my analysis of the two

My horse + Hi Fi orig = Nutter.
My horse + Hi fi lite = Me very smug,

 

[MagicMelon]

Personally I couldn't decide between chaffs for a lami pony (who needed low sugar etc.) - in the end I settled on Safe & Sound. I found my horse went off the Hi-Fi Lite pretty quick as its pretty boring stuff. Whereas the Safe & Sound is lovely stuff.

Do you need a chaff at all? Have you looked into something like simple High Fibre Cubes?

 

[parsley]

He is only fed some chaff so he thinks hes getting something! I am quite happy with the chaff we have, but am still wondering if 1 mj of enery per kg is much help if you are concerned about weight gain

 

[parsley]

sorry about your head! But why does 1 mj per kg make such a difference?

 

[parsley]

In fact it works out at about 71kcal per scoop difference between the two - less than a slice of bread

Ok I am going to do something less anoracky than go on about this now

 

[sleepingdragon10]

The Lite uses molasses extract and is about 4% sugar, the Hi-Fi original uses molasses and is around 8% sugar.

 

[tanflislibs]

mine is on fibergy and loves it, it is slow to chew as libs eats really quickly, low sugar, low mollases an don bag was enough to fill one dustbin 3 times fully! it has mint in it and smells lovely, almost like honey, ours was on safe and sound, very good chaff, but we wanted something that would slow libs down more (s&s had balls in which they can fiddle with but weasnt quite working) and fibergy is really good value for money

what i've heard about with hi-fi is it can be heating and not great for horses with alot of energy.

 

[Christmas_Kate]

[ QUOTE ]
The Lite uses molasses extract and is about 4% sugar, the Hi-Fi original uses molasses and is around 8% sugar.

[/ QUOTE ]

So, do the maths, if I added 1/2 an apple to his feed of Hi Fi lite, and 1/2 an apple and two cattots in his snackball, how much would the sugar content go up by??

. Am I a bad mummy and totally ruining his diet??

 

[dwi]

As I understand it carrots are full of sugar and should be avoided for fatties

 

[Christmas_Kate]

so what else to put in his snackball? considering that he'll be out 24/7 soon so i don't want to be buying a huge sack of fibre cubes?

 

[sleepingdragon10]

Well, carrots are mainly water

although the sugar content is fairly significant, but less than that of an apple.

 

[parsley]

carrots are just under 90% water and 10% sugar

 

[pottamus]

I use Hi Fi Lite with no problems...depends how much you feed I guess but can't see it making a huge difference to weight to be honest...you are more at risk of increased weight through the spring grass coming through than a few handfuls of chaff. I give my boy some chaff to put his supplement in and he has plenty of carrots too...but I find it is a good work out on a regular basis that keeps his weight down.

 

[Fairynuff]

I wouldnt worry about the protein difference. Protein cant be stored in the body and once whats needed has been used the rest is broken down by the liver and exits in the pee. Thats why sometimes the pee smells really strong. Its the carbohydrates and fats that are stored as fat. I dont think the 1 mg joule per kilo is going to make much difference but you could feed slightly less or up his exercise a bit. Feeding horses has become a mine field and the more info we have the more confusing its become. I fed by eye and the feed back the horse gives me, its much easier and works for me. Mairi.