How much in kg or lbs do you feed your horse per day?

[Trudyt76]

Hi does anyone have trouble keeping weight on their TB or any horse around 16.2hh. How much in lbs or kg do you give them of hard feed per day and how much do you feed hay/haylage per day. Do you feed any oils and/or supplements? People mention 1 scoop of this and 2 scoops of that but what is the actual weight of the food?

Do you feed succulents on a daily basis or do you find that fruit affects your horses temperment.

Thanks

 

[Ginger Bear]

I'm not sure on the hard feed but I feed my two a 14lb net at night & then on days where they don't get turned out till 11am they get a morning net at 7.30 am that weighs around 8-10lb.. I have one pretty good doer & one skinny min but we have amazing grazing at our yard that we moved to in September so they've kept their weight on this winter!!

 

[Kadastorm]

this is where im naughty, i dont weigh my feed or hay!
I did for a while as i needed to learn it for my NVQ3 but i just feed my TB a good dinner with garlic granules when worked and he has a constant supply of hay in his field. If he is in for any reason, he has 4 haynets at night and no feed.

What you could do is weigh your horse, divide his weight by 2.5% and that will be his appetite. Then depending on his workload, figure out how much hard feed and forage you should give himby finding the appropriate percentage of his appetite.
No work is like 10% hard feed and 90% forage.
Light work is 25% hard feed and 75% forage,
Light medium is 30% hard feed and 70% forage etc etc

 

[jadelovescassie]

You could always try emailing/phoning a few feed companies, e.g. Dengie for example, or whatever brand of feed you give your horse. I emailed them for some feed advise and they send you back loads of info with recommended weights to feed your horse, in simple form! Im pretty sure a large round feed scoop is 500g, so when feeding you could work off of this, for example if you wanted to feed your horse 2kg of whatever feed, then that would be 4 large round scoops. The feed companies will also be able to tell you about any oils/supplements they recommend suitable.

 

[Trudyt76]

I'm not sure on the hard feed but I feed my two a 14lb net at night & then on days where they don't get turned out till 11am they get a morning net at 7.30 am that weighs around 8-10lb.. I have one pretty good doer & one skinny min but we have amazing grazing at our yard that we moved to in September so they've kept their weight on this winter!!

Thanks Ginger Bear. You are very lucky to have winter turnout. We don't have ours reinstated until May. I think all year round turnout is the best policy even if there's not much nutrition in the grass. At least it keeps them sane, supple and happy

 

[Trudyt76]

this is where im naughty, i dont weigh my feed or hay!
I did for a while as i needed to learn it for my NVQ3 but i just feed my TB a good dinner with garlic granules when worked and he has a constant supply of hay in his field. If he is in for any reason, he has 4 haynets at night and no feed.

What you could do is weigh your horse, divide his weight by 2.5% and that will be his appetite. Then depending on his workload, figure out how much hard feed and forage you should give himby finding the appropriate percentage of his appetite.
No work is like 10% hard feed and 90% forage.
Light work is 25% hard feed and 75% forage,
Light medium is 30% hard feed and 70% forage etc etc

Thanks Kadastorm. I've weighed him and worked out 2% and 3% of his body weight at a ratio of 80:20 haylege to hard feed as he is only in light to moderate work atm. He should be on 31lbs of Haylege and 9lbs of hard feed. However 1 full scoop as recommended by the manufacturer weighs 4lbs. I've been told to feed him 3 scoops per day but this would amount to 12lbs of feed even before I add Alpha A and Speedibeet. This is way too excessive as the stomach can only process so much per meal. He is fed 3 times per day but he's losing condition even though he's eating 9lbs of hard feed. I've bought Pink Powder today to see if that helps.

I need calories without adding volume and fizziness. I feel like It's an impossible ask as every horse reacts differently to feeding regimes

 

[Trudyt76]

You could always try emailing/phoning a few feed companies, e.g. Dengie for example, or whatever brand of feed you give your horse. I emailed them for some feed advise and they send you back loads of info with recommended weights to feed your horse, in simple form! Im pretty sure a large round feed scoop is 500g, so when feeding you could work off of this, for example if you wanted to feed your horse 2kg of whatever feed, then that would be 4 large round scoops. The feed companies will also be able to tell you about any oils/supplements they recommend suitable.

Thanks Jadelovescassie I think I may end up doing that as the more I research horse food the more confused I am - it doesn't take much though lol I think I may be thinking to much about it and making harder than it should be.

 

[Kadastorm]

Pink powder is a good idea.
i had a problem with an Appaloosa who came to me in poor shape and wouldnt eat. once i got her to eat she wasnt gaining so i gave her a build up supplement (i think the name was something like Equisite or something?) it came in a big white tub with a purple lid. It worked wonders!
Do you have turnout? The grass is coming through soon so if you have access to turn out that would help.

I can understand your frustration, trying to keep him well without sending him loopy!

Oh and have you tried barley?