I Get Annoyed With My Feed Choices Here

Equilibrium Ireland

Equilibrium Ireland

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 July 2010
Messages
1,799
Visit site
Ireland. Nobody seems to give a toss what you feed. Case in point last week I needed a couple of bags of cheap chaff. I can't remember the name brand but it's a mix of straw and grass and lightly covered in soya oil. Not molasses. I hate soya but the oil doesn't affect my horses like the meal. Anyway apparently they were out and hubby gets Alfalfa A. Not only did he get it, it was helpful enough to OPEN it. Now I can't take the crap back. So ok I'm like I really do not want this but I have to use it and I will rise it clean.

Well let me tell you that's hours I won't ever get back. And when you get down to just the alfalfa, you realise that the bag is about half and half. Half molasses, half alfalfa. Honestly. I know the company make other products but HiFi light is like some delicacy and any of the lami type range is not available here. I called the distributor. Nope, we don't do that.

Flax. A friend drives me down flax from the North when I need it. She does some business down here but I mean really. No flax at all to be had down here. Ok yeah, if I had one horse I could by boutique type flax for my horsie. Normal everyday unmolassed beet pulp. Nope. Tons and tons of beet all molassed. One feed place told me horses won't eat it without. Huh, you don't say. So I buy speedie. Fine I can get that but regular would be cheaper.

Then the crowing glory that nearly sent hubby to the nuthouse? I enquired about cal mag from the local feed merchant. I was assured of the contents. Hubby brings it home and it says WITH ADDED MOLASSES!!! That went back and the right stuff procured.

I have 4 local feed places and yet finding stuff to keep my horses healthy and happy does my head in and my poor husband, well he just dreads going to get feed. The oats are the only thing I don't get a headache over because I buy those from a local farmer.

You guys in England are lucky. You have so many choices and can get things fairly easy. I've been on this roller coaster of trying to feed a low starch high fibre diet for about 6 years. The amount of times I just wanted to chuck it all in and go back to feeding whatever is in a bag have been many. But my horses have done so much better with all this annoyance so I keep going.

Looks like I had a bit of a rant! Sorry!

Terri
 
Perhaps you could start up your own feed supply business.:) Interesting though that it's not available. Is it because the feed stores don't think there's any market for it.
 
Jeez, that's a mission and a half!
Really take it for granted how readily available everything is down here.
Hope you got their dinners sorted :)
 
TrasaM said:
Perhaps you could start up your own feed supply business.:) Interesting though that it's not available. Is it because the feed stores don't think there's any market for it.
Click to expand...

Echo this!! Open a business! I will move back to Ireland and run it for you! It is probably the biggest difference I find between horse care issues between Ireland and uk.... So where will we open the store? We can import linseed for everyone, etc :)
 
I can completely emphasize with you, it was a nightmare whilst living in France. I had a little Welsh who was a very poor dooer, we scoured every feed store and tack shop within 40 miles of our home and all had about 3 different choices, max.

Most were either oats or competition mix's - not ideal for a laminitic highly strung pony!
 
Aaaargh! I feel your pain. Please, please start up a business...it has just cost me over £20 postage to get some micronised linseed and some brewer's yeast sent over to me. I refuse to pay megga bucks for a dainty little pot of BY when my mare has 40g per day!

Chaff??? OMG can I get any chaff that is both Alfalfa and molasses free? She now refuses the Allen & Page Fast fibre...so I have had to go with Blue Grass garlic chaff......I dont really want garlic as she is also SI horse and it can be detrimental but it is the only thing near me with (supposedly) just a dusting of molasses and no alfalfa.

The marts and the horse feed places thing I am mad...they really cant understand why I am so fussed.:confused::(
 
does copa not do flax oil?
I think redmills do a low starch high fibre mix, care10 or something?, we feed baileys high fibre mix which we get quite easily?
 
Terri I am SO with you on this, and I am in the North (oh and btw thank you cos J told me where I can get whole linseed :)).

My feed bloke has been really good at getting me straights, but it's right, nobody really cares what they feed here, as long as it's a mix and they don't have to think about it, they will just feed it :confused: We have about 3 feed places round here, they all stock the same thing (about 2 choices of mix :rolleyes:) and look at you as if you've got two heads if you ask for anything different.

And don't get me started on the lashings of molasses everything is coated with .......... :mad:

Hallo OnlyMe, you're back!! :D

Oh and PS, don't bother starting a feed business, there's no percentage in it!
 
Oh and PS, don't bother starting a feed business, there's no percentage in it![/QUOTE]

You just ruined my dream! Had just been picturing a lovely cottage off kildare :(
 
Thank god there is someone else out there! I'm tired of people in feedstores laughing at me for wanting to read ingredients! Where oh where did you find linseed? I'm near the Curragh, you would think it would be a bit easier!! :rolleyes:
 
Will pure feeds post to you? It comes to ke in the se of England via parcel force. Pure feed feeds are molasses and alfalfa free :) .
 
I have to get mine from the North. Rowreach knows too! The company is H Beattie. But yeah, getting stuff here is a nightmare! My husband is like why is it we have special horses? Why is every other horse in Ireland fine on bagged feed. I'm like they're not now just stop annoying me. LOL! Yup Redmills do the gastro care cubes but I can't feed the recommended amount to get the vit and min content and it has a bunch of fillers I don't want. And I'm not bothered on oat opinions one way or another but they really are not the horror feed big feed companies make them out to be. I want soya free, wheat middlings free and on and on. But no, we will just make out that straights horses have been fed for years are the culprit. That's why all the oat free and barley free feeds exist. Oats are even acceptable for lami horses. And think about it, how can something that is so wholesome for people, including slow release energy be that horrific to horses? Sugar is as evil in people as it is in horses.

I would never start a company in Ireland. Most wouldn't care. And if it isn't 6 euros a bag there would be no interest!

When my mare was away in jumper training I packed her meals! LOL! That was one of my conditions of sending her.

When I walk into the feed stores I'm sure they're like, oh lord here she comes. Why us?

Terri
 
Equilibrium, what do you think of the Bluegrass feeds, they have a low starch special but don't list the full ingredients on the web page, maybe it has loads of fillers/sugar. Why no ingredients list?!
 
Interestingly enough Bluegrass had a feed at Tatts one year in their booth. It was called resolve. It was soya free and I thought my prayers had been answered. Low starch and quite a good feed. Turns out it was a special lot of Resolve specially made for a well known NH trainer who had a horse with soya issues. IMO, it's the worst additive out there, but that's me. So I was told I could still have it if I bought a full pallet at a time. These type of things are what freak Mr. Equilibrium Ireland out the most. So we don't talk in pallets. That's a no no.

So that dream died. But almost all commercial feeds are lots of things I don't want to feed. I do use Bluegrass Equi Jewel if my made is pregnant or when Abba is at full competition fitness. I don't think they're bad feeds but I much prefer feeding straights. Declan from Bluegrass knows me well. Another one that probably thinks, on know not her again. But they do do more specialty type feeds than most here.

Terri
 
I find Bluegrass smells musty even if it's well within date. I do think that the prevailing conditions in the Emerald Isle (persistently damp) don't help with the life expectancy of feedstuffs mind you!

Redmills I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, it makes everything hyper!

I've found that a lot of mainland companies won't send to NI, let alone the Republic. Apparently we are somewhere left of the moon in a separate solar system :rolleyes:

Anyway, now my very helpful next door neighbour has started doing feed (alongside fuels which is why he can afford to do them - sorry everyone who wanted to come here ;)) and thanks to Terri I have found a linseed supplier, so atm I am sorted :D
 
Rowreach said:
I find Bluegrass smells musty even if it's well within date. I do think that the prevailing conditions in the Emerald Isle (persistently damp) don't help with the life expectancy of feedstuffs mind you!

Redmills I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, it makes everything hyper!

I've found that a lot of mainland companies won't send to NI, let alone the Republic. Apparently we are somewhere left of the moon in a separate solar system :quote


Ha! I posted 2 rugs to Ireland 3 weeks ago - they were returned to me - when I asked why the company said I had not put a phone number and they could not find the house - apparently not having postcodes makes the country so complicated you are supposed to put phone numbers on all parcels - he was actually serious! Too funny!!!
Click to expand...
 
This made me chuckle, sometimes i forget what a pain it all was having to wait in the petrol station for a parcel as nobody could ever find the house and feed store having 2 choices, molasses or added molasses :D never mind the constant rain, having to drive for 2 hours to nearest indoor arena and the worst in my mind - no bridlepaths, anywhere.
Don't miss it:D
 
travelmad said:
Ha! I posted 2 rugs to Ireland 3 weeks ago - they were returned to me - when I asked why the company said I had not put a phone number and they could not find the house - apparently not having postcodes makes the country so complicated you are supposed to put phone numbers on all parcels - he was actually serious! Too funny!!!
Click to expand...

Molasses said:
This made me chuckle, sometimes i forget what a pain it all was having to wait in the petrol station for a parcel as nobody could ever find the house and feed store having 2 choices, molasses or added molasses :D never mind the constant rain, having to drive for 2 hours to nearest indoor arena and the worst in my mind - no bridlepaths, anywhere.
Don't miss it:D
Click to expand...

lol yes this is right! No postcodes in the RoI, and in the North we have the townland system where several houses share the same name. I am constantly redirecting delivery drivers who land here (because we have a sign) with parcels for all the neighbours (who don't!). The phone number is essential!!!

Having said that, you could send me a letter with just the townland name and the town (which is four miles away) and the postman would deliver it to me :D
 
Yeah, bit of a nightmare here if you have "special needs" in the feeding department. I have Spanish horses which don't do well with sugar, of any kind. Can anyone tell me where to get linseed/flax please? I can go North for it if necessary. Oh, and how about resurecting an old chaff cutter? They're still about, this is what I've done so I now make all my own and can adjust straw/hay content as needed.
 
Cortez said:
Yeah, bit of a nightmare here if you have "special needs" in the feeding department. I have Spanish horses which don't do well with sugar, of any kind. Can anyone tell me where to get linseed/flax please? I can go North for it if necessary. Oh, and how about resurecting an old chaff cutter? They're still about, this is what I've done so I now make all my own and can adjust straw/hay content as needed.
Click to expand...

I have searched high and low for an old chaff cutter but without any success, we always did our own in the olden days!:p If anyone knows of one up for grabs please let me know.
 
Honestly, I had no idea! Nothing constructive to say, just empathy (which is about as useful as rockinghorse poo . . . sorry).

Apologies if this has been said already, but perhaps you could campaign the feed companies here on the mainland . . . you can't be the only horse owner in Ireland with this predicament?

P

P.S. I can't imagine what I'd do in your shoes as I have a horse who cannot tolerate molasses . . .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top