I just don't know what to feed - Aaargghh, any advice?

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perryhillbay

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Right. I have had my mare for a couple of years. First winter, I fed her on Alpha-Oil, Barley Rings and Sugar Beet. She looked fine on that, but not what I would describe as 'blooming'.

I then moved to a new yard, where YO swears by Simple Systems feed. Given that my girlie can be a typical chestnut mare at times, the idea of cutting out sugar etc. seemed like a plan so I gave it a bash. She has been on it for a year now. She has lunar eclipse, greengold, blue bag grass nuts and purabeet. Whilst she isn't skinny, she just seems to lack condition. She is shiny and fit as a fiddle and you can see her muscles, but is very lean with it, too lean. She doesn't enjoy the feed, she has to have a bigger feed at night which she will pick on until it is gone, but always turns her nose up at the start with. She has a smaller feed for breakfast as otherwise she leaves it and I end up throwing loads away. I cannot pump any more into her volume wise, she has as much hay as she will eat, but I am just not happy. I feel like I am putting in far more than I am getting out. Having spoken to SS, they just want me to increase bulk again, but she won't eat anymore!

I have been looking at the Saracen Show Improver products and just scrapping the SS feeding regime because tbh, I have seen no real temperament improvement, she can still be a madam, but now she's a skinny looking madam!

For others with similar types out there, what would you do or what feed do you recommend? Also, with the Show Improver, what is the difference in feeding the pencils as opposed to the mix?

All answers very gratefully received.
 
Can you switch your hay over to haylage? I think that's how I would start.

My horse hated the SS feed initially - he is a very greedy horse but when I gave him that, he kicked it over and walked away, refusing to eat it for a few days. I chopped up fresh mint to mix in which helped to tempt him so that might be worth it. Buy a mint plant from Sainsbury's :)

Last winter I felt my horse needed a bit of something extra so I gave him D&H's balancer (can't remember the name, sorry). It made him fat (he is a very good doer anyway) so it might help to put a bit more condition on your horse? If you've seen no change in temperament then I think I'd be tempted to go back to your original diet plus something like the D&H balancer.
 
I never understand all the feed problems people have with keeping weight on etc. I have cared for scores of horses and even the skinniest TB has done well with very little hard feed at all but lots and lots of good quality forage. Personally, I like haylage and readigrass or graze on, though haylage alone is just as good for keeping the weight on. My advice is to forget stressing about hard feed and concentrate on the forage. Choose one that your horse can't get enough of. The drier type is generally best as it is less rich and you don't get problems with scouring that you can with wet haylage.
 
Maybe phone some of the big feed companies and see what they suggest for your mare- the feed she has depends on her age, what work she is in and the quality and amount of hay or haylage she is getting. how much weight wise does she get?

If she is in hard work or older she may need extra calories?- and also we have had a very harsh winter as well so some horses may not look their best this time of year.

Also when were her teeth and worming last done?- as they can have a big impact on overall condition.

If she can be sharp or temperamental then a slow release, topline conditioning type of feed(ie high oil/low starch and low sugar) is very good- there are loads of makes of them.

Re the difference in cubes/mix- i believe that cubes generally will weigh more than a mix but the smell of the mix may be more appetising to a fussy feeder and it depends on your preference as to whether you prefer to feed a mix or a cube (i personally prefer cubes tbh but everyone is different).

Good luck, keep us posted.
 
I like keeping things simple, there are dozens of horses coming and going into my care, all of them are fed very similar diet:
ad lib forage (depending on waistline - hay, haylage or even oat straw, or a mixture of these)
decent grazing
DH Just Grass/Ready Grass/Supreme Grass - whichever really
Baileys Lo cal balancer
unmolassed sugar beet

that's the basic, then, if I need more condition on them, I introduce Outshine; if I still need more energy/they are in harder work, I give them whole oats.

Nothing gets nutty, nothing gets skinny and pretty much everything does rather well.
 
Tbo, i would keep it as simple as you can.
I have found Bailies top line, to be very good, something with high oil content. and suger beet. along with hay/ haylage.
How does she do in the summer? The grass is starting to come through here, so won't be long before we are all complaining that the horses are to fat, lol.
 
I'm also a fan of keeping it simple.

Haylage is great my Tb is on haylage and he is easier to keep weight on, better then hay (and cheaper ATM!)

Feed wise I was feeding LOADS, tons (think buckets) of Alfa oil and tbh I just got fed up of the cost. He also kept getting a runny bum.

I cut his feed right down and now he has a scoop of HIFI with baileys low cal balancer, veg oil and salt twice a day. Really simple :)

Cutting his feed down has meant he eats much more haylage then before and he has actually put on weight! I think the volume I was feeding him, his body couldn't process it all and it was just going right through. Now the balancer is helping him get the most of his fibre and therefore energy (calories) from the haylage but still giving him protein for his muscles and the small feeds means he is utilising it really well. He's in medium work as well and has lots of energy but isn't silly.

There's tons of food around but I would go back to basics and add more if you need it. As above lots of good quality forage is key.

If you want to add a high fat supplement to chaff I really reccommemd equijewel or outshine. Mine simply doesn't need it but they are great sources of energy if your horse really needs it and enable you to keep feed sizes small (rather then feeding bucket loads of conditioning cubes).

If you want to choose a cube or mix. Cubes tend to be lower in starch as mixes have more cereals and molasses added to make them look prettier for us humans :)
 
Agree with the haylage !

Tbh, it is all just so confusing, there is so much out there :rolleyes:

I try to keep it simple - Dengie feeds, Speedibeet, Olive oil. In the summer I'm going to try out Topspec Light Feed Balancer, as Shy justs munches his way thru the light tub licks, not exactly the point.

A friend uses Baileys Outshine and his horse looks stunning on it.

But there you go - too many choices again !!!

sm x:)
 
I use SS, but only the luci nut, am not too keen on their other products, as like their 'lunar eclipse' its exspensive............

have you considered an oil?

linseed oil, or an oil chaff

or phone up a company called Falcon Feeds, they do a product called Omega Rice, which is an omega oil based product, I love it, and you dont need to feed large amounts :)
 
As the others say keep it simple- 1st tons of ad lib good quality haylage as much as you can get down her.
2nd Baillys No 4 conditioning cubes, spillers conditioning chaff and a bit of sugar beet to moisten it. No need to add extra oil these 2 feeds have high oil content, so adding extra will just out balance it/waste your money!
If you can split it into 3 then do so.
 
We feed everything on different amounts of haylage/barleystraw, grassnuts and Graze-on with PinkPowder as a balancer. We need to maintain weight on an elderly cob who has got very picky about her food in her later years, stop the good-doers putting too much weight on whilst still having access to ad-lib forage and get some weight off a recent acquisition, also while giving access to ad-lib forage. We do give the old girl a dollop of molasses with her soaked grassnuts, just to persuade her to eat.
And it's all relatively inexpensive.
 
martlin said:
I like keeping things simple, there are dozens of horses coming and going into my care, all of them are fed very similar diet:
ad lib forage (depending on waistline - hay, haylage or even oat straw, or a mixture of these)
decent grazing
DH Just Grass/Ready Grass/Supreme Grass - whichever really
Baileys Lo cal balancer
unmolassed sugar beet

that's the basic, then, if I need more condition on them, I introduce Outshine; if I still need more energy/they are in harder work, I give them whole oats.

Nothing gets nutty, nothing gets skinny and pretty much everything does rather well.
Click to expand...

*like* :D
 
Anything that can keep condition on grass can keep condition on haylage. In fact I have the opposite problem of horses getting too chubby in the winter and I have to cut down their intake by adding straw or unmollassed chaff. In the summer it is easy to keep the weight off by restricting paddock size.
 
Thank you everyone for your kind responses.

To clarify, she is worm counted very regularly, instead of worming, and wormed if neccessary (recently had to have the Pramox for tape worm which has to be done annually). Teeth wise, she is up to date, done annually, not due for a good few months yet.

I have bought her some haylage, which she is well chuffed about. Me too, it's cheaper than the hay YO is buying in!! I am mixing it in with the hay so as not to shock her intestines to much(!) and giving her enough that there is some left in the morning, so she is getting more than enough offered.

I have put some oil in her feed the last two nights. Only a little but she has gone off of her feed big time now! Threw last night's dinner around her stable in disgust and just picked out the carrots this morning - fussy moo :) I just really don't think that she likes SS, she never used to be picky and the sheer volume that they are saying to feed is madness!

Off now to pick up a bag of the Saracen Show Improver pencils. Will take a before photo to compare with in a few weeks. I can't find any bad reviews on it, and it has EquiJewel in it too, so I think it will do her just nicely. Plus, I can feed it in smaller quantities that I need to the SS, which I think will be better. I'm sure that she gets quite overwhelmed by the size of her bowl at meal times, and unfortunately feeding three times a day is not an option for me for various (time related) reasons. So basically, watch this space!
 
Hi I feed Simple Systems Lucie Nuts, unmolassed beet, Allen and Page Calm and condition, Greengold and Carob Kibble and I have to say it's the carob that all of mine love and it sweetens the sour alfalfa! It has NO sugar or starch in it contrary to many people.'s belief (it's used to sweeten diabetic chocolate) - it does have a high fibre and calcium content so you will probably need to feed if at all sparingly when you have good grass around.
I also feed that Eclipse, but am replacing it with a cheaper yeast seaweed and linseed supplement I found online.
 
My two are both "good doers" but I had great results with Falcon feeds - oat and barley free for my cob as it has a bit more "oomph", and the fibre care for my welsh mare who has enough energy already!
Mixed with a bit of sugarbeet and they were fine.
 
I tried simple systems last summer( grass nut, lucie stalks,alphfa) when the grass was poor and there was no new hay to give for forage and they really didn't like it.
I don't know wether it has a strong taste but in the end they got a nice bale of barley straw, Fast Fibre and some chaff which they eat no problems.
I agree about hay/haylage +
fat ones balancer/ fibre nuts if not a lot of hay
thin ones conditioning cubes+ oil
I do not stick to any particular brand I just buy the cheapest or whats on offer and go by the DE.
 
My standardbred lost a lot of weight this year. She is now fed Alfa oil and Allen and Page Fast Fibre. I do think its the fast fibre that is helping her the most. With in 2weeks she gained weight. She looks loads better. I thnk she is going to stay on fast fibre from now on.
 
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