Is her diet ok?

[Arizahn]

Details:
14.3 hh Arab mare
Ten years old
Not currently in ridden work due to lack of saddle but is trotted up in hand daily and lunged twice a week for twenty minutes of walk, trot, canter transitions. Also ten minutes of join up prior to lunging.

She has two slices of hay per night (the same again in the afternoon if weather is too unsafe for her to be out) - this is from a standard small bale of good quality hay.
Also one scoop of Mollichaff original and a quarter scoop of cool mix for her breakfast @8.00 am, and the same again for her tea @4.00 pm.
Out in the field from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm, fresh water on tap at all times. Drinks around 14 litres of water per night, and probably more whilst in field.
She gets NAF General Purpose Balancer with her tea, and a couple of carrots (weaning her off these as she gets far too excited at the sight of them!) whilst brushing her down.

She is a nice weight and condition at the moment, with a thick silky winter coat. When I bought her, she had rain scald and mud fever, hence the balancer. Both conditions are clearing up well. However, she is still growing out some flaky edges to her hooves so will be on the balancer for a few months yet at least.
Is the Mollichaff really ok? Or would she be better with a non-molassed chaff? She isn't fizzy and only gets spooky in high winds. I worry in case it is bad for her hooves (the molasses, not the wind!).
Also, when I start to bring her back into work (January) what changes should I make? She was out at grass for the past five years before I bought her, with no hard feed and just hay in winter.

It just seems that she may be needing a more complex diet, but I tend to over think these things. Advice appreciated - hope you got this far!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Well I'd take the mollichaff and mix out of her diet and give her more hay instead. I prefer not to feed molasses in general. after having a problem with NAF Balancers not suiting my horses, I'd take that out of her diet, as well.
The simpler you can keep the feeding regime the better, really. Horses benefit from a high-fibre, forage-based diet.
Monitor her weight by weekly use of a weight-tape and adjust her feed accordingly. Unless and until she is in very hard work, i.e. hunting x2 per week or similar, she probably won't need any hard feed.

 

[Arizahn]

She is on the balancer on the advice of the farrier due to her feet being in poor condition. I went with the general purpose one to get her vitamin A for her rain scald. It's working, so I am sticking with the balancer.
I would definitely rather put her balancer into a non molassed chaff but am having trouble finding one! Any recommendations? She won't eat the balancer on its own.
The cool mix was my YOs idea. She said it would be needed in the winter? I was just feeding chaff and balancer at the time.

I am happy to up her hay. She tends to leave a handful or two if given more than three slices per net. At two slices she eats it all. But if I cut the cool mix out and decrease the chaff to say half a scoop in the evening, then I guess she will be hungrier.
Also, horses don't get hay in the mornings on this yard since they are turned out. They only get morning hay if they have to be in.

I am almost out of cool mix now anyhow, so easy enough to not buy more of it. Just out of interest, what weight should she be? She has built up some nice muscle and her legs look longer now than when I bought her. But don't want her to be getting too plump!

 

[ISHmad]

We use Top Chop Lite as a chaff if thats any help. I'd do away with the cool mix and up the hay. Two slices of a small bale doesn't sound like much to me. How much does that weigh on average?

 

[BlackRider]

Have a look at the dengie chops - ie Alfa oil is good if you want to add condition, and there are others for good doers etc.

there are also feeds like readigrass or just grass which are unmolassed.

I'm not a fan of mollichaff because of the molasses contents.

If you think she's doing fine on cool mix, then leave her on it.

I've got 2 arabs and they're both good doer's, and exist on adlib haylage, grass (4 hours turnout a day) pony nuts (1 scoop divided into 2 feeds) and readigrass (hi fi lite in the summer) - and they're 17 & 30. They do get a lunch when they come in tho the 17yo gets carrots, and the 30yo 1/4 scoop of cond cubes.

 

[rhino]

You can use a weightape, but they are not always that accurate (although really useful for recording changes in weight over time). You are better off learning how to condition score your horse

http://www.bhs.org.uk/Horse_Care/Horse_Care_Advice/Publications/Download/Download_Article.aspx

Click on the 'condition scoring' article.

You are obviously not doing much wrong if your horse is looking well and healthy. Most companies are now doing a molasses free chaff, if you ask at your local feed stockist they should be able to advise. I would drop the cool mix as it is not really needed (my wb happily evented and team chased on no hard feed!) and if she is not keen on eating the balancer you could also add a handful of soaked unmolassed sugar beet as most horses happily eat that

You are also better off putting any carrots/treats into her feed so she doesn't get naughty about them!

If her weight is ok then it sounds like you have the amount of hay roughly right, you may find she needs more if the weather gets worse. It is ideal to feed hay ad lib but I appreciate it is not always possible with a good doer (like mine )

 

[thatsmygirl]

What do u mean by naf general purpose balancer? I take it u mean just the general purpose supplement? If so it's great iv got 6 horses on it from 9 months - 20 yrs and all look fab and have the shinest coats out. Non off mine get the correct amounts off feed due to their weights so I use this so they don't go short. Don't rate mollichop to much sugar. Dengie to a molasses free range

 

[rose bud]

Hi,
I struggled to find a chaff that was mollasses free so have recently started feeding fast fibre from allen and page which is low sugar and startch, cereal and mollasses free.
I was just looking for something to make sure my cob who is not in work at the moment was getting all her vits and mins but no extra energy, and she loves it!
I phoned the allen and page helpline and they were very helpfull and sent me a sample.
You only have to soak it for 1 min and its great to hide supplements in.
Mine gets this for breakfast and hay for tea and lives out 24/7.
Hope that helps.

 

[Arizahn]

What do u mean by naf general purpose balancer? I take it u mean just the general purpose supplement? If so it's great iv got 6 horses on it from 9 months - 20 yrs and all look fab and have the shinest coats out. Non off mine get the correct amounts off feed due to their weights so I use this so they don't go short. Don't rate mollichop to much sugar. Dengie to a molasses free range

Yes; this is the supplement I meant! Sorry, my bad there - forgive any confusion caused.

ISH - The two slices almost fill a large hay net. The over bale size is 3' tall by 2' by 2', if that helps. There are fourteen slices per bale. No idea where YO buys it, but it is lovely hay.

Rhino - She gets her carrots as occasional treats now, and is very nice about them.

I am decreasing the amount of cool mix per feed. Hoping to remove it entirely, but I will see how she goes. She will be on hay and one of the chaffs that have been recommended for her balancer/supplement thingy.

Out with the Mollichaff and thank you all for helping

I have a picture of her on my other thread: "My naughty mare was complimented today!" I am trying to repost it here. Please excuse the mud on her knees; she was just in from field!

 

[Arizahn]

Regarding the Carroll & Huntingdon score chart, I think she is a 3.5, possibly leaning towards 4. Got her winter coat on at the moment.
What do others think?

 

[Arizahn]

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...95607_100000348684338_1137662_515111294_n.jpg

Please work photo gremlins!