Is non branded feed as good?

[poiuytrewq]

I’ve always bought branded feeds for my horses but actually after looking locally at Countrywides own range they do some good products including a totally molasses free chaff for £7 something and conditioning nuts for £7.99 compared to Dodson and Horrel for example at £13.99 chaff and £14/£15 for conditioning mix. That’s quite a difference!
Wondered who feeds what brand wise and if you think it’s generally as good?

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I’ve changed to Heygates balancer £18 and fibre nuts £5.50 as it’s a lot cheaper than well known brands and need to save money I do buy Thunderbrooks healthy herbal chaff though at £14.99.

He looks just as good on it as the more expensive D&H brands I was giving him. No change in behaviour either.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I feed countrywide own brand feeds and have done for a few years, horse is doing well on it. I was using Spillers and was very happy but needed to cut back financially. When I checked the ingredients/nutritional content I found Countrywide feed to be similar values to the Spillers so was happy to swap. It was a pain doing all the research (I looked at various branded/non branded to see what was the best combination of "almost perfect" and "cheapest" for my particular horse's needs) so if finances wasn't an issue I'd stick with branded feeds just because it's easier. In the past I've used Dodson & Horrell, Dengie and Baileys too. Never had a problem with any of them.

 

[JillA]

Read labels. I only feed straights whenever I can, except Ready Fibre Mash which is only soya hulls with a tiny amount of molasses. Branded or own brand feeds in my mind equate to ready meals for people, you need to check what they contain

 

[DD]

Read the labels. make sure pony nuts don't contain sugar beet shreds. some do. could cause choke or colic.

 

[Achinghips]

Mine are only happy hackers, with a bit of schooling for flexibility though they are shires and clydes ...... they just get micronised linseed in their dengie original chaff and haylage, maybe grass nuts soaked when there is absolutely no grass in February. When I compared the non branded chaff I was only saving a quid or two as the dengie bags are usually much bigger and denser packed. I used to spend a fortune in hard feed until I wised up.

 

[oldie48]

I've also saved money by cutting out the hard feed. Mine is a 16.2 7/8th TB, ridden 5/6 times weekly, 2 hacks and the rest schooling. Schooling is at med/adv med level so he works hard. He gets grass + ad lib late cut haylage when in with a nightly feed of mollases free chaff + balancer. I'll start adding micronised linseed now that the goodness is going from the grass and possibly an unmollased beet if I think he needs it. He's the first horse that I've not given hard feed and he's the first to look a good weight throughout the year. I like the fact that he's always got access to forage as he's a bit of a stress head and he certainly doesn't lack energy or enthusiasm for his work. Unless you have a horse that struggles to maintain condition it's worth thinking about.

 

[asmp]

Tried our local feeds merchants own brand chaff and one of the horses came out in hives! May have been a coincidence but gave the chaff to farmer for his cows. Use own brand pony nuts though.

 

[TGM]

Some unbranded feeds are good, some aren't so good. You really need to learn to read the labels carefully. Conditioning cubes/mixes are usually around 12MJDE/kg but I've heard of some unbranded conditioning feeds only being 9MJDE/kg so you would have to feed more of them. High fibre cubes are another example, the amount of sugar and starch in different brands varies enormously, which can be an issue when feeding a sensitive laminitic. Often the own brand ranges tend not to have the more specialised feeds, i.e. Things like low starch/sugar performance feeds, for example. It can be difficult to get full nutritional info on some own brand feeds although some companies do offer more comprehensive details. I feed a mix of branded and own brand depending on individual needs.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I feed countrywide own brand feeds and have done for a few years, horse is doing well on it. I was using Spillers and was very happy but needed to cut back financially. When I checked the ingredients/nutritional content I found Countrywide feed to be similar values to the Spillers so was happy to swap.

I think you'll find that Spillers actually make some of the feed that Countrywide brand as their own. Also sometimes the Countrywide branded chaff appears to be great value but their bags are smaller in weight than the branded so not always the bargain you think it is.

 

[ihatework]

The one thing you have to be careful about if competing under rules is quality control. Unbranded are cheaper, partly, because they aren’t NOPS. It’s just not worth the risk for anything other than a leisure horse or hunter.

 

[fredflop]

Mine get el cheapo food wherever possible

 

[catkin]

Look VERY carefully at the labels (and if anything is left off!!!!) to compare.

Have you considered straights? A bit more initial working out of the ration but then very easy to alter to work and condition.

 

[sunleychops]

It's not as good.

Bear in mind theres few manufacturing plants of horse feed in the uk so its all made by the big names, Why would they make it as good as their branded products?

 

[Ceriann]

I buy the countrywide natural chaff - no sugar, bit if mint (smells lovely) and horses love it. I've also bought countrywide unmolassed sugar beet and no complaints.

 

[DTV]

As already stated get in the habit of label reading.Countrywide feeds are indeed made by Spillers or Westaway but there value chaff is actually a pound more than Molli extra.I do use the horse and pony mix they sell but it's more expensive than the Wessex mix they used to do which was better imo.Point to note,Countrywide have been bought by MVF as of January with many stores earmarked to close,tho' not ours apparently despite having a big MVF store half a mile away.

 

[catkin]

Point to note,Countrywide have been bought by MVF as of January with many stores earmarked to close,tho' not ours apparently despite having a big MVF store half a mile away.

I wonder if you're talking about what is our local store too (eastern side of the county)

Will be a shame if the stock inventory becomes the same as, like most people we know, we tend to use one store for some things and the other for others. Glad I feed straights - at least they are the same in both places.

Sorry about the deviation OP.

 

[fredflop]

Hope my countrywide stays open. Great selection of feeds, and the store in just round the corner from my house. Otherwise it’s a half an hour round trip to get one bag of feed (don’t have room at The yard for any more)

 

[Steerpike]

Mvf will be taking on 48 of 53 cw stores but the sale is subject to review by the competition and markets authority with completion expected to take place by end of January 2018. The 4 stores closing will be Honiton,Towcester, Glastonbury and Wenvoe. So my letter said last week!

 

[Nasicus]

Mvf will be taking on 48 of 53 cw stores but the sale is subject to review by the competition and markets authority with completion expected to take place by end of January 2018. The 4 stores closing will be Honiton,Towcester, Glastonbury and Wenvoe. So my letter said last week!

Do you reckon any of the already closed ones might come back? We lost our one down at Broadclyst at the start of the year, such a shame as they were lovely people there!

 

[Steerpike]

I'm not sure, that was in a letter I received from them as I have an account with my local cw..