Me again - yea-sacc, conditioning mixes/cubes and alfa-oil

[cobface]

Following on from my previous post, i called up the dengie help line in regards to my HAPPA case TB mare (she looks like one!) i am trying to feed for weight gain and condition.
Here is there feeding plan:

Just spoken to dengie feeds and they have recommended a feeding plan:
PER FEED - MORNING
1 lrg scoop alfa-a oil
1 lrg scoop speedi beet
1 lrg scoop conditioning cubes

1 scoop of yeast supplement - yea-sacc

EVENING
1 lrg scoop alfa-a oil
1 lrg scoop speedi beet
1 lrg scoop conditioning cubes

She is having her teeth done tomorrow so should also help.

Question one: What is the best conditioning feed to give her? have tried allen and paige calm and condition and baileys conditioning topline cubes but TBH found that none gave desired results??
Have been looking into spillers conditioning cubes/mix - any suggestions? ( she fizzes up easily)

2, Should i expect good results with the yea-sacc??
sounds very impressive -
or could i be wasting my money??

Thanks guys,

 

[RobinHood]

I would use topspec balancer and topspec cool condition cubes with the alpha A and speedi beet, although I use d&h unmolassed sugar beet shreds as it's much cheaper than speedi beet (£8 for a sack that's lasted over 4 months).

 

[TGM]

Whether Yea-Sacc will have miraculous results will depend on the state of your horse's gut bacteria at the moment. If they have been compromised in some way (ie stress, antibiotics etc) then the addition of a probiotic like Yea-Sacc can improve conditions in the gut, and therefore help with weight gain. If the gut bacteria are in pretty good nick anyway, then you won't see such a marked result!

As for conditioning cubes and mixes, you will probably have hundreds of responses on here saying X worked for me, whilst others will say X didn't do any good at all, so it gets rather confusing! The trouble is, even if a horse does put on weight on Brand X Feed, it is not necessarily the feed that has done it - could be other factors like the grass starting to come through, a change in forage quantity or quality for example.

When choosing a conditioning feed, one thing to look for is the 'calorie count', which is expressed in MJDE/kg. Most conditioning cubes/mixes start at about 12 MJDE/kg. For example, Dodson & Horrell Build Up is 12.5 MJDE/kg, Baileys No 4 is 13.5 MJDE/kg and Spillers Conditioning Cubes are 12 MJDE/kg, so Baileys No 4 are the most calorific, weight for weight.

Another thing to look out for if you are trying to avoid fizziness is cereal and starch content. Usually, the higher the level of cereals, the higher the level of starch and the more likely the feed is to fizz susceptible horses up. Cereals include wheat, maize, barley and oats, so be aware that if a feed says barley and oat free it may still contain maize or wheat. Manufacturers don't always put their feed ingredients and starch content on their websites but usually will tell you if you email them.

Personally, I have used Build Up and Spillers Conditioning Cubes and found the Build Up better, but it is barley based which doesn't suit some horses.

 

[Hippona]

I have previously used Spillers slow release cubes with good effect...and they didn't send my horse demented either- always a bonus

I used alfa-a oil too with good effect- but he's gone off that now.

Currently I am using C+C with Molli veteran chaff......