Milk Pellets.....

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kittykatcat

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Has anyone used these for condition, and if so, what were they like and what brand did you use?!?! A friend has got a poor doer, fussy, who is in hard work, but unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances hasnt got loads of money to spend on (for example) Outshine, Equi Jewel etc. So we were trying to think of cheaper options to put condition on, which won't make the horse go crazy either! The horse is on 4.5kg of Spillers Conditioning Cubes fed in 3 meals, ad lib haylage
 
friend used calf milk replacer very successfully with her 'poor' horse. He's a different looking horse now
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I had contemplated that when I first brought my anglo home - he was about 100kgs under weight. My YO has used them to put weight on her 17.2hh WB.

Instead I just fed him lots of speedi-beet and supplement wise had him on linseed (initially the one from Simple Systems and then I changed to Equus Linseed + fenugreek to promote muscle development) and I also used to put about 100 mls of sunflower oil in. He was on good grazing and had ad-lib hay and put the weight on really quickly.

Oil is pretty cheap from the supermarket. There is a rule about how much you can feed before you need to add other supplements - I think it is 100ml per 100kgs but I didnt like feeding oily meals so only fed about 100mls a day.
 
We used to use milk pellets on a skinny racehorse. They are great & horses seem to love them. We used Equivite Body Builder. Not entirely sure that it is a cheap option though.

Be careful with calf milk replacer, could be rather rich of an Equine stomach.
 
I've had a lot of success using Badminton Horse Feeds Triple Crown Triple Top Up - I am having trouble getting hold of it though, hence looking at oil in my post below! It is fairly cheap though - around a £12 for a 5kg tub
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Triple Top-Up 5kg, 20kg
A high fat, non-heating supplementary feed for horses and ponies. Contains full fat Soya, coconut oil, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Add Triple Top-Up as a conditioner to the maintenance diet of forage, and either Equipower or Evenkeel, to provide a higher calorific diet for increased stamina or condition, and weight gain for poor doers.

A Stage 3 feed in the Triple Crown Feeding System(see chart).

Fat contains over twice as many calories as carbohydrate. It will add calories whilst allowing less high starch concentrates (i.e. cereals) to be fed, thus reducing the possibilities of grain overload problems.

Promotes stamina, condition and bloom.

High in oils Provides slow release sustainable energy for a glossy coat.
High in calories Produces top line and condition, ideal for showing.
Concentrated calories Fed in low quantities, ideal for fussy feeders and fit competition horses.
Low starch, contains no oats, barley or maize Ideal for fizzy horses.
Very high levels of Vitamin E Helps combat tying up in the working horse.
Contains Lecithin Important antioxidant to support increased work level.
Contains Calcium, Phosphorous, Vit A, Vit D3 and Biotin

Aids the absorption and utilisation of fat.

Extra levels required by a working horse or pony.
 
I would second the use of triple top up...it is FAB stuff but like Bounty I found it hard to get. Luckily I'm not using it anymore, but would highly recommend from my experience.
 
I have used calf powder before as a short term weight gain solution. I got it from my local agricultural supplier and it certainly worked, don't think I'd consider doing it long term though.
 
I was always told that horses cannot produce Lactase (I think - long time since I've done biology!), which breaks down milk, after the age of 3 so milk pellets are a waste of money. However I don't know how true that is.

Personally I would rather speak to a couple of feed companies and see what they recommend before going down the milk pellet route. Difficult one though - good luck!
 
hmm, thanks for your help, i wouldnt normally suggest feeding milk pellets, but i have seen it mentioned a few times, so i thought i'd throw it out there!
 
There are things added to cattle feed that are toxic to a horse, so check carefully first.

The Spillers ones may not seem that much a tub, but wait until you read the quantity a day before trying them, works out very expensive.

Equijewel or Outshine are much cheaper in fact.
 
As Maggie2 has said many of the calf milk powders contain all sorts of addatives which are not suitable for equines. I have used pure milk powder for one of my horses and had good results. I used a powder made by SCA which has nothing added to it, it is suitable for puppies, kittens, all sorts of animals and has not growth promotors or added vitamins in it. It comes in a 5kg bag and you mix the appropriate amount of powder with warm water. Think I was paying about £13 per bag and it lasted ages. Not all horse like it though.
 
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