More feeding confusion - amounts

[Gorgeous George]

How on earth are you supposed to know how much to feed your horse without actually guessing? I am still working on getting George's feed right, but I am confused by the different feed companies conflicting advice, for example Dengie suggest feeding 1.5kg of alfa a lite (8.5mj) a day for a 16.2 horse, but 1.5-2.5kg a day of hi-fi lite (slightly less energy at 8mj), wheras Baileys suggest feeding 2.8kg a day of concentrate (cubes at 8.5mj) which seems like a massive amount to me, especially compared with the dengie advice.

How on earth do you guys work it out as well as taking into account grazing and hay, I hate to guess at these sort of things, and whilst I know every horse is different I would like to know that his ration was decided with some accuracy!

 

[Shipley]

Dealing with feed companies is a night mare I simpathise (sp) however in the past I have found Baileys excellent I dont like Hi-fi. I feed just baileys cubes No4 and my boy is doing fantastic on it. I feed adlib hay and grass (out all day) so I just worry about the hard feed calculations. Hope that helps

 

[TGM]

It is very difficult! Although you can sit down and work out a diet on paper, you still have to monitor how the horse is doing on it and tweak it accordingly.

If the horse is in good condition, on good grazing and in light work, then I would start by giving a token feed of about 0.5 to 1kg of a fibre based feed such as Alfa A or Hi Fi Lite, which encourages the horse to want to come in and also is handy if you want to feed supplements. Then I would use a weigh tape once a week to see if the horse is losing, gaining or maintaining weight. If maintaining then keep feed the same, if losing increase the amount and if gaining decrease the amount and up the exercise!

If horse still loses weight or needs extra energy, then consider changing to higher energy cube or mix.

 

[Chex]

I've never fed the recommended amount - 2kg of mix/chaff a day is the last thing Chex needs! I just start with a handful of chaff, and add to it if he needs it, its only really to add his supplements to anyway. He's out 24/7 though.