New Horse Owner - not sure how much to feed

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LouLou3

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Hi - I've just bought a 16 hand TBX I'm currently feeding him am and pm the following;

am - 1 scoop nuts, 1 of Alpha A with oils
pm - the same with 1 scoop of speedibeet plus plenty of hay over night

We have a lesson with our trainer once a week but other than that he may bet 2 hacks usually 1 at the moment so he's on light work

It seems a huge amount of feed and I'm worried that he's getting too much - would love some advice if anyone can help x
 
He does look as though he's losing a bit of weight off his back quarter but one of the other girls at our yard said its not abnormal over winter
 
ah you'll soon get used to it!
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What is he cross with?
Personally Ive got TB's and in my opinion your not feeding him too much.
If your not doing much work with him he's probably loosing his muscle not necessarily weight, is there no way you could lunge him a couple of days or something? because its hard to get it back on, with good feed which your already giving him and a nice bit of work he should be ok just the trouble is when they're not doing a lot the muscle just drops off.
Hope this helps x
 
Thanks - he is irish cross. Unfortunately I wish I could but its too dark by the time I get home in the evenings - I'll be able to pick it up more when the evenings draw out - hope he will put it back on again - at the moment he looks lovely and chunky in his front quarter its just across his hind quarter that he's developed a dent on his side and the top has started to tapper off a bit
 
That is a huge amount of feed for the level of work and unless he is very quiet I would expect you would have problems. Both speedibeet and ALpha A with oild are high in energy. If he is losing condition feed more good quality hay and feed it ad lib. I would remove the speedibeet and alpha a oil entirely and if he is not maintaining condition on ad lib hay tslk to a specialist feed company. I would also reduce the nuts to one scoop a day split between feeds and add a vit/min supplement to make up.
 
No he's not showing any behavioural problems (at the moment) and is fairly quiet believe it or not! I'm feeding him what his old owner recommended and I know he didn't ride him that much either - but one of the girls at the yard said she thought it was too much which is what got me to thinking perhaps it is too much. He's on grass most of the day only in at nights and its good quality grass in a huge field so I'm only giving hay over night at the moment.
 
Sorry Burtie but I disagree my TB's are on that much feed and they're doing about the same amount of work, oils are great, I feed pretty much the same stuff. Well Im sure he will be fine as you say when the evenings get lighter you can get back into work, also I feed a few scoops of readirgrass thats good stuff x
 
I personally wouldnt change him if that is what he is used too and he is fine on it, I would ad lib hay him though.
 
It sounds like he is fairly laid back chap, in that case those feeds are the best for giving fibre based energy so it won't matter that he has a larger amounts as long as he is not getting fat or is too lively. If he looks well then leave him as is.
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Ok, the horses stomach is only the size of a rugby ball so by feeding so much per feed he may not be able to properly digest the food and get as much of the goodness from his feed thus he may start to loose condition.

Try splitting his daily feed into 2 or 3 smaller feeds per day,if he is prone to loosing condition try him on a conditioning cube or some soya oil which will also keep his coat in good condition.

As a rough guide for you my horses feeds are

Lord (4yo warmblood, 16.3hh and in light work poor doer)

AM & PM feeds..
1 scoop Alfa light
1/2 scoop of horse and pony cubes, he also has a scoop of codlivine vit & mineral supplement per feed aswell as some magnitude (calmer)


Banner (11yo ISH, 16.1hh in med work (( showjumping / lessons every week)) very good doer)

AM&PM
1/2 scoop happy hoof
1/2 scoop slow release energy mix
1 cup oats
a scoop of codlivine supplement


Your best bet is to ask an equine nutritionalist (try baileys, spillers, dodson & horrel etc) and ask your yard manager for help
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That is a huge amount of feed for the level of work and unless he is very quiet I would expect you would have problems. Both speedibeet and ALpha A with oild are high in energy.

[/ QUOTE ] Calories = energy. If you want to put on condition you have to feed more calories (ie more energy) than the horse is using up each day. I agree that the first option should be to ensure the horse has truly adlib hay or haylage - ie that any time he is in the stable he should have hay available and overnight there should be enough so there is a little left in the morning. However, some horses still need additional calories on top of that to put on weight, and the combination of Alfa A Oil and unmollassed beet is an excellent one as the calories come from fibre and oil, rather than starchy cereals which might cause 'fizz'!
 
ad lib just means that he should always have hay in his rack- he can then eat as much as he wants. i do this with my two- they have two nets a night and always have some left in the morning (they have haylege tho)
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Excellent - yep he has enough hay overnight as there is always some left over in the net and on the floor. Thanks everyone - I may switch him to conditioning cubes instead of nuts but other than that it looks as though I'm doing the right thing with him - yay
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if i were you i would ring one of the feed companies- you will then get not only the correct amount of feed but will also be sure that its nutritionally balanced.

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I would second this but remain aware that the feed companies are trying to sell you their products. I always try to feed fibre rather than cereals, so feed grass nuts rather a coarse mix or the equivalent nuts. You don't say in your post what kind of nuts you are feeding and there is a huge range, from those suitable for good doers in light work to those who need help to maintain condition whilst working hard.
It does sound to me as though your horse is loosing muscle rather than condition. My IDx has hardly done any work since Sept for several reasons and although she certainly isn't underweight she has lost muscle on her back end. I am not worried about this and am certainly not trying to feed her up because I know that when she is back in regular work in Spring she will muscle up again.
Just a word of warning, as a new owner you will get loads of people giving you advice, many of them will actually know little more than you and a lot of what they do 'know' will be wrong but they might not tell you that and will sound very convincing. Try to find someone who you are sure has a lot of experience of keeping numerous horses well to support you, you might not always want to follow their advice but at least you will know that they are speaking from a position of real knowledge and can then choose whether to follow their advice or not.
 
Yep agreed - I'm getting this at the yard at the monent as its a DIY yard so no yard manager which is why I came on here...I appreciate everyone will have an opinion but I'm really grateful for that and luckily most people on here seem to agree with each other (more or less) which is helpful! I'm just feeding him a regular horse and pony nuts - nothing special.
 
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Thanks for all your advice its gratefully received - by ad lib hay do you mean as and when?

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No, I mean never let him run out, best thing for this IMO is a hay bar full to the top...
 
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I'm just feeding him a regular horse and pony nuts - nothing special.

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I'm feeding my part TB a similar diet to you - Hi fibre cubes, Alpha oil and a vit suppliment - plus ad lib haylage. He's being worked 5 days a week, is doing really well and looks fantastic. I'm very careful not to feed anything that could be heating, as he can be a little exciteable at times. However, the nature of his work will increase shortly, so may look to putting him on slow release cubes at that point.

Sounds like you're on the right track anyway OP.


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My horse is a 15.3hh Irish x TB

2x a day he gets; 1 scp Alpha A, 1 scp grass nuts, 1/2 scp sugarbeet with a cup of Top Spec Leisure Time (for good doers) feed balancer to help his digestion and provide vits/minerals. (Amount recommended by manufacturer for his size). He has haylage ad-lib and I am religious about the ad-lib bit overnight. When in field from 9-3 he doesn't have any forage though. Most of his diet is fibre so I wanted to use the supplement to make sure he has the vits/minerals he needs. I suggest you use a powdered vit/min supplement or a low energy feed balancer.

Mickey is schooled about 3-4 times a week for 1 hr and hacked once a week. He has 2 days off. I am actually finding that he is getting a bit hot and has plenty of condition so I may cut something but I am not sure what yet, may phone Top Spec (who did my feed balancer) for advice. They have a 3 consecutive yr award winning advice line.

I think your horse's diet sounds good but I would probably go for plain Alpha or chaff, to provide a little less energy. Also I would definitely use a vit/min supp as he wont be getting what he needs. Also be aware that if you feed haylage it can really vary in richness and calories.
 
That diet is almost exclusively fibre (only the the horse and pony nuts are non-fibre) so it's hard to feed 'too much' of it.

If he's holding condition well, and not going pshyco, it will be about right.

The only thing I'd ask is the point of the horse and pony nuts? Is the one scoop the RDA for his size? If so it'll give him all the vits and minerals he needs. If not there's not really much point to it and i'd be inclined to either cut it out (and feed a blanance), up it to the RDA or find something else that can be feed at the RDA.
 
I'm feeding him horse and pony nuts because thats what his previous owner recommended andand he also recommended giving 1 scoop x daily - what confuses me about the scoop is that scoops vary in size!!! What could I substitute the nuts for - he is 15 years old and am givng him cortaflex supplement.
 
If it's working - I'd be inclined to keep everything just the same. However, fibre cubes would be my preference over the pony nuts.

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That is a huge amount of feed for the level of work and unless he is very quiet I would expect you would have problems. Both speedibeet and ALpha A with oild are high in energy. If he is losing condition feed more good quality hay and feed it ad lib. I would remove the speedibeet and alpha a oil entirely and if he is not maintaining condition on ad lib hay tslk to a specialist feed company. I would also reduce the nuts to one scoop a day split between feeds and add a vit/min supplement to make up.

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Sorry completely disagree with this, both alfa and speedibeet are fibre feeds, and, as such, are slow release energy. The horse is NOT putting on weight, has no temperament issues and appears to be dropping off. IF there were temperament issues, the nuts would be the first to go, however, I do agree with the vit/min supplement. Completely agree with those saying ad lib hay.

As to the dropping off, this is probably muscle due to the fact that he is not working as much as he was at present. Don't worry OP, once you start working him more, the muscle will come. If, when he is working more he starts to drop condition, you can up his ration.

Good luck!
 
You'd be amazed at how many people feed their horse a particular brand just 'Because' with no real reason behind it. Horse and pony nuts seem to be designed specifically with those kind of people in mind
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Personally I'd cut out the horse and pony nuts and give a pelleted balancer (all the vits and minerals required in on small cup full - various avalible, all pretty much the same apart from price) because it's cheaper (the RDA for most concentrate feeds is often a ridiculous amount)! And ensures he's getting everything he needs.

If he then starts to drop weight (because of the reduced calories from no H&P nuts) I'd add small amounts of a weightgain feed (there's loads avalable, all pretty much the same) until he's keeping condition.

My very basic rules of feeding are - fibre fibre and more fibre! Alfa-Oil is high energy weight-gaining fibre, as is speedibeet. There are lower energy types also avalible, depending on requirements. If you can't feed enough fibre (they can only eat so much!) then I start adding cearal bases concentrate feeds. I would never feed concentrates as a starting point.
 
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