nutritional requirements for 3 yrs old

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lizstuguinness

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Just starting to think about winter feeding.

16.2hh 3 yrs mare. Decent condition - id say 4 on 24/7 fetlock deep grass. Looses weight during the winter (in at night, grass not great!). Ive tried all manner of feed and qty and end up giving her about 9kg of hay plus 2 round scoops of alpha A oil, 1/2 scoop of linseed powder and a general multi vit x2 daily. She still looks like a stick think baby.

I think she has stopped growing and had started going outwards so hoping it wont be that bad this year. Temp wise she can be baby spooky but nothing unexpected due to overfeeding.

The other is 16hh and chubby. Dont have issue with her so she has 3-4kg of hay and a quarter of what the other gets.

I cant stand soaking stuff and the girls dont overly like the linseed so id like to try equijewel with chaff and a multi it if needed, i want them fed the same feed just different qty. What nutrients do they need at this age? and do you have any thoughts on what chaff and multi vit i should i use to balance out there nutritional needs? Id like to feed an alpha based chaff.
 
I would just use Lifeforce with chaff and hay - simple and very effective - makes their hindgut work effectively so they get the most out of their feed - their condition is fabulous, hoof growth etc Also makes winter feed cost effective. Friend has been using it on a very poor WBxTB 3 year old who looking like a hatrack despite all the feed she was shovelling in with little or no effect. Swapped to the Lifeforce with chaff and hay and looks like a different horse - has also improved his temperament no end - box walking has stopped and he is interacting with people and other horses by choice. His coat is gleaming and he needs the farrier every 6 weeks now to keep his hooves in order - is currently unshod - and his condition is fabulous - he is well covered and looks gleaming with health.
 
Nutritional requirements of a three year old are the same as an adult horse, you should stop feeding anything designed for young stock at the age of two. At three, I'd be feeding a chaff or fast fibre, a broad spectrum vit and mineral supplement and hay
 
Saracen have come back with this feeding plan:

0.5kg equijewel, 2kg show improver pellets, 0.8kg Alpha A, 1.3kg grass late, 9 kg hay (about 2/3 standard bale).

As an approximation it works out at 1 stubbs scoop of Alfa, 1/2 pellets, mug equijewel 2x daily, which isn't bad at all.

Anyone know what "grass late" is? Im not sure if this is referring to winter grazing as its a bit of a weird name for a feed stuff!

During the summer im to add a teaspoon of salt and switch to a balancer and remove the pellets and equijewel.
 
I have also recently had advice from them and took the grass weight to be derived from the number of hours grazing i entered on the original questionaire

I took the 'late' to be an indicator to them of the time of year and so the nutritional value
 
I had my poor doer filly on Alfa a original and a low energy horse and pony cube which just heated her up and didnt do much in terms of adding condition or providing her with slow release energy. Moved her onto Alfa a oil and baileys no 4 which again had no effect except blowing her mind!

Finally moved her onto hi fi original and a generic horse and pony mix (think it was argo, not sure which product) with biotin and garlic which did her the power of good, her coat was shiny, she developed a lovely topline, and started to fill out properly. Best of all, she stopped losing her head at the slightest of things and had a much better work ethic! I think it was the hi fi that helped her to gain and keep her condition personally, and i think that her inner racehorse being brought out made me realise how sensitive to alfalfa she was. hi fi is now my go to feed for any growing youngster or horse that tends to lose condition.

She had 2 stubb scoops hi fi original, 2 medium scoops mix (can't remember weight sorry!), 2 supplement scoops of biotin and 4 supplement scoops of garlic, split into 2 feeds daily. Hope this helped :)
 
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