Really need some advice please folks...feeding haylage

Chestnutmare

Chestnutmare

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I am just basically making sure what I am doing is right...

I have started giving my old mare Marksway Haylage the blue one instead of the hay at my yard as she isnt eating it and other reasons...

How much should I be giving her?.....

She is 13.1hh Arab x welsh 24 next mth, and is on Box rest due to muscle rupture....she's unclipped but rugged well enough.
She does tend to loose condition if not fed correctly.

Please can you tell me I am doing it all OK....she gets 2 sections in daytime and 2-3 for nighttime..

Thanks peeps
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i would feed her as much as she will eat if she is a poor doer, my mare has 2 sections of haylage during the day and about 4 sections at night. (15.3hh tb mare also a poor doer looks fab on this with 2 small fibre feeds)
 
If she tends to lose condition then you would be best to feed as much as she will eat. If she actually likes it so much that she starts to get fat then you can restrict her intake a little, perhaps by using a small-holed haynet to slow down her consumption.
 
Ditto adlib.

If she's leaving lots in the morning, you're giving too much. If her nets are empty you're not feeding enough. I feed so they have a little left at the bottom on their net in the morning.
 
Thanks, she has it in a haylage net anyway, even my hay was from a haylage net...
she is loving every last bit of it and whilst I am happy for her to eat what she wants I really cant let her get all hot headed, as she has already started to get a little stroppy - cant blame her poor thing being couped up.

She has mollichop calmer chaff, veteran mix and speedibeet in two smallish meals.
 
I'd drop the veteran mix rather than decrease the haylage. You don't want to be giving cereal-based feeds whilst on box rest, because that is much more likely to make them stroppy, as well as potentially causing other problems. You can give her a vit/min supplement if you are worried about her intake of micronutrients.
 
yes was really thinking about her mix I do want to make sure she has everything she needs in respect of Vits and Mins...what would you recommend for that just a normal supplement?

Sorry to sound so daft just am too used to dealing with one that had COPD and Lami....so was the other way around...oh well all learning curve isnt it?
 
You could feed either a broad spectrum vit/min supplement (such as Benevit or Equivite) or a balancer. If your veteran mix includes a joint supplement, and the inclusion of that is important to you, then look at supplements/balancers that incorporate one, alongside the normal range of vit/mins.

What veteran mix are you feeding at the moment?
 
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