Simple Systems Horse Feed

[P4NN]

After my session with an Intellegent Horsemanship Recommended Associate I have been considering pandora's management. The infomation I was given about living arrangements and diet etc... has got me thinking.

Now panni lives out 24/7 which is as near to nature as I can get her but Im just wondering if I can improve on what I feed her? At he moment the new yard we are at has good grazing and Im only giving her a fistful of chaff just to give her the thinkfly supplement which isnt working so next week she wont be having anything other than her paddock grass.

I thought now would be a good time to change her diet as we are coming into winter and her work load will be slightly more than now.

She is sugar intolerant and comes out in urticaria rash up her neck and belly and goes absolutly spastic behaviour wise and the RA suggested I think about simple systems as it is fibre and oil based with none of the cereal by-products etc... and would probably benefit panni

Im just wondering what other people think about it as a feed? how does it compare to what you used before and is it complecated??
I do like the fact that the ride and relax she was on had pro/prebiotics mixed in as a complete feed. Im not sure whether Im into weighing and measuring lots of different things into a bucket? That is why Im not a supplement fan.

Opinions please good bad and indifferent.

 

[PennyJ]

Where I work they use it and the horses are all calm and well on it. (1 x arab, 6 x m&m's). They all get pretty much the same. I don't find it a problem soaking the lucie nuts for the next feed...

I have mine on similar stuff, but just from the local feed supplier. I like the principle of high fibre, high protein, low carbs and sugar, but if I ordered the 20 items needed for free delivery, it would last me a year, and it's a fair old drive to my nearest stockist...

Mine have D&H alfalfa with fibrebeet (tiny quantities as they are good doer NF ponies), plus cider vinegar, and baileys lo-cal. not difficult at all. They have done very well in deed on it this year, and I am delighted that this year they are slimmish for once. It seems to work for them so I shall continue on it.

 

[shadowboy]

I have been using it for two years now. As your horse is not being fed you should be fine to introduce it to her- because often horses dont 'like' it or wont eat it because its not full of sugars and starch- the prob I had with my TB mare- it took me nearly 3 weeks to get her eating it. BUT- it did help with her behaviour. The feeds do need soaking however so you need to get used to pre preparing feed- and you cant forget, as the Lucinuts need 12 hours soaking for example and the Ble/red grass pellets need min of 2 hours- so its not a mix and go feed so to speak. However it is of a very high quality and once you get into the habit of soaking e.g I do a large scoop every evening which when added to 4 parts water does enough to make morning and evening feeds for the following day for 4 horses. Its completely natural with noooooo cereals so good for the gut etc. I recommend it if you control your horses feeds- but if made by YO/Full livery I would be concerned that they would remember to soak etc.

 

[ISHmad]

If you phone Simple Systems and speak to Jane, Tim or Rachel they will be able to help you with which of their feeds would be most suitable for your horse. They've been invaluable to us over the years, it's a great way to feed especially through winter.

 

[maggiesmum]

I fed it for a good few years, i fed a broodmare to term and through lactation on it, I only stopped because I felt it got rather expensive, I now feed trident unmolassed sugar beet and dengie alfalfa pellets - same result cheaper products and they're easier to get hold of.
IMO fibre feeding is a much better way, I keep 2 Tb's (one is aged) a yearling and a warmblood this way with no weight issues (either way!).

 

[zsmm4]

I've used this feed in the past. I found it rather expensive. If you go to the agri feed merchants you can get alfalfa pellets and grass nuts much cheaper. The milled linseed is from Charnwood Mills [google it] they will supply you direct,and again its much cheaper.

 

[chaps89]

We've found the Simple Systems team very helpful, I'm sure if you gave them a ring they'd be able to recommend something for you.
I've found it's worked wonders with my stressy Welsh cob, who without fail always used to crib after feeding. He was scoped for ulcers which found nothing and put on antacid type supplements but they didn't help. Now, on Simple System feeds he'll crib perhaps1 in every 10 times after feeding and there's a total change.
So I definitely recommend it.

 

[Theresa_F]

Mine do very well on it - I use just grass, green gold and ruff stuff, depending on which horse it is and the work load, weight they are carrying. I mix these with a bit of speedibeet.

In winter they have grass nuts in their balls or a few mixed in their feeds, depending on what they are doing. The red bag nuts are great when I need Chancer is full of energy show horse mode.

If you use the nuts and the grass/lucrene chaffs you don't need to pre-soak anything, just damp it down well and wait 10 mins and then feed and for my traditional and clyde they are just perfect.

I also feed instant linseed, but I use a lot of it so get it by the 25k sack from Charnwood Milling as it is far cheaper than Simple Systems.