Simple Systems horse feeds

[miss_bird]

HI everyone

I am thinking of changing all my horses onto the simple systems feed stuff.
Just looking for some feed back from other members that have or do use the products.

Just that they have offered to send a nutri peron out next week and i am happy for this but would like some back ground info as well.
Thanks

 

[Bosworth]

I love the stuff, works out really cost effective and easy to use. I have used it for about 15 years for a huge variety of horses and ponies and have not found one it doesn't work for. It takes a bit of getting used to in the first place and I think I started out with too many different bags and a complicated list of requirements for each of my own 4 horses. Over time I have narrowed down the product range to a few staple items. Lucinuts are the base feed for most of the horses, with them all fed far far less than the recommended amounts as they all do well. My poor doers have the Red label nuts and all all look good on that, I have one horse who has too much energy on teh red label nuts but needs something apart from the luci nuts to keep weight on so he has the blue label nuts.

As the weather gets colder I add in their Pura beet to all feeds, totally unmollassed. In addition to these feeds I give all the horses brewers yeast and micronised linseed which I get from Charnwood Milling.

I find all the horses eat everything, it takes a couple of days to transfer them on to it because inevitably they are used to mollassed feeds so find these not as palatable. However it is like moving a child across to healthy salads from chips and crisps. Once they are in it they eat it well. Bear in mind the feed is digested in the hind gut in the same way as hay so they will eat it slowly, and digest it slowly. Works wonders on horses with stomach ulcers. For good doers, I simply reduce the amount I give. I have one on box rest - he is down to 10 luci nuts a day to act as a carrier for his drugs. Soaked it amounts to a couple of handfuls of feed so he thinks he's having a meal

 

[Spinal Tap]

I've used them for years now, they are great on the whole & up to this spring I had fed my mare on nothing but SS stuff. I generally gave her a feed based on soaked Luciecobs & Luciestalks, with red bag grass nuts target-fed for when she's competing/working hard and seems to need a bit more energy. She has always done well on this and seems to have enough ooomph, without heating up & being silly. However this year when the nice grass started coming through in her field she began to go won't eat that tasteless slop, so I couldn't get her supplements down her. I've now changed to a feed called Safe & Sound which she loves, although she still gets SS Instant Linseed added to it and has a Luciebrick at night to chase around her stable & provide general amusement.

One thing that I have found with SS is that they sometimes run out of certain feeds without notice, which can be a real pain. There has also been some turnover in stockists in my area which has been a bit stressful, I was concerned that we might not be able to get deliveries at all at one point. In a way I'm relieved now to have my horse on a fairly standard feed that I can order in from my local tack shop. When I first started using SS there was very little by way of unmolassed/low sugar/lami-friendly feed available, but now many of the mainstream feed companies seem to be selling these sorts of products so perhaps SS have less of a unique selling point these days.

If your horse likes the feeds and you have a reliable supplier, I would say go for it & use SS

 

[miss_bird]

thanks, my prob is that a couple of my broodmares got lami this year and trying to control that with also giving them enough feed for lactating it just doing my head in.
So fingers crossed these with help

 

[legaldancer]

I'm about to change on to SS feeds after seeing a friend's TBs looking great coming out of winter.

I already use unmollased sugarbeet, so will continue to use the same brand. Also, Dengie do Alfalfa Pellets that are a little cheaper than the SS ones, so if you do have difficulty getting SS it's handy to be able to get those instead.

I also have 2 laminitic ponies so think it'll be much simpler to buy the core products & tweek it for my elderly TB with the grass pellets & linseed. I'd rather not feed cereals if there's another way to keep them in good condition.

 

[PennyJ]

I follow the SS principles of feeding for my own, having seen what it does for some I look after. I feed alpha-oil (unmolassed) fibre-beet (alfalfa/unmolassed beet) with a feed balancer, cider vinegar and outshine. I feed in such small quantities (good doers) that a pallet of the stuff would probably last me 2 years. The "local" stockist is a good 20 miles away and stopped delivering over this way over 2 years ago.

Has worked wonders on my 2 NF ponies, they are lovely and shiny, look really well in general terms, spookiness all gone, weight issues far less of a problem, plus it has really helped the one with sweet itch.

 

[Magicmillbrook]

I use it for my 4, the old girl has been on it for over 7 years. I always used to use Lucy stalks or ruff stuff (great for the fatties) as my chaff with pura beet and total eclipse as a feed balancer. The riding horse then get lucy nuts too. I use blue bag grass nuts to offer a bit of variety in the winter when there is no grass or when working hard. This year I used them when we had no grass due to the drought. I too have found that the prices have risen and other feed stockists are offering similar no sugar/cereal produst too. For example I now no longer use total eclipse as i use a GP suplement from my local feed merchant. I also dont use the ruff stuff and stlaks as again my feed merchant offers a Alfa lite - type chop for a third less money. I still use their lucy and grass nuts and sugar beet.

 

[Brandy]

I use them and find them great, good for advice and delivery.

Its easy once you get used to the soaking - my old TB has Pura Beet, Grass Nuts and Lucie Nuts which I measure into one bucket and soak together. I started out soaking three different feeds but it was quite difficult with the smaller amounts to get the ratios right. I also use it for my natives who have a LOT less than the recommended amount. In fact so does the TB.

I also use total eclipse, cider vinegar and linseed.

 

[perryhillbay]

I feed it, really good stuff.
My pone has greengold, blue nuts, unless she gets lazy, then red nuts for a bit of zing, and then pura-beet. I have also just put her on lunar eclipse to see if it solves the stroppy chestnut marishness I sometimes get )