Struggling with feed

[Flowerofthefen]

My boys have speedibeet and grass nuts as their main feed. By the time I've soaked it it's a huge volume in the bucket!! One horse is worse, but they both chuck it around a a fair bit gets wasted. I've always soaked the grass nuts for fear of choke. I was wondering how safe it would be to feed the grass nuts after they have only been in the speedibeet for a few minutes. It would decrease the volume in the bucket and there might not be as much wastage!

 

[TPO]

Why are you feeding speediest and grass nuts?

You could reduce volume by only feeding one depending on requirements.

What else do you feed?

 

[SpeedyPony]

Could you feed them on a pile of hay(lage)? I've done this with messy eaters, they still throw it everywhere, but can tidy it up as they eat the hay.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I've always fed grassnuts but they were going off them. I added fibre beet/ speedibeet and they both love it. I'm reluctant to change as they both look great. They get oil and salt in addition.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Could you feed them on a pile of hay(lage)? I've done this with messy eaters, they still throw it everywhere, but can tidy it up as they eat the hay.

I've tried it but they leave it

 

[SpeedyPony]

I've tried it but they leave it

Ah, that's a shame. I've considered trying putting a feedsack down under the dish as well, but not actually had to go to those lengths yet!

 

[TheMule]

Horses can’t cope with a large volume of food- the stomach is not that large (old saying of rugby ball size is about right for a 16hh horse). Don’t feed the food dry- you'll risk choke or impaction and there is no benefit- it will swell up inside the stomach anyway and fill them up.

 

[Cortez]

I've tried it but they leave it

Then they are getting too much. Cut the volume.

 

[AmyMay]

Then they are getting too much. Cut the volume.

This.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

My boys have speedibeet and grass nuts as their main feed. By the time I've soaked it it's a huge volume in the bucket!! One horse is worse, but they both chuck it around a a fair bit gets wasted. I've always soaked the grass nuts for fear of choke. I was wondering how safe it would be to feed the grass nuts after they have only been in the speedibeet for a few minutes. It would decrease the volume in the bucket and there might not be as much wastage!

I feed grass nuts dry just a small amount, depends which you use.


Have you tried smaller feeds twice a day, or get a manger with the metal brackets on anti spill

I would cut down the speedy beet, I prefer Purabeet as it effects the brain less.
or one of these

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Horses can’t cope with a large volume of food- the stomach is not that large (old saying of rugby ball size is about right for a 16hh horse). Don’t feed the food dry- you'll risk choke or impaction and there is no benefit- it will swell up inside the stomach anyway and fill them up.

So right, I remember that guy who showed the different size tub buckets with feed in them and then fed the horse, the one he knew was too much , did a post mortem on the the horse it was pts( it had to be) then showed the stomach with a tub full of feed ready to burst. Little and often, I wont feed my horses more than 2 1/2 scoops of feed as I remember that video so clearly

Just found this video but cannot holding 7.5 to 15 litres, and is generally said to be about the size of a rugby ball. The stomach is a fairly rigid structure and cannot stretch.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Then they are getting too much. Cut the volume.

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

 

[TPO]

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

But with the water is the volume going into their stomachs (& straight out again)

Otherwise you feed the same dry volume and split into 2 or 3 feeds.

Although really struggling to see the benefit feeding beet and grass nuts with oil and salt.

I think you need to review what you need from a feed and feed accordingly. Perhaps try some of the brand feed advisors or an independent one.

You're currently feeding two similar mj/kg soaked feeds for no apparent reason and there are no vit/mins.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Mine won't eat grass nuts but they love grass chaff maybe try that rather than 2 soaked mash feeds.

 

[SpeedyPony]

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

I've had to split the old boy's feed into 3- he gets soaked feed and the volume he needed would overface him in 2 meals. I'm lucky that I can do that as I WFH so can feed at lunchtime, but if you're able to feed 3 times a day that might help?
He is also a messy eater- but has always been and is happy to polish it off from the floor/out of his haylage, he just seems to take delight in stuffing as much into his mouth as possible then letting it splatter out everywhere
I am in the process of switching to a higher energy feed in hopes that it will allow me to drop back to 2 feeds a day though, which should make life a little easier.

 

[Cortez]

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

Firstly, "scoop" is a wildly ambiguous measure - your scoop may not be the same size as somebody else's scoop. Secondly if they are leaving feed then it is manifestly TOO MUCH.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Firstly, "scoop" is a wildly ambiguous measure - your scoop may not be the same size as somebody else's scoop. Secondly if they are leaving feed then it is manifestly TOO MUCH.

They are not leaving it!! They are throwing it around therefore wasting it!! It gets trodden round then they won't eat it. If they weren't eating it I would obviously cut it down? If I put it on hay they won't eat it as they can't get it, it's not that they are not wanting to eat it.

 

[Cortez]

They are not leaving it!! They are throwing it around therefore wasting it!! It gets trodden round then they won't eat it. If they weren't eating it I would obviously cut it down?

Then I suggest you get one of the feed saver tubs with a lip, and perhaps find a feed that is less voluminous and more nutritionally dense.

 

[DabDab]

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

Wow, that's a lot. I don't fully know what you mean by a sugar beet scoop, but if you mean one of the smaller type rather than the big round ones then mine get one of those small scoops of soaked speedibeet (so maybe a third of a scoop worth of dry) with a cup of linseed, and some herbs and minerals. No way would even my sporty 16.1hh tb type eat even half the volume of food your talking about.

 

[PurBee]

They are not leaving it!! They are throwing it around therefore wasting it!! It gets trodden round then they won't eat it. If they weren't eating it I would obviously cut it down? If I put it on hay they won't eat it as they can't get it, it's not that they are not wanting to eat it.

How long are you leaving the speedibeet between adding water and feeding it?

I ask because just recently i added water, then ended up feeding it 18hrs later. I put a lid on the bucket soaked speedibeet when I knew there would be a delayed feed time.
Just before feeding is when i mix in their minerals, as i use it soley for getting powdered mins/vits into them.
They were mouthing it with reluctance, throwing mouthfuls outside the bowl, taking their time to get through it than they usually do.
I usually soak it and 1-3hr later feed it. Which i did the next day and they ate it fine. It made me wonder if speedibeet left soaking for hours and hours starts fermenting or something, as they really were not keen AT ALL. They usually gobble it up swiftly!
The only change was the speedibeet left soaking for longer than usual.

Maybe if youre pre-preparing soaking the grass nuts and speedibeet leaving it for 12hrs+ soaked, its not as palatable?

Mine werent so keen on soaked hay if fed many hours later, and were more keen on fresh soaked hay.

Between the 2, they get 1kg dry speedibeet soaked to share (Likely 1 stubbs scoop). Its mainly just a mineral/vit powder carrier, so a small feed.

 

[TheMule]

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

That is a huge amount! You should be feeding that as the soaked volume.
Grass nuts expand around 4 x their size and sugar beet similar so I am quite shocked at the volume you must be offering!

 

[mini-eventer]

It is a huge amount. My 17hh gets 1/2 a scoop beet and 1/2 scoop of grass nuts after they have been soaked. With about 1/4 chaff. If they need the calories, I would look for something more calorie dense

 

[marmalade76]

I've had to split the old boy's feed into 3- he gets soaked feed and the volume he needed would overface him in 2 meals. I'm lucky that I can do that as I WFH so can feed at lunchtime, but if you're able to feed 3 times a day that might help?
He is also a messy eater- but has always been and is happy to polish it off from the floor/out of his haylage, he just seems to take delight in stuffing as much into his mouth as possible then letting it splatter out everywhere
I am in the process of switching to a higher energy feed in hopes that it will allow me to drop back to 2 feeds a day though, which should make life a little easier.

Same here, my oldie can't cope with a big feed, doesn't eat huge amounts of hay and has dropped a bit of weight so I'm giving A&P Care & Gain a go.

I'm not surprised the horses are pushing beet & grass nuts around their bowls, particulary if it's a large amount, I've found a lot of horses aren't that keen on grass nuts.

 

[AmyMay]

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

That’s a massive amount

 

[meleeka]

Mine don’t like grass nuts. They are either quite dry or too sloppy I think. If you want a mash type feed have a look at Spillers Daily Mash Fibre or Allen & Page feeds which are all soaked and contain Speedibeet, or you could feed Speedibeet with a grass chaff.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

That’s a massive amount

Must be costing a fortune

I agree with others, concentrate on the balancer with vits & mins then I'd be adding the scoop of the speedibeet (measured after soaking, not dry amount)

Do you struggle to keep weight on them? Is that the reason for the large feeds? A feed company should be able to find you a better targeted balancer so you can feed less in volume and save some cash as well.

 

[Squeak]

If it's any help for perspective OP my TB gets fed a scoop of grass nuts and 1/3 scoop speedibeet (dried amount) split into 3 feeds, with a bit of grass chop.

You might find that if you cut it down they still maintain their condition on less as their stomachs are more efficient and they throw it around less.

For those querying sugarbeet and grass nuts, the reason I feed it is the sugarbeet is really good for their stomachs and the grass nuts and grass chop (with micronised linseed) are enough to help my boy hold condition, which the sugarbeet alone wouldn't. I could feed just grass chop but it would end up more expensive so I combine the two. I find the sugarbeet improves the texture of the mash too.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

For comparison, my 17hh 3.5yo (and growing) ID gets 1 big round scoop of light molasses free chaff, and 1 balancer cup full of fast fibre (image below for size ref). So your volume does sound rather on the high side, especially considering my boy gets the biggest feed on the yard by a country mile once it's soaked/expanded.
He does then gets a treat ball with 4 single handfuls of Baileys fibre nuggets with added vits & mins overnight.
He is dropping slightly due to the grass losing nutritional value I think so I am just about to add some linseed in.

 

[Tiddlypom]

They don't get much at all dry weight. I use a sugar beet scoop and they get 1 scoop beet, 1 1/2 scoops of grass nuts. So not a lot at all. It's when the water is added!!

What is the volume of your sugar beet scoop in ml? A sugar beet scoop is not a standardised SI unit . Mind you, I feed mine half a mugful of grass nuts per feed (measured dry, but soaked for 12 hours before feeding) and a mugful isn’t an SI unit either…

It does sound like you are feeding much too much, but maybe your sugar beet scoop is tiny? Both sugar beet and grass nuts must be soaked before feeding.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Wow, that's a lot. I don't fully know what you mean by a sugar beet scoop, but if you mean one of the smaller type rather than the big round ones then mine get one of those small scoops of soaked speedibeet (so maybe a third of a scoop worth of dry) with a cup of linseed, and some herbs and minerals. No way would even my sporty 16.1hh tb type eat even half the volume of food your talking about.

????? 1 scoop of beet and 1 1/2 of grass nuts would equate to around a stubbs scoop, so not lot at all. Especially since asking feed companies about their feed and a bag would last me 3 days for 1 horse!!