Thoroughbred feed?

[Coco’s Dad]

Hi all,

So Coco has settled in great, we are taking things very slow, lunging mainly and turning out in the day.
We have been advised to get him some feed, he does eat lots of hay which I thought was enough but apparently a feed supplement is the norm?
Can anyone recommend any? Being a TB nothing that’s going to fizz him up but is good for him.
My daughter has fell in love
Thanks experts ?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Is he losing weight or is he too thin?

If the answer to both is 'no' then you could add a token high fibre feed with a good vit&min supplement but you don't need to add bags and bags of bucket feed if he is holding his weight.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

Is he losing weight or is he too thin?

If the answer to both is 'no' then you could add a token high fibre feed with a good vit&min supplement but you don't need to add bags and bags of bucket feed if he is holding his weight.

 

[ycbm]

Have I remembered wrong CD, I thought he was still at the yard of the person who sold him to you, and I would think that person was best to advise you?

But please be very careful about food, if I remember right, he's 4, a full TB, your daughter is 15 and he is her first horse. That is a combination which could easily head rapidly in the wrong direction with too much or the wrong food, I'm afraid.

What do you mean by lots of hay? If he weighs about 500kg then he should eat 10kg of hay a day. 2% of his bodyweight. That's probably half a small bale. It should be all he needs at this stage.

If you think he really needs a balancer or just want to be sure, then I would feed him the one sold online by ForagePlus.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

Hi, he’s not losing weight or too thin, i think it’s more conditioning? Maybe if were to get him a high fibre feed and give him a little once in from the field or should we give him a little morning and night?

 

[windand rain]

I would only feed grass either good grazing, hay, soaked grassnuts or grass chaff with a decent mineral and vitamin supplement if he is thin add an oil like micronised linseed or rice bran

 

[Coco’s Dad]

Have I remembered wrong CD, I thought he was still at the yard of the person who sold him to you, and I would think that person was best to advise you?

But please be very careful about food, if I remember right, he's 4, a full TB, your daughter is 15 and he is her first horse. That is a combination which could easily head rapidly in the wrong direction with too much or the wrong food, I'm afraid.

What do you mean by lots of hay? If he weighs about 500kg then he should eat 10kg of hay a day. 2% of his bodyweight. That's probably half a small bale. It should be all he needs at this stage.

If you think he really needs a balancer or just want to be sure, then I would feed him the one sold online by ForagePlus.

He’s at the new yard now, the lady is very knowledgeable and it was her (along with others) that suggested feed as well as hay.

 

[ycbm]

Hi, he’s not losing weight or too thin, i think it’s more conditioning? Maybe if were to get him a high fibre feed and give him a little once in from the field or should we give him a little morning and night?

If he's not too thin, what does the yard owner mean by "conditioning"?

What does the yard owner suggest you should be feeding him?
.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

If he's not too thin, what does the yard owner mean by "conditioning"?

What does the yard owner suggest you should be feeding him?
.

She is heading to Moles country store and is sending pics of what she suggest, but non warm feed, low sugar and protein?

 

[ycbm]

Lots of horses are very fat these days CD and it's very bad for them and can be fatal. Quite literally, their feet can fall off.

If people are on at you to have him fatter, can I suggest that you read up on condition scoring, or even get your vet to give you advice, rather than rely on people whose own horses might be overweight, causing them to see yours as thin.

A 4 year old will also not carry the muscle of an 8 year old. How long ago was he backed?
.

 

[windand rain]

Nothing with grain in even wheat feed as simple as possible and as I said grass only if possible

 

[ycbm]

She is heading to Moles country store and is sending pics of what she suggest, but non warm feed, low sugar and protein?

He's young, he needs high protein, not low.

If she tries to tell you that protein is "heating" then that is very old school thinking.

If you must feed him I would make it chaff and a quality grass nut.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

Lots of horses are very fat these days CD and it's very bad for them and can be fatal. Quite literally, their feet can fall off.

Of people are on at you to have him fatter, can I suggest that you read up on condition scoring, or even get your vet to give you advice, rather than rely on people whose own horses might be overweight, causing them to see yours as thin.

A 4 year old will also not carry the muscle of an 8 year old. How long ago was he backed?
.

She has competition show jumping horses, he was backed at 2 as he was going to race.

 

[HashRouge]

I'd keep any feed very basic for the time being, especially while you get to know him and figure things out. My first port of call would be to check with the previous owner to see if they gave him a hard feed and if so, what. Feeding horses is an absolute minefield as there are loads of different brands and loads of different types of feed. If he is a good weight and has a good amount of energy when being exercised I would probably not bother for now, but fair enough if you want to give some sort of balancer. This company do very good balancers https://forageplus.co.uk/horse-feed-balancers/. They are not cheap but do last a reasonable amount of time, and the advantage of them is that they don't contain any sugar. I'd probably give him something like that mixed in with a small amount of something like Fast Fibre (must be fed soaked) as that shouldn't cause him to get over-excited.

 

[ycbm]

If he's not too thin, what does the yard owner mean by "conditioning"?

.

You need an answer to this question CD.

ETA it's often a showing euphemism for fat.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

He's young, he needs high protein, not low.

If she tries to tell you that protein is "heating" then that is very old school thinking.

If you must feed him I would make it chaff and a quality grass nut.

Sorry low sugar I meant not low protein.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

You need an answer to this question CD.

You’re correct, I will get some more info later, we’re back over this evening to bring him in..

 

[HashRouge]

You need an answer to this question CD.

If she owns show jumpers I imagine she's not thinking of getting him fat - I wonder if she just thinks he needs a balancer or something like that? The SJ yard I worked on didn't have a single fat horse on it!

CD will you tell us what she recommends?

 

[Coco’s Dad]

If she owns show jumpers I imagine she's not thinking of getting him fat - I wonder if she just thinks he needs a balancer or something like that? The SJ yard I worked on didn't have a single fat horse on it!

CD will you tell us what she recommends?

Yes definitely, she’s sending me pics when she’s at Moles so I’ll post ASAP

 

[ycbm]

If she owns show jumpers I imagine she's not thinking of getting him fat - I wonder if she just thinks he needs a balancer or something like that? The SJ yard I worked on didn't have a single fat horse on it!

CD will you tell us what she recommends?

We don't know if she's competitive at 70cm or 1m40 is the problem ?

 

[ycbm]

Yes definitely, she’s sending me pics when she’s at Moles so I’ll post ASAP

Why is she sending you pictures, does she think you're going to pick the bag you most like the picture on?
.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

Not sure but they’ve just qualified for HOYS ??‍

 

[Coco’s Dad]

Why is she sending you pictures, does she think you're going to pick the bag you most like the picture on?
.

Lol, she’s making it dummy proof I think, picture tells a thousand words and all that ?

 

[ycbm]

Not sure but they’ve just qualified for HOYS ??‍

Then she should know what she's doing, and you should trust her instead of second guessing with well meaning strangers on the internet, like me, who haven't met the horse.

It is a bit daft, though, for her to send you pictures for you to choose a feed from. I think you should tell her to choose what she thinks is right for him and ask her how much to give him.
.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

I wanted people’s experiences, and recommendations, her horses aren’t TB’s so I thought I’d reach out!

 

[ycbm]

I wanted people’s experiences, and recommendations, her horses aren’t TB’s so I thought I’d reach out!

I understand that CD but it really isn't possible to decide how a horse should be fed unless you see it and if she is HOYS qualified then you have some really expert advice to hand. It will only confuse things to second guess what the woman with eyes on the horse daily is recommending.

Do remember, too, that you don't really know what experience most posters on here have, however well meaning or well informed we may sound.
.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

I understand that CD but it really isn't possible to decide how a horse should be fed unless you see it and if she is HOYS qualified then you have some really expert advice to hand and it will only confused things to second guess what the woman with eyes on the horse daily is recommending.
.

I take your point and thanks for your advice, it’s a steep learning curve for sure!

 

[windand rain]

Bred and rode Ottb and always had success from feeding grass and linseed when needed did from time to time use balancer usually when they were weak or underweight. A good mineral and vitamin supplement mostly in winter as with good grass on well balanced soil they don't need much else

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I have a tb and all he gets is as much hay as he can eat, grass, grass nuts and rice bran. Feed for the work you have done, not fir what your going to do. I've always followed this rule. If he isn't thin then get him into a working routine and see how he is . Better to have him a little lean but rideable at this stage until you get to know him well.

 

[Coco’s Dad]

I have a tb and all he gets is as much hay as he can eat, grass, grass nuts and rice bran. Feed for the work you have done, not fir what your going to do. I've always followed this rule. If he isn't thin then get him into a working routine and see how he is . Better to have him a little lean but rideable at this stage until you get to know him well.

Thanks, he’s only on the lunge so as I said at the start I thought hay was enough?