Those who feed Alfa A/ similar

[RachelB]

It's another feeding question, d'oh!

Do those of you who feed Alfa A feed the reccomended quantity? I've been doing a lot of researching things and apparently a 'scoop' (assuming a round stubbs scoop) holds 400g Alfa A. So to feed the reccomended level for my horse, 1.5kg, I would need to feed 3 3/4 scoops... does this seem like a lot? I know my horse is greedy but I can see her leaving her feed if I try feeding her that much! Does anyone actually feed this much or more?
Just thought to add, I would feed it in three feeds a day, probably equal quantities so a scoop and a quarter per feed.
Thanks guys!

 

[lucemoose]

When you split it into three feeds, its not that much really. Altho I dont tend to feed over a stubbs scoop of chaff per feed as it would take mine years to eat!
This doesnt really answer any questions sorry! The bigger horses on the yard have rounded stubbs scoops per feed and they manage, you could start off with her regular amount per feed then increase it?to see if she can manage without leaving some? At least its all just fibre!

 

[JessPickle]

pickle gets a scoop in each feed and is fed twice a day so 2 round scoops a day.

And to be honest that gives him a fairly big feed I think that amount would be a lot unless you are feeding it alone

Also the amount I feed is for a 17.1hh HUGE horse doubt yours is pickles size!

 

[RachelB]

Well that's what I thought, I suppose it's just like me leaving her with loads of hay and she'll eat it all in the end. Someone else at the yard used to feed buckets and buckets of Alfa A, poor horse hated the stuff as he was faced with loads of it each day! I was at first thinking about feeding it in two feeds (that is why I asked this Q) as she is currently fed two feeds of Spillers Happy Hoof chaff. But she only gets a scoop and a half of HH overall so it would be a bit different feeding that much Alfa!
Thanks for the reply

 

[RachelB]

lol not quite she is a big girl (15.3hh, looks 16.3hh, middleweight beast), although her stomach has ambitions to be elephant sized!

Maybe I'll try her on three scoops in three feeds and see how we get on.

 

[oaktree]

if a lot of people took the trouble to weigh different feeds and different size scoops i think they would be most suprised.i know that i was!

 

[pfarrugia]

My boy is 17.2 and he gets 3/4 scoop per feed (3 feeds a day). If he had anymore he'd blow up like a balloon!!! Good luck

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

My boy is 15.3hh muscley ISH and gets 2scoops of it in each feed

 

[vicm2509]

I feed alfa oil and put 1 stubbs scoop in each feed twice a day but he also gets speedi beet which is also bulk, so if I didnt give speedi beet aswell id probably up the alfa to about 3 sccops per day. I do sometimes give him a few scoops in a bucket on its own (if hes in all day and looking fed up) but he loves it.

He is a 16.3 light/middleweight.

 

[fizz-tally]

jay goes mad on it so gets a double handfull x 2 feeds,hes a middleweight 17hh tb x id

 

[henryhorn]

When we were bottle feeding an orphan foal she and her sister a year older had the stuff almost ad-lib. Neither came to any harm and the sister looked fabulous!
I wouldn't do that to aything else however and the stallion has alfa light....

 

[Weezy]

Jesus I so underfeed compared to most on this forum

I feed I round scoop of Alfa or Justgrass that is already mixed with cool mix - once a day!

 

[TGM]

I feed the recommended amount to a couple of mine. You have to remember that although it looks a lot, it is not nearly as dense as nuts or mix. There is a lot of air in between those fibres and a scoop of cubes or mix weighs a lot more than a scoop of Alfa A!

I have heard that you shouldn't really feed more than the recommended amount though, as it can supply too much calcium to them.

 

[RachelB]

Thanks for all the replies guys! It sounds like horses seem to cope well with vast quantities so mine should be fine on the reccommended amount as she's a pig! I think I was just a bit put off by this poor old horse having buckets full of the stuff and never eating it. Will order a bag next week I think and see how we go with it. Thanks everyone!

 

[johnsongreyhorse]

I feed about the recommended amount but in a separate bucket to his feed so he can alternate with his haylage overnight (which he does) when he first goes in his stable at night he takes a mouthful of tea then goes to his chaff has a little munch there, then maybe a mouthful of haylage and back to his tea again and so on! wonder he doesn't go dizzy!

 

[air78]

I have just swapped over to 'simple systems' type feeding plan. 16.2 TB now gets 1/2 scoop speedi beet (dry), two scoops alfa oil, mug top spec balancer, 1/2 mug sunflower seeds- twice a day.
It takes him ages to eat this, but thats the idea!

At first I thought it way too much, but he seems fine on it, and as it's all fibre it's easy to digest, and keeps him busy for longer.