Urgent feed advice please!

ImmyS

ImmyS

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I will try and keep this short and make sure that it makes sense.

Tomorrow I'm going to the feed shop and I feel a bit of a diet overhaul is needed as I'm not really happy with what my mare is on. (Obviously any feed changes will be made gradually)

She is a 6 year old ex racer, recently been in light work due to shoes being taken off a couple of weeks ago however she is now back in medium work and the work load is gradually being upped. At the moment I am happy with her weight and she looks healthy with a good shiny coat however I do not feel her current feed is doing enough or will be enough for her now her work load is being upped quite significantly.

She is currently on speedibeet, high fibre cubes, sunflower oil, a linseed based general supplement and a hoof supplement. I only added high fibre cubes so that she would actually eat her speedibeet but I'm finding I'm having to add more than I would like to make her eat it. I don't feel that she really needs the speedibeet now as one she doesn't particularly like it and two I don't think she needs the bulk now grass is coming through and she still has access to ad lib hay, so I'm looking for a feed that is more concentrated and doesn't have so much bulk.

So basically I'm looking for a diet that covers all areas, it needs to be barefoot friendly, not too bulky, enough calories to sustain a poorish doer tb who's work load is being upped. She isn't a particular fizzy horse so that isn't something to worry about when suggesting feeds.

Also I wish I could but I can't feed anymore linseed as with non horsey parents they just can't understand the need to order in a £30 sack of food! also my feed store is quite limited so a range of suggestions would be helpful! Thank you

Chocolate biscuits on offer to those who got this far!
 
I never use speedibeet as i wonder what they have done to good old fashioned sugarbeet pellets to get them to soak so fast
You no the saying "if its not broke dont fix it" if your horse is looking good and feeling fine on what you are feeding dont change anything.
If she is starting to lose condition and you have done all the usual things [worming etc] i would sugest baileys No1 its worked wonders for my boy [also needs to be fed damp]
If she is lacking energy try swapping the high fibre cubes for something a bit more heating say competition mix
If you are having to feed high fibre cubes to get her to eat her speedibeet try changing to proper old fashioned sugarbeet pellets, they are going to need you to plan ahead as they will need soaking for at least 8 hours, so in my case i soak them the day before but they probably taste better
 
Thank you for your reply but unfortunately none of your suggestions are barefoot friendly and so wouldn't be suitable for her. The reason I need to change the speedibeet is because its such a pain to just get enough down her to make a difference and I can't feed sugarbeet because of the sugar content.
 
I'd look at low starch comp feeds such as ERS pellets, Releve, spillers slow response cubes (my TB does fab on these). Then mix the amount you want to feed with a handful of alfa or dengie mollasses free.
Keep it simple :).
 
Firewell said:
I'd look at low starch comp feeds such as ERS pellets, Releve, spillers slow response cubes (my TB does fab on these). Then mix the amount you want to feed with a handful of alfa or dengie mollasses free.
Keep it simple :).
Click to expand...

Thank you, will look out for these at the shop
 
A lot of people have had success with ERS pellets, so I'd definitely consider these.

Also consider oats, as a lot of people find their barefoot horses do fine on these.
 
Another vote for ERS pellets - low starch and sugar and high in fibre and oil - palatable too.

Best of luck.

P
 
Thank you for suggestions guys - I've been shopping and she is going to be on -

A smaller amount of speedibeet (still have a bag to use up)
A&P cool and collected
Hi fi molasses free
Sunflower oil
Linseed supplement
Hoof supplement

Just going to see how she goes and make any necessary tweaks! :)
 
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For increasing weight and muscle mass you will probably need more protein - I use alfalfa pellets when I think any of mine need it, and also grass pellets for palatability and a bit more of something (don't really know what, as "straights" they don't have an analysys on the bag). I also give a small sprinkle of cheap mix for palatability - my old IR mare does fine on that so shoudn't be a problem for barefooting. I also feed a fair bit of micronised linseed - for extra energy and calories you could do that. I don't have a problem getting any of mine to eat Speedybeet so long as I add one of their favourites!
 
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