What could I swap saracens re leve for horse prone to ulcers ?

[Ellie123456]

My horse 17.2 tb who struggled to hold weight in winter he’s 13 and currently fed on as lib hay 1.5kg of Equi Jewel 1.5kg of re leve and a handful of apple chaff between 3 meals I’m wondering whether to cut out the Equi-Jewel for something else maybe a pure fibre or grass feed as we have barely and grass in the fields and the hay isn’t the greatest he is under the recommended amount for the re leve and he also has missing two bottom teeth so struggles with hard feed ? And recommendations also I like feeding in small portions so nothing that you havd to feed in huge quantities would he benefit from a balanced or something ? X

 

[sbloom]

I would find a sugar free chaff, a good iron free mineral supplement like Forageplus or Progressive Earth and then add linseed. I personally like unmolassed beet but not everyone does, it makes the feed bulkier but to feed low starch that is usually a requirement. I used to feed a small feed containing supp in the morning, and then a big trug of soaked beet and chaff stabled at night.

You could also look to the ranges like Agrobs that are starch free, they'd have some good options.

 

[HeyMich]

Call the guys at Pure Feeds and they'll advise what to use - their feeds are all low cal, low starch, well balanced and ulcer friendly. My ulcer prone mare thrives on it, and I actually feed all the horses on Pure Feed now. Highly recommend.

 

[Leo Walker]

My go to for weight gain is a big tub trug filled with soaked grass nuts and grass chaff, and then a smaller feed with something like rice bran pellets or equijewel, pink mash and a vitamin and mineral supplement.

I wouldnt be doing a direct swap of equijewel for grass chaff/nuts. You will end up with a much less calorie dense feed.

 

[madamebonnie]

Could you swop the hay to haylage? Obviously not too rich a source or mix it in with your hay. Its the decent haylage adlib that my boy really thrives on meaning i can keeep my hard feed quite simple with chaff and a small amount of gwf balancer.

 

[HeyMich]

Could you swop the hay to haylage? Obviously not too rich a source or mix it in with your hay. Its the decent haylage adlib that my boy really thrives on meaning i can keeep my hard feed quite simple with chaff and a small amount of gwf balancer.

I'd say stick to hay, sorry. My ulcer mare does so much better on hay - I think it's the sugar content, or acidity, that's worse in haylage, so it's one thing I'd not be changing.

.

 

[Ellie123456]

My go to for weight gain is a big tub trug filled with soaked grass nuts and grass chaff, and then a smaller feed with something like rice bran pellets or equijewel, pink mash and a vitamin and mineral supplement.

I wouldnt be doing a direct swap of equijewel for grass chaff/nuts. You will end up with a much less calorie dense feed.

I’m worried he’ll just bolt the grass nuts and chaff and cause himself to colic ect he is now on alfalfa and Equi-Jewel but idk whether to keep those in two meals and add a High fibre source in the middle of his turnout time in the field so he is getting more forage throughout the day

 

[madamebonnie]

Grass nuts or anything pelleted can go in a treatball to slow down eating

 

[Leo Walker]

I’m worried he’ll just bolt the grass nuts and chaff and cause himself to colic ect he is now on alfalfa and Equi-Jewel but idk whether to keep those in two meals and add a High fibre source in the middle of his turnout time in the field so he is getting more forage throughout the day

Its really hard to bolt a huge feed of sloppy grass nuts. You have to soak them so they form a mash. I've never had any of my greedy gits do that, and if anything would, they would!

 

[tallyho!]

ERS pellets is another option - have you tried pink mash? My ulcer/gastro issues mare transformed on linseed and pink mash.

 

[Goldenstar]

I think you will have try lots of things .
Re-leve is a good food and I am not sure you want to swop .

i would try soaking grass cubes if it where here I would add oats and micronised Linseed .
un molassed beet is also good for horses with missing teeth.
That’s what I would try first .
i would also swop to one of the bagged haylege for seniors which he will find easier to eat .

 

[Ellie123456]

Its really hard to bolt a huge feed of sloppy grass nuts. You have to soak them so they form a mash. I've never had any of my greedy gits do that, and if anything would, they would!

Would he still eat his hay or would he be eating this then move on to the hay or a bit of both maybe ?

 

[be positive]

Would he still eat his hay or would he be eating this then move on to the hay or a bit of both maybe ?

If you give him a bowl last thing he will pick at it through the night, I have done this with a few and have gradually built it up over a week or two so they do not eat it in one go, they cannot bolt a feed of this type especially if they lack teeth, it gives him options and a varied choice which is ideal for one with ulcers, if the hay is poor then he really needs another fibre source over night if you want weight gain.

 

[sbloom]

Horses are much more likely to bolt a sweeter or cereal based feed than they are forages, they won't bolt chaff, but if you add soaked beet it also slows them down. Chaff is better for the hind gut than pellets made of exactly the same material, and haylage can definitely be a bit acidic for some horses, but sugar content varies a lot so some might be fine, others not.

 

[deicinmerlyn]

Copra, micronised linseed, grass pellets. Ad lib hay and a gut balancer

 

[tallyho!]

Im not sure if anyone mentioned it andI forgot to but I found that stopping anything remotely related to alfalfa also helped lots.

 

[HBB]

Copra, micronised linseed, grass pellets. Ad lib hay and a gut balancer

This ^^^^ but instead of a gut balancer I would use EquiVita Ultra.

https://equinatural.co.uk/p/equivita-ultra