What do you feed your horses?

EquiEquestrian556

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 October 2013
Messages
1,581
Visit site
Just curious :)

My mare is in heavy work, and her winter feeds contain these things: Spillers Cool Mix, Speedi Beet, Just Chop,
Feedmark's Meadow Blend Seaweed, Soya Oil, Magnesium and electrolytes. She also is turned out in the day, so gets grass,
and gets two big haynets in the evenings when she comes in :)

Other four have similar 'base' feeds (mix, chaff & beet), but different supplements.

So what do your horses get?
 

JFTDWS

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 November 2010
Messages
20,982
Visit site
I don't do commercial mixes. Mine get fast fibre and whole oats in winter, electrolytes and magnesium when competing. Dae just gets FF mostly (turned away over winter) while Fergs gets the rest with his - he's schooling at medium-ish level but is naturally an insanely good do-er. In the past I've used grass nuts, linseed and barley to keep weight on other horses.
 

lazybee

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 February 2011
Messages
849
Location
ici
Visit site
Mixed grazing and hay. No supplements, no additives. Thriving and working full stop.

Why does horse feeding have to be high tech?
 

MillionDollar

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 June 2006
Messages
7,938
Location
The Best Shire
Visit site
Some of mine are on Topspec All-In-One, Graze On and Sugarbeet (and Topspec Turbo when needed), others are just on a fibre nut which has vits/mins included and then others (not in work) are just on grass/hay. All of mine are on ad-lib hay when in.
 

Moya_999

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 August 2013
Messages
493
Location
Hampshire
Visit site
Just curious :)

My mare is in heavy work, and her winter feeds contain these things: Spillers Cool Mix, Speedi Beet, Just Chop,
Feedmark's Meadow Blend Seaweed, Soya Oil, Magnesium and electrolytes. She also is turned out in the day, so gets grass,
and gets two big haynets in the evenings when she comes in :)

Other four have similar 'base' feeds (mix, chaff & beet), but different supplements.

So what do your horses get?

fibergy - nut- fast fibre. No mixes i will not give them any of that supplements too
 

ellie11987

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 June 2012
Messages
654
Visit site
Mine gets 2 scoops Alfa A Oil, 3 mugs Topspec Comprehensive balancer and 2 mugs linseed split between two feeds. She also gets a double handful of chaff before work. When she is in harder work she gets up to 1.5 scoops of rolled oats.
 

Silmarillion

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 March 2010
Messages
1,757
Location
UK
Visit site
Mine both get Speedi-Beet, Formula 4 Feet, a handful of Dengie HiFi molasses free, and salt. One gets MSM. The other has Superflex, and linseed. Both ridden once a week over winter, and live out with hay.
 

PolarSkye

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 July 2010
Messages
9,492
Visit site
Nothing! He lives on rainbow sparkles, unicorn breath and turmeric - plenty of turmeric.

Tongue in cheek? Just a little. But really, the feed companies make such outlandish claims that the above could be true.

Feeding correctly isn't hard. High fibre/forage (as in good quality hay/haylage/grazing), and (if necessary) a bucket feed that is also forage-based and is low in sugar (artificial or otherwise), low in starch (ditto) and appropriate supplements to support joints (in older or otherwise compromised) horses, etc.

Horses don't need mixes (since when did horses need to eat "extruded" corn/maize and peas and carrots?). They don't need molasses. They probably shouldn't have soya. Oil is good, fibre is good . . . anything that supports growth of cartilage/horn/skin/coat in a natural way is probably fine. All the rest is feed company spin/flim flam designed to get you to part with your money.

Rant over

P
 

apachediamond

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 October 2013
Messages
237
Visit site
Haylage, grass, fast fibre, speedibeet and hifi original. He's in light to medium work and a good doer. He won't have anything added like mixes, just amounts increased if it turns colder and he drops more than I'd like.
 

Arizahn

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 May 2011
Messages
4,298
Visit site
From October to the end of March mine have about half a kilogram (when soaked) each per day of well soaked plain beet pulp with a handful of whole oats, linseed oil and apple cider vinegar, along with ad-lib hay (round bale feeder) and any grass they can find. During April to the end of September they have whatever grass and hedgerow stuff that the sheep leave for them, and do far too well on that anyhow. No supplements at all, aside from a salt lick in their stable. I make sure that they are never without forage, so ad-lib hay if kept in for any reason, but I prefer to keep them out 24/7 year round.
 

EquiEquestrian556

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 October 2013
Messages
1,581
Visit site
Nothing! He lives on rainbow sparkles, unicorn breath and turmeric - plenty of turmeric.

Tongue in cheek? Just a little. But really, the feed companies make such outlandish claims that the above could be true.

Feeding correctly isn't hard. High fibre/forage (as in good quality hay/haylage/grazing), and (if necessary) a bucket feed that is also forage-based and is low in sugar (artificial or otherwise), low in starch (ditto) and appropriate supplements to support joints (in older or otherwise compromised) horses, etc.

Horses don't need mixes (since when did horses need to eat "extruded" corn/maize and peas and carrots?). They don't need molasses. They probably shouldn't have soya. Oil is good, fibre is good . . . anything that supports growth of cartilage/horn/skin/coat in a natural way is probably fine. All the rest is feed company spin/flim flam designed to get you to part with your money.

Rant over

P

I don't feed my horses molasses. Nor peas, or corn or maize and they have the very occasional carrot. Soya oil is a high energy, and supports skin, coat and hoof quality.
 

skint1

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 February 2010
Messages
5,306
Visit site
My gelding is retired, my mare is in light hacking only.
Both have:
Fast Fibre, chaff, Horse First Keep Me Sound General Supplement - and then a range of of other supplements.
They graze during the day and have ad lib haylage at night.
 

Kacey88

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 September 2011
Messages
778
Location
Ireland
Visit site
Ad lib hay/grazing and a scoop of sloppy speedi beet with micronised linseed and a copper supplement (we are lacking).

I add more linseed if needed. Nice and simple. Not to mention cheap!
 

EquiEquestrian556

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 October 2013
Messages
1,581
Visit site
I don't feed my horses molasses. Nor peas, or corn or maize and they have the very occasional carrot. Soya oil is a high energy, and supports skin, coat and hoof quality.[/QUOTE

Horse mixes will inclu most of these things and are totally un natural for horses to eat

The ingredients in the mix I feed my horses does not.
 

Charlie007

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 October 2009
Messages
2,393
Location
South Lincs
Visit site
One off games till spring, good doer. Other ex racehorse just starting his retraining, both on adlib hay 24/7. Out during day. Spillers conditioning fibre and oil. Both looking a picture of health.
 

Equi

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 October 2010
Messages
13,246
Visit site
Grass and hay. They all get a handfull of meal (little ones on a cool n cooked and mare on a pasture mix) and a handful of dengie hifi lite. All in light work
 

MyDogIsAnIdiot

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 June 2013
Messages
732
Location
Lost
Visit site
Grass. Maybe an eggcup amount of Fast Fibre if she's having her hoof supplement, though the dozy sod will lick it off my hand so don't tend to bother now.

She's got a massive variety of grasses, flowers, hedgerows, trees, bracken, nettles etc to eat and tends to eat a bit (lot) of everything.

Any sort of mixes send her into orbit so I avoid all hard feed now.
 

paulineh

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 July 2008
Messages
2,111
Location
Hampshire / Berkshire
Visit site
Twice a year I do soil testing as at different times of the year there can be certain thing missing in the ground. I have a balance of vitamins and minerals made up that complement those that are low.

My horses are also blood tested twice a year to make sure that everything is okay and balanced and they are not lacking anything. Also horses of different ages need different requirements.

They have a forage based feed with grass nuts and Sugar beet plus the Vit/min mix. When working hard they will get some oats.
 

Doormouse

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 February 2009
Messages
1,680
Location
The West Country
Visit site
As I said in my first post, Spillers Cool Mix. I do know what horses should and shouldn't have in their feeds (i.e. peas, maize or corn etc.), hence why I feed some of our horses this mix.

Just been trying to look up the ingredients in Spillers Cool Mix, I can see that the starch content is 20% and as far as I am aware starch is not great for horses. I also found some info on Spillers Cool Concentrate that said 15% flaked maize, 6% peas etc etc? I would be astonished if their cool mix didn't contain both of these as well.
 
Last edited:

Nudibranch

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 April 2007
Messages
7,064
Location
Shropshire
Visit site
Grass, hay and a scoop of alfalfa chaff for their Pro Balance; our grazing is magesium deficient. They also have a Rockies mag lick. Admittedly the new TB arrived very thin and with a dull coat so he has micronised linseed too but really the grass is filling him out nicely.
 

druid

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 December 2004
Messages
7,180
Visit site
Ad-lib Haylage, 3-4kg of Alfalfa hay (one flake), 2kg of Saracen Releve, 1kg of Alfa-A, 750g Outshine, salt.
 

EquiEquestrian556

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 October 2013
Messages
1,581
Visit site
Just been trying to look up the ingredients in Spillers Cool Mix, I can see that the starch content is 20% and as far as I am aware starch is not great for horses. I also found some info on Spillers Cool Concentrate that said 15% flaked maize, 6% peas etc etc? I would be astonished if their cool mix didn't contain both of these as well.

I can't see any peas or corn in it. Can I just say that when I say I feed them Spillers Cool Mix, I think people think that I'm giving them 2 scoops of it, however, my mare gets a sprinkle of it, about a quarter of a VERY small scoop. It's not like she's having loads of it, as I too think that fibre is much more important than 'hard feed'. She has a lot more Just Chop & Speedi-Beet in her bucket than the Cool Mix.
 
Last edited:
Top