What do you feed your horses?

PolarSkye said:
EquiEquestrian556 said:
Good for you. I wouldn't feed mixes to a goat - and they'll eat anything.

P
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Can I just say, that when I say I feed some of our horses Spillers Cool Mix, I think people think that I'm giving them 2 scoops of it (or something to that extent), however, my mare literally just gets a sprinkle of it, about a third 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 Cool Mix.
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One high fibre equi blox in am (1kg) and a small amount of high fibre Horsehage pm, he's out unruggged 24/7 on two acres of poor grazing
 
I'm just changing over from fast fibre to copra. He gets a small handful dry weight, a small handful of graze on, 1/4 round scoop of oats, 50gms linseed, 40gms salt, magnesium, and a mineral balancer. He gets a couple of scoops of graze on in a trug, and ad lib hay, although this year he has finally learnt to moderate his eating and is eating a sensible amount. He looks pretty good, and feels pretty good too :)
 
EquiEquestrian556 said:
Doormouse said:
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.
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http://www.britskakrmiva.cz/fotky17631/fotos/_vyrd11_10cool-mix.jpg

See those golden flakes? That's extruded corn/maize.

I do have another question, though - what do you class as "hard" work? I'm only asking because it is pertinent to what you should be feeding (along with type of horse/metabolism, type and quality of grazing, type and quality of other forage, whether she lives in or out, how long she is stabled for and when, if she is clipped, how she is rugged, etc.) To me, hard work means top level competition - eventing, endurance, racing, pointing. My own horse works six days a week - varied work (so hacking, schooling, pole work, lunging) - for an average of 40 minutes a day (longer if hacking) and I'd say he is only in light to medium work.

P
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PolarSkye said:
EquiEquestrian556 said:
http://www.britskakrmiva.cz/fotky17631/fotos/_vyrd11_10cool-mix.jpg

See those golden flakes? That's extruded corn/maize.

I do have another question, though - what do you class as "hard" work? I'm only asking because it is pertinent to what you should be feeding (along with type of horse/metabolism, type and quality of grazing, type and quality of other forage, whether she lives in or out, how long she is stabled for and when, if she is clipped, how she is rugged, etc.) To me, hard work means top level competition - eventing, endurance, racing, pointing. My own horse works six days a week - varied work (so hacking, schooling, pole work, lunging) - for an average of 40 minutes a day (longer if hacking) and I'd say he is only in light to medium work.

P
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OK, sorry, now I see that it has corn in it :P

She hunts every weekend all day with bloodhounds, and also sometimes competes at weekends if a meet has been cancelled, is ridden 6 to 7 days a week for 3 to 4 hours, including schooling for 2 hours, jumping up to 1.05m mostly for about an hour & a half, hacking for 2 hours+ etc. (she events and competes very regularly in the spring & summer).

To me, she is in hard work. She is in at night and is hunter clipped, she wears heavyweight rugs. The grazing at this time of year is poor to average, as with many pastures at this time of year :)

As I know my own horse, I have chosen a diet that is good for her individual needs. It works for her, she is happy and very healthy, so I don't see why I should change that. The vet & farrier both think she is looking great too.


I didn't really ask people if they think what I'm feeding her is correct for her though, so please could I ask that we end this discussion :)
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EquiEquestrian556 said:
ridden 6 to 7 days a week for 3 to 4 hours, including schooling for 2 hours, jumping up to 1.05m mostly for about an hour & a half, hacking for 2 hours+ etc
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That's a typo right? Quite apart from it being way too much schooling/jumping for any horse, how on earth do you find the time?

I used to work with international three day event horses who did less work than that in the run up to Badminton!
 
Auslander said:
That's a typo right? Quite apart from it being way too much schooling/jumping for any horse, how on earth do you find the time?

I used to work with international three day event horses who did less work than that in the run up to Badminton!
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Oops, yes it was a HUGE typo :'P Ridden 5 to 6 days a week, for 2 to 3 hours, schooling for 1 hour, jumping up to 1.05m for 30 to 45 mins and hacking for 2+ hours at walk, trot and sometime a canter in the fields (not all in one day obviously) And also does regular galloping once or twice a week! ;) Thanks for correcting me haha :)
 
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2 kg dry weight power and performance split into two feeds and a scoop of barley each feed , some yeast , salt and turmeric , a pinch of fenugreek and a mug of linseed . 4 year old appyx Welsh , was at peak fitness ridden 5-6 days a week hacking , hunting , show jumping all mixed up , stamina of an Arab but never sparkly enough so put her on power and performance and tadah a sparkly sane horse, managing to keep her bsrefoot too
 
To answer your original question: micronised linseed, Copra, Dodson & Horrell ERS Pellets, a molasses free chaff (although I'm knocking that on the head when we run out - he gets enough fibre), pure MSM.

I feed the ERS Pellets because they are very low in starch, high in fibre and oil and have some added goodies like electrolytes, lysine, selenium, calcium and magnesium.

Also ad lib hay (and haylage in the winter) - fed from the floor - and good, old-style pasture (was used for cattle many years ago, has never been sprayed or fertilized and is full of lovely herbs and grass mixes).

P
 
Alfa A molasses free, speedi beet, pro balance (vit and min supplement), brewers yeast, micro linseed and turmeric for my older horse. Oh and salt. Fat one gets hay, young one gets ad lib haylage and they're both turned out in a field with not a lot of grass every day.
 
18yo Ridden/Competition good-doer horse in medium work gets (in one feed):
-1 Stubbs Scoop Dengie Hi-Fi Original (Autumn/Winter) OR half a Stubbs Scoop Hi-Fi Good Doers (Spring/Summer)
-250g (one measure cup) TopSpec Lite Balancer
-Handful of TopSpec FibrePlus Cubes
-10g Bespoke joint supplement from Hack-Up

My ISH Yearling gets (in one feed):
-Half or less of a stubbs scoop Hi Fi Original (Autumn/Winter)
-One level cup of Dodson&Horrell Yearling cubes (technically designed for TB yearlings, but he's got 3/4 TB in him so close enough)
-Small scoop of TopSpec FibrePlus cubes

Both of them are fed twice a day, given a pile of haylage each twice a day and are turned out in (as of recently) quite bare field 24/7

At the moment they both look happy and healthy and I'm pleased with their condition going into winter. If baby horse gets a bit podgy I'm planning to take out the HiFi chaff, but at the moment everything's fine *touch wood*
 
2/3 scoop speedy-beet (dry volume), 2/3 scoop of calm and condition (dry volume), soaked, 2/3 scoop of alfalfa pellets (dry volume), all soaked, with linseed oil, turmeric, Cosequin and pro balance + vits and minerals. makes a big bucket, but he picks at it all night when in, and won't eat breakfast. 1 large hay nets overnight (gets 2, eats half of each). Sparse grass in winter during the day, so gets hay in the field as well.

In summer, grass, and a smaller version of the above feed - but with all the supplements and vits/mins in it.

I have added oats in the past - not sure if they might help him hold weight, as he has a tendency to drop off a bit over winter.
 
Mines on 2 handfuls on mollichaff veteran. Cup of top spec cool balancer @ topspec calmer. She is on this throughout winter & then nothing apart from a token feed in summer whilist her field mate gets hers
She's a 15.2 tb
 
the PSG dr horse gets copra cool, soaked whole oats, grass nuts (for flavour to get him to eat it all) and pro balance plus and salt. a good 3 nets of hay per day at the moment. gets worked 6x week.

the 2 mares at ele to medium get the same as above but less quantity, except the hay... work 6 days per week.

old retired mare hacking 1x week gets a small amount of copra and grass nuts, plus the salt and pro balance and hay of course.

all happily working BF.

once they move onto the 10 acres around xmas they will get no hay unless they somehow run out of grass and reduced amount of bucket feeding.
 
11yo, 16.2hh Medium dressage horse, ridden 5/6 times a week (moderate work).
Grass during day, late cut meadow hay overnight. Handful of dengie healthy tummy with equimins advance pellets & protexin acid ease am &pm.

20yo retired TB type. Lives out at grass, topped up with hay in mid winter. Small amount of fast fibre once a day just to carry his prascend.
 
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