What feed brands do you trust to feed to your competition horses?

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BeckyD

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I've seen a few posts lately where people are saying less-than-positive things about brands that I have always trusted, and it's got me thinking. What brands do you recommend and trust, and why?

I'll get started, as it's my choice of feed that I've seen coming under some flak - Dodson & Horrell. I've grown up with it and because they're local to me, it always seemed the obvious choice.

I also feed Dengie (to horses that will eat it...not always guaranteed palatable to all horses, from what I've seen :rolleyes:) - perhaps it's just their marketing but seems like the obvious starting point for an ideal high-fibre diet.
 
I wouldn't feed anything D&H I'm afraid.

I currently use topspec (which I love) and simple systems (have in the past been disappointed with the quality of SS). Also use dengie (hifi and alfa a oil) but again haven't been totally satisfied with the quality of some of the bags.

I'm about to try fast fibre from Allen & Page, and probably their power & performance too.
 
I always fed D&h until pops as she is spesul!!! I think high fibre should always be your base then feed the appropriate energy feed, I've used most of D&h feeds and found them great, pops is now on pure Easy
 
As long as it is a reputable brand, I am more interested in the analysis and ingredients of their individual products than the name of the manufacturer.

I do find it frustrating to see posts where people baldly put a statement "I won't feed X brand" without actually stating their reasons!

At the moment, I feed a combination of Dodson & Horrell, Spillers and Dengie, but will happily change that if the horses' needs change. Have also fed Allen & Page and Baileys in the past.
 
I feed Pure feeds to my 2. Pure condition to my poor doing TB and pure racing to my good doing ISH. They are high in fibre and low in starch and so don't send my TB any more up the wall and my horses love them and both look great on them.
 
I'm with TGM.

I don't have a strong affinity with any brand, as long as it's clear and transparent what is in the product. My main gripe with D&H is they don't list the ingrediants on the website.

If pushed, I'd probably look to Allen & Page first.
 
I'm a big Blue Grass fan...however we routinely get samples of any feed we are feeding sampled to be sure it's what it should be. BG always tests great though have had some small issues with other brands hence we don't feed them any more. It's probably the skeptic in me....I test every dairy nut my clients use so just think its logical to test the horse feed too
 
ellie_e said:
A&P feeds contain no barley and molasses free which suit my horse.
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Actually, that is not true - whilst they have a molasses and barley free range - some of their feeds DO contain barley and molasses, such as their Old Faithful's Special Blend (for veterans) which contains both ingredients.

Which is why it is important to look carefully at the individual product rather than assuming all feeds from one manufacturer are similar!
 
I was D&H and Dengie but have just gone onto Chestnut horse feeds (bulk and they deliver)
My YO has been using them for almost a year and all hers look great from the stallion to the yearlings.
 
I look at the labels and try to feed as naturally as possible. I don't like to pay a tenner for a bag of straw heavily sprayed with sugar. I'd rather pay a bit for Readigrass, and I feed this as a chaff, with some local nuts that a miller produces using only grass or alfalfa.

This is taken from another post but useful to know what to look for in your ingredients of your 'trusted' brand

Wheatfeed is what was called wheat ‘middlings’ years ago and fed to pigs; is it what is left over after the milling of wheat – the chaff, broken seeds etc.
Oatfeed is sourced in the same way
Molasses is another byproduct and holds the ingredients together
Rice bran is a good source of feedstuffs IF it is stabilised. It generally isn’t and will go rancid
Vitamin mineral premix is sold in bulk to most feed manufacturers; it is made mainly from petrochemicals to produce synthetic vitamin and minerals.
Calcium carbonate = In simple terms it's chalk!!
Most feeds will be bulked up with salt
Calcined magnesite is a calcium/magnesium compound usually sold as fertiliser

Many modern feeds have straw for added fibre. Wheat straw is sprayed 5-7 times with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides and usually 'treated' with urea or sodium hydroxide to break down the lignin making it easier to digest.
 
TGM said:
Actually, that is not true - whilst they have a molasses and barley free range - some of their feeds DO contain barley and molasses, such as their Old Faithful's Special Blend (for veterans) which contains both ingredients.

Which is why it is important to look carefully at the individual product rather than assuming all feeds from one manufacturer are similar!
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Very true and what is very interesting to remember is that little or no feeds give the percentage breakdown of what ingredients are present....they tend to just list them in descending order of inclusion. The more ingredients the more "fillers". This is largely due to prices of grain which in the current market are fairly saucy. Feed quality is always at its highest after a bumper harvest as the farmers have been paid for the grain but the companies do then not want to pay for a load of storage so it is easier to adjust formulations. Spring 2011 is a prime example after a great 2010 harvest. This most commonly occurs in dairy feed but I have seen test results over series of months test out completely different in starch/fibre values for the same product. The cheaper or less specialised the feed the bigger the chance of this happening.
 
amage said:
Very true and what is very interesting to remember is that little or no feeds give the percentage breakdown of what ingredients are present....they tend to just list them in descending order of inclusion. The more ingredients the more "fillers". This is largely due to prices of grain which in the current market are fairly saucy. Feed quality is always at its highest after a bumper harvest as the farmers have been paid for the grain but the companies do then not want to pay for a load of storage so it is easier to adjust formulations. Spring 2011 is a prime example after a great 2010 harvest. This most commonly occurs in dairy feed but I have seen test results over series of months test out completely different in starch/fibre values for the same product. The cheaper or less specialised the feed the bigger the chance of this happening.
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That is interesting and unsurprising as well - it is after all a natural product. Most of us whinge when feed prices go up so I supose the feed manufacturers have a balancing act between quality of harvest and price.
 
I had always fed D&H up until a few years ago when I won some Baileys feed vouchers, so I switched to them. Always had been happy with how my horses looked.
After seeing posts on here, I tried out Pure Feeds last year and I have to say the difference is noticeable. My skinny minny TB is on Pure Working and the old mare is on Pure Easy. I am very glad I made the switch, it's not costing me any more and they both look in super condition, especially the 22yo mare! :)
 
I wouldn't trust any feed company. I'm currently having sucess with spiller's high fibre cubes, but tbh prefer to cut out all the rubbish and feed straights.
 
I don't trust any feed company in particular, they are business at the end of the day. I'll feed whatever my horses respond best too.

I've had great success with Simple Systems and I like the idea of their feeds, they are always the first thing I'd reach for with a new horse. That said newest horse just wasnt doing as well on SS as the others so is now on Saracen feeds and is doing well. I found Saracen incredibly helpful and knowledgable when I dealt with them.

I've used Winergy, D&H and A&P before with great success, had bad experiences with reps from Baileys and Dengie which puts me off their products. I've never used Spillers and, looking at their range, don't think I'd ever need too.

My one stipulation when looking for feed is that it needs to be locally available. I refuse to have to faff about ordering stuff in or getting stuff delivered. I live beside 3 good feed shops, if none of them stock it I won't feed it! :)
 
Have fed R&B, Baileys, Falcon feeds, local merchants own brand, Dengie and D&H. I use whichever product seems best for the horse at the time. However, having said that I would highly recommend R&B as their products are great and their customer service is excellent - to the point where they took several bags of feed to Hickstead for me to collect.
 
I fed straights for years, and Alfa-a as a chaff. A few years ago I swapped to Allen and Page fast fibre instead of chaff as I didn't have to supplement it.
I am suspicious of a lot of mixes, and try to look carefully at the ingredients as so much has bulking agents and a hell of a lot of sugar added.
Dengie chaffs (Hi Fi and Alfa-A) are great, as is Readi-Grass. The new generation of balancers are also very good in general and cut out the requirement to supplement additionally unless for a specific need (joints etc). But "competition mixes" etc - processed sugary nasties IMHO.
 
amage said:
Very true and what is very interesting to remember is that little or no feeds give the percentage breakdown of what ingredients are present....they tend to just list them in descending order of inclusion. The more ingredients the more "fillers". This is largely due to prices of grain which in the current market are fairly saucy. Feed quality is always at its highest after a bumper harvest as the farmers have been paid for the grain but the companies do then not want to pay for a load of storage so it is easier to adjust formulations. Spring 2011 is a prime example after a great 2010 harvest. This most commonly occurs in dairy feed but I have seen test results over series of months test out completely different in starch/fibre values for the same product. The cheaper or less specialised the feed the bigger the chance of this happening.
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I don't know if it was ever the case here but in Canada we used to be able to get "fixed formula" feeds vs "fixed price" feeds. The former have largely fallen out of fashion because prices could vary wildly from month to month so made budgeting difficult. Also, i suspect, because horse people didn't really want to know what the ingredients were costing. ;) It has always made me aware though that ANY grain based feed (and probably forage based as well, given vagaries of production and logistic costs) with a fixed price HAS to have a flexible formula or be significantly overpriced in order to allow for the fluctuations. I accept it for what it is but it's something to keep in mind if you have a horse that's feed sensitive.
 
I dont trust any of the feed companies tbh, i was feeding Pure Feeds but due to a couple of reasons ive stopped feeding it.

Ive gone back to feeding Graze On, Grass Nuts, Topspec Antilam & micronised Linseed. It gives me the benifit of tailoring feeds to each horse. Some might only get Antilam others get the works.

I liked the idea of the all in one feeds but they just dont work for every horse & when you have more than 2 horses you need to have flexability.
 
TGM said:
As long as it is a reputable brand, I am more interested in the analysis and ingredients of their individual products than the name of the manufacturer.
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Same here. Ive been feeding Baileys, Dengie and Speedibeet (cant remember who makes it) for years with no problems. I have fed Spillers and D&H in the past with no problems. I dont tend to feed the very pricey feeds (ie. topspec etc.) because IMO their ingredients dont warrant the massive hike in price from the usual Baileys / Spillers etc. type feeds.

mrussell - R&B is Rowen Barbury.
 
Having worked in the racing industry you do hear some stories- some feed brands continually causing bad blood profiles and bad race results.

However I have no particular favourite brand, although A&P annoys me as their feeds seem to be mostly sugar beet and not a lot else, & they charge a premium for it!
 
We use/have used; Dengie, D&H, Allen & Page and Baileys for ours - all have been great... just selecting certain feeds to suit the individual horses needs
 
My favourites are Spillers and Topspec. However I will look at the ingredients and nutrition over brand.

I have had as much success with shop own cheapo vs brands
 
I use baileys no 14 and basically that's it occasionally add some no4 in summer when eventing. Have fed both to Fleur for last 6 ish years without issues they suit my horse and importantly are barley free! Best bit is how cost efficient they work out. Brought a bag of each at the beginning of April and still have a couple weeks left of each now! Keeping a close eye now to ensure don't need to throw out last part of each bag ;)

Ultimately you need to go with what suits your horse in general I find Dr green is the best ;)
 
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