What feed do you recommend for my new horse?

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booboo

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Hi,

I've been a 'lurker' on here for a while and everyone's posts have been very helpful in helping me get ready for my 1st horse
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He is a good doer and does well on the less than fantastic grazing where he is now. I think he'll do well on the good welsh grass and will have as much good quailty hay he can stuff into his little mouth.

He generally be in light work with some longer rides in the summer.

He is a fairly chilled out sort and I want to keep him the way so want to avoid any stuff thats going to make him remotely fizzy!

I'd like some suggestions regarding what to feed him just as something for him to munch on after a ride and give him some supplements so all his needs are covered.

I've looked at simple systems and also stuff like blue chip and top spec.

Any recs?

Thanks! x
 
If he's s good do-er I'd just give him something like a handful of Happy Hoof or Hi-Fi lite plus a broadspectrum vit&min supplement such as Clop or the TopSpec one.
 
i'd feed him Bailey's lo-cal balancer. i use it and it's brilliant, and a lot lot cheaper than blue chip. add a bit of hi-fi lite, wetted, or something if he needs a bit of bulk cos he's woofing it down. if he starts losing condition in the winter, i'd add unmolassed sugar beet.
 
Any of the low calorie chaffs such as Dengie Healthy Hooves, Spillers Happy Hoof, Dengie Good Doer or Hifi Lite, plus Baileys No 14 lo cal balancer, although I personally prefer Equus Health Winter Glow Summer Shine natural supplement.
 
I use Hi fi lite for my horses supplement and he is a good doer too. He thrives very well from grass and hay all year round and in the summer does 15-20 mile pleasure rides all in trot and has bags of energy left at the end.
 
In all honesty from what you've described, I wouldn't feed anything except grass and hay when he is in! Mind you, mine is a very good doer, has evented all summer on nothing except grass (and some pony nuts after an event for his electrolytes), and has only been fed in the last couple of weeks as his workload increased prior to going novice eventing - and he now gets...half a scoop of pony nuts after work!

I think 90% of the problems people have with horse behaviour are due to over feeding, so I would recommend nothing, and then pony nuts if he really needs it - why spend money for the sake of it? If you are worried about supplements, get a mineral block for the field perhaps?
 
I dont think you'll need to fork out a fortune for the likes of Top Spec / Blue Chip etc.

Personally Id buy a bag of really basic chaff just to add an all round vitamin & mineral supplement to. Mineral blocks IMO are waste of money, Ive tried 3 different ones on my horses and they wouldnt touch 2 of them and the 3rd one they demolished in a day (bloody molasses).
 
Thanks guys. Great advice!

Ok I'll give him some a small handfull basic non-molasses chaff to mix an all round supplement in and see how he goes on basic rations!
 
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