What/How much do you feed your horses in light work?

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el_Snowflakes

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Just curious really.....with so many diffrerent feeds on the market boasting all sorts of benefits the topic is a bit of a mindfield! So what do you feed your horses is light work & why?
 
Mine get adlib haylage, fast fibre plus a handful of chaff with any supplements as required. This is the standard feed now for all mine apart from the one horse in medium work and my oldie as they will not eat ff .
 
My 3 all just get daily turnout and haylage at night.... They are all welshies though so good doers and my old mare(18) got lami this summer so is now on a strict diet and work regieme to keep her trim :) she used to get nuts and chop at night bit not anymore! The only time would 'feed' th now is if they were on supplements (which they arent so i dont!).
 
My connie gets 6lbs of hay in the morning, 6hrs turnout on very good grass, 10lbs of hay at night and bucket feed is a mug of fast fibre plus supplements.
 
Small amount of FF, magnesium and pro balance plus, linseed and Bailey's Lo Cal for my elder one, the younger one ( 19 ) gets just FF and magnesium.

They are out most of the time on good grazing, just get a bit of hay if they come in to be ridden
 
My TB gets ad-lib hay, a handful of chaff to put his Cortaflex in, and some mint to make him eat the darned chaff!

The skinny pony gets ad-lib hay and a handful of chaff to keep her from bothering the other one when he's eating.

They're out 24/7 on about an acre of what was good grass but they've eaten it all and it's now mud!
 
the tb gets ad lib haylage, alfa a molasses free, speedi beet, barley plus, veg oil, mag ox, brewers yeast. (nortorious poor doer but looks fabby on this at the moment).

In spring after her winter holiday, she will go on saracens re-leve instead of the speedibeet and salt if she needs more energy as we go into moderate work. also considering micronised linseed instead of the barley plus and oil.
 
My lami-prone good doer in light work has ever looked better (spot on weightwise) on half scoop of fast fibre, vit/mins and a handful of mollichaff calmer, with good weighed hay ... and a big tasty bed of barley straw that he seems to prefer to the hay!!!!! He's out most days weather permitting on decent grass too.

Fast Fibre has been a godsend, it doesn't seem to matter if I feed him plenty of it and he isn't short of energy.
 
Mine get Fast Fibre, Dengie Healthy Tummy and micronised linseed plus a hoof and skin supplement. Neither are in work at the mo and are only fed once a day. Ad lib haylage too.
 
In the winter each get an appropriate weight of hay (average 6-8kgs) + a cup of Bailey's Lo-Cal balancer. Two are on hols for the winter, two in light work = 20 min lunge + 30 min school, or 45 min school, or 1hr trotting about the fields (don't do hacking: roads too bl**dy dangerous) 3-4 days a week.
 
Hutchlou said:
Can I ask what you all class as 'light work' too please? :-)
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I do 1 hack for a few hours a week including a gallop or uphill canter, 4 schooling sessions for 40 minutes each in walk and trot and including a pole work session.

I've got a 6yo ex racer who is being re-schooled so keeping it in walk and trot until she is perfectly balanced and working correctly then canter should follow easier in a few months and jumping after.
 
All mine ate not working at the moment and they all have speedi beet and chaff, garlic and soya oil and either hi-fi cubes or pasture mix! All have access to hay 24/7 as much as they will eat!
 
Not really sure about what light work is really. I ride my horse 4 times a week (more in the school hols as I am off work then) for between 1 and a half and 4 hours. I feed him ad lib hay, sugar beet and cool mix. He's about right weight wise - lean and fit, without being fat.
About half of the hacks are fast with 2 or 3 gallops/fast canters, and the other half, mostly walk with a bit of trotting.
 
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elsazzo said:
Just curious really.....with so many diffrerent feeds on the market boasting all sorts of benefits the topic is a bit of a mindfield! So what do you feed your horses is light work & why?
Click to expand...

A scoop of Alfa oil morning and evening, in the summer fast fibre although dependant on work we may stay on the Alfa oil this summer, just a token gesture thought!

Currently hacked and schooled four sessions per week, total hours = 3
 
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Little chubby pony -
Handful of Mollichaff original.
150g of Horse and Pony Direct Low Calorie balancer.
Sprinkling of seaweed.
Chopped up carrot.
Twice daily.

Out on poor grazing from 9am til 5pm everyday. Small haynet full of nice quality hay throughout the night.

She is lunged 2 times a week for 5 minutes either rein. Long reined along quite country lanes 2 times a week for 20-60 minutes,and then is ridden out 1 day a week by child on leadrope for roughly 40 minutes - purely at walk.

My big boy -
2 large handfuls of Mollichaff original.
250g of Horse and pony direct Low Calorie balancer.
Large sprinkling of seaweed.
Chopped carrot.
Twice Daily.

Out with the pony. In at night with a stuffed large haynet,plus 2 slices of hay in his manger.

He's just coming back into work after a bout of lameness.
Schooling 1-2 times a week for 30-40 minutes a time at walk and trot.
Hacking out 3 times a week for around an hour, at walk only if on roads. If able to get to the woods, we have a couple of trots and a canter if he's raring for it. xD
 
Nothing! Out 24/7 and currently muzzled 24/7 but about to start taking it off for the night as has dropped to a sensible weight now the grass has stopped growing.
 
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