What I'm feeding...

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lucy1984

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I have a 16.2hh thoroughbred who is 20 years old and a 16.3hh wbxtb who is 3½ years old. They are both living out in a 5 acre field. (For the first winter!!)

They are rugged now full time - the wbxtb just has a rain sheet on and the tb has a medium weight rug on (When it gets a bit colder I will dig out their warmer rugs)

IMO the 3½ is nicley rounded, the tb is a bit less in weight but you can't see ribs but can just feel them... (The tb is retired btw and the young one isnt being ridden yet)

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I'm feeding the tb on Alfa-A Oil (one big round scoop full) and half a big round scoop of economy mix. I also add NAF general purpose supplement and a scoop of garlic granules. The wbxtb has the same but a bit less. I feed this once in the morning only.

They are also having a large haynet each in the mornings.

I was going to feed sugarbeet and barley too but I've been told to leave it till after Dec when it gets colder/or if they start to lose condition.

What I'm feeding them seems to be doing the trick so far as they don't seem to be losing condition.

What do you think of this? What do you feed? All opinions welcome.
 
That seems ideal! However, you don't really need the garlic in winter and the whole fly repellent thing is doubtfull if it works at all. And there's probably some garlic in the supplement too. They look in lovely condition and may I applaud you on your smart tyre/bucket arrangement. My bucket tyres are ancient, torn and filled round the sides with shavings, and my buckets are black £2 ones... can you tell I spent most of my money on the horse?
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i think they look not to bad at all you can tell wich one is the older he/she just looks a typical older tb. i would maybe give them another net at night but thats just me whatever is working for them i guess looks as though you have good grazing and the chestnut certainly looks good
 
They look super! Get yourself a weigh tape and you can get a rough guide by taking a measurement each week. Fibre is best and your grass looks super and it is still growing thanks to the mild weather (!)
 
They look fine ATM and I certainly wouldn't add any more feed unless they start to drop weight - if you do you might find they end up too fat coming into spring and thats just as risky for horses as it is for ponies, and not good for their joints either.

What I would be tempted to do, however, is feed hay ad lib in the field if you can - once the grass loses its goodness and stops growing they'll be feeling hungry and could drop weight pretty quickly if they aren't having enough hay. (Speaking as someone whose horse was being bullied away from the hay in the field last winter and only had access to it in her stable overnight - she lost weight dramatically and 4kg of build up a day (thanks YO
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) couldn't put the weight back on. My old boss swore that the secret to keeping weight on a TB is stuff them with as much quality forage as possible and I believe its true.
 
They look fine to me. Just have to keep a close eye on the older one because oldies can drop off very quickly in winter and it is easier to maintain weight than it is to gain it at that age.
One thing you could do is to feed the hay at night instead of in the morning. When fibre is digested it releases alot of warmth, so if fed at night when its colder the horse gets central heating when it needs it!

When it gets colder increase the alfa a oil and add unmollssed sugar beet and you might not need any barley.
 
Looking good, my old TB, get, 2 scoops of alfalfa, 2 scoops of build up and 1/2 of SB.

Wish he could survive on what yours does, would save me a fourtune
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, he is in a MW, thought about putting HW on today as it is freezing here, but trying to put it off for as long a possible, put a big round bale out tonight for them all, so hopfuly that will keep him warm, he was doing a good job of keeping it all to himself
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[ QUOTE ]
One thing you could do is to feed the hay at night instead of in the morning. When fibre is digested it releases alot of warmth, so if fed at night when its colder the horse gets central heating when it needs it!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for all your comments!
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I will definately start feeding them more hay - especially at night from the above quote, good thinking
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