what should i be feeding my horse ??

[hannah28]

hey guys

i no its summer and all, but i am already thinking about what i will be feeding my neddy going back into winter, he is not being fed at the min but i will probably start feeding early october depending on the weather.

i have only had him 9 months and he is my first own horse, he is a 8yo welshXtb medium weight, last winter i fed him dengi hi-fi origonal and pony nuts, however im thinking of changing ??

he holds his weight fairly well and are grass is generally good, what do people recommend?? also what is the differance between hi-fi and alfpha-a ??

oh yeah,, he will be working about four times a week and will be clipped but well rugged and stabled at night.

 

[TGM]

Why do you want to change from last winter's diet of pony nuts and HiFi? If you can tell us what the problem was with that diet, it will help us suggest an alternative!

HiFi Original is basically chopped alfalfa and straw mixed together (with some molasses), the calorie count is 8 MJDE/kg and it is 10% protein. Alfa A Original is chopped alfalfa (coated with molasses) and is higher in calories than HiFi, having 10 MJDE/kg and also higher in protein at 14%.

 

[hannah28]

heyy

i guess there was no real problem, he was getting through quite a lot of it, would he need less if i used alfa-a?
and i just thought about change as i got a free sample from badminton horse feeds and a leaflet of their products and just wasnt sure if he was getting the right type of feed

 

[TGM]

Yes, in theory, as Alfa A is slightly higher in calories than HiFi you can feed a little less and get the same weight gain effect. However, it won't be a huge difference.

How much HiFi and how much pony nuts (by weight) were you feeding each day in the winter? Did he need that much to maintain condition? Was he on adlib hay or haylage? Usually, forage such as hay and haylage works out considerably cheaper than hard feed for keeping weight on, so start by giving as much hay/haylage as you can, and then just add what extra hard feed is needed to maintain weight.