What to add to diet of a horse on ryegrass?

[ycbm]

Ludo's grazing is now mostly rye, his haylage is made from mostly rye and I'm pretty sure most grass nuts I can get at suppliers round here are rye.

I'm concerned about the lack of diversity in his diet. What would you add, if anything?

I should add, he can't eat alfalfa or linseed.
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[ycbm]

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[Tiddlypom]

Oily herbs (thyme, oregano and rosemary) as per recommended by Equibiome would be a good start, along with a selection of other dried meadow herbs and plants such as hawthorn, dandelion, nettle, cleavers and marigold.

I'm currently feeding a wheelbarrow full of partially wilted freshly pulled cleavers and nettles a day to my 3 .

 

[LadyGascoyne]

D&H do a hedgerow herbs mix.

Copied from the site…

Composition:

Nettle and mint – support healthy skin, coat, and immune system.
Dandelion, thyme, and red clover head – provide a variety of diets and promote health and wellbeing.
Oregano and rosehips – sources of natural antioxidants.

Not too expensive either.

 

[milliepops]

FWIW you can buy emerald green online direct from them if you were that way inclined, they use fescue in the standard pellets i think, meadow magic may contain other stuff. they're great to deal with, IME.

 

[ycbm]

Interesting TP. I'm hand grazing him right now because the fields have been sprayed and he's in for a few days, and he is taking dandelion and leaves from oak trees.

Do you know of any commercial mixes available of good herbs?
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[Tiddlypom]

My homemade mix is based on Feedmark No Fill. Feedmark often do good offers.

https://www.feedmark.com/en/no-fill-2

They also do a Hedge Herb mix.

https://www.feedmark.com/en/hedge-h...4BTkfRj4pbcOTa9ZcKlP9j41ucfJKGvRoCA-kQAvD_BwE

I make up the oregano/thyme/rosemary mix separately and they get 50ml x 2 daily of that too.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

For those feeding nettles just be careful as they are high in iron and many horses don’t need extra. Cleavers are excellent for water retention so those with filled legs or animals on box rest.

 

[Tiddlypom]

For those feeding nettles just be careful as they are high in iron and many horses don’t need extra. Cleavers are excellent for water retention so those with filled legs or animals on box rest.

Thanks for that, I'll ease up on the nettles. All the hedgerows round here are overrun with cleavers at the moment, the horses love it.

 

[milliepops]

I got no-fill as a trial when Feedmark were developing it. My horses went mad for it. I will file that away in my mind for winter when they are inside more!

 

[criso]

FWIW you can buy emerald green online direct from them if you were that way inclined, they use fescue in the standard pellets i think, meadow magic may contain other stuff. they're great to deal with, IME.

Both Emerald green and Dengie use fescue as the grass in their chops but still not exactly diverse.

A lot of cleavers at the moment and Hawthorn, Cow Parsley is just finishing here but may still be around where you are. I do a little handgrazing in case Tigger finds things not in the fields and he goes crazy for the reeds that grow by the pond.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Would anyone mind sharing a close up photo of cleavers? I'm currently feeding nettles (and the only herbs) but would keen to feed cleavers too I'm just not confident I'd recognise it!

 

[criso]

Would anyone mind sharing a close up photo of cleavers? I'm currently feeding nettles (and the only herbs) but would keen to feed cleavers too I'm just not confident I'd recognise it!

Aside from how it looks it's really sticky, also called Sticky grass or Sticky Weed. So that will help you know you've found the right one.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Also known as sticky willy! You'll know it when you touch it! It sticks to your clothes. It's what my mare is enjoying in the pic in my earlier post.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Would anyone mind sharing a close up photo of cleavers? I'm currently feeding nettles (and the only herbs) but would keen to feed cleavers too I'm just not confident I'd recognise it!

You can’t mistake it, Cleavers or Sticky weed is everywhere and does stick to you like glue.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Thank you! I'll start searching the hedgerows for er, sticky willies ?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

OP, Agrobs Weisencobs are more diverse than EG.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

We have always known it as Sweetheart.

 

[ycbm]

OP, Agrobs Weisencobs are more diverse than EG.

I'll take a look. I've ordered some herbs meanwhile.
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[millikins]

My natives are all on Agrobs Weisencobs. They all love it, even the very fussy old connie and look very well on it. It's not always easy to source, seems expensive but a bag lasts ages.

 

[PurBee]

If the grazing is mostly ryegrass, and im guessing in summer thats a large chunk of his intake, i’d swap the added rye haylage for mixed grass haylage to add different grasses to his diet.
There’s a lot more haylage companies now in the uk offering mixed grass haylage, than there were even a handful of years ago, and most do pallet deliveries. I’d caution to order 1 bag first to try/check-out before committing to a whole pallet with a new supplier.

 

[PurBee]

When i asked agrobs what specific plants/grasses were in their mix they said it was a company secret. ? I’ve imported alpine hays from eastern europe and there was significant alpine clover and alfalfa in the mix, so if ludo is very intolerant of alfalfa, i’d email agrobs direct to get them to confirm directly whether or not alfalfa is in the mix.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

I fear I might very much be the only weirdo but just a warning to anyone who wants to pick cleavers. I’m incredibly reactive to it and come out in big red welts if it touches bare skin ???‍. Apparently it is a thing for the select few ??‍.

 

[Marigold4]

I feed mine meadow grass haylage and Thunderbrooks mradow grass chaff with TB meadow nuts. Their grazing is ryegrass so dealing with same problem.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

When i asked agrobs what specific plants/grasses were in their mix they said it was a company secret. ? I’ve imported alpine hays from eastern europe and there was significant alpine clover and alfalfa in the mix, so if ludo is very intolerant of alfalfa, i’d email agrobs direct to get them to confirm directly whether or not alfalfa is in the mix.

I can be pretty certain that there is no alfalfa in Weisencobs, our previous Appy couldn't tolerate it and was fine with the cobs. It's not a grass anyway, so the cobs would be misdescribed if they did contain alfalfa, which is a legume.

 

[Pinkvboots]

What about just grass chaff to add the herbs into I use the Emerald grass tastic the horses really enjoy it.

 

[ycbm]

Is there a chaff you can suggest with no alfalfa or linseed oil (they are often coated with it to stop them being dusty) but mixed varieties of grasses/ herbs?
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[ycbm]

I feed mine meadow grass haylage and Thunderbrooks mradow grass chaff with TB meadow nuts. Their grazing is ryegrass so dealing with same problem.

I am so oooooooo reluctant to use the company that abusive pervert works for.....

 

[ycbm]

If the grazing is mostly ryegrass, and im guessing in summer thats a large chunk of his intake, i’d swap the added rye haylage for mixed grass haylage to add different grasses to his diet.
There’s a lot more haylage companies now in the uk offering mixed grass haylage, than there were even a handful of years ago, and most do pallet deliveries. I’d caution to order 1 bag first to try/check-out before committing to a whole pallet with a new supplier.

I don't have any option on the haylage, it's made on site.
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[ycbm]

My natives are all on Agrobs Weisencobs. They all love it, even the very fussy old connie and look very well on it. It's not always easy to source, seems expensive but a bag lasts ages.

They look really good but I have heard of supply issues too. Does anyone know if this has improved?
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