What to feed a TBxIrish Draught to maintain current weight/cond?

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kezza18

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I am thinking of changing the feed for my 18hh, 714kg TBxIrish Draught horse who is at the moment of good weight and condition to something that maintains his weight (which he can lose quickly) and condition, and to something that also keeps his excitability/fizzyness at bay, all without costing an absolute fortune!! Currently he is on the Top Spec Comp Balancer (2 bags per month at £45.00 is not cheap!!), Top Spec Top Chop Lite, Top Spec Coll Condition Cubes and also the Top Spec Calmer with a handful of Speedi-Beet with each meal (fed twice daily). Also an endless supply of hay when stabled and we have all year turnout with good field sizes and grass. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to feed larger horses that need to maintain their current condition and weight that doesn't send them loopy and is cost effective? Any info/advice would be hugely appreciated :)
 
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This will sound very unhelpful but if he's looking and feeling good on his current diet why change it?

ETA: I know cost is a factor but if you change and he then loses condition you will spend more trying to get it back.
 
Persoanlly i would have a look at the balancer and see if you actually need that- it wont be what's keeping the weight on!
 
That's why I was looking for some advice and find out what others in the same situation feed on, I am reluctant to change his feed just in case he did start loosing weight/condition but then on the other hand there might be something out there that maintains both and not as costly. Thanks.
 
Might be worth trying copra. My lot are retired/semi retired competition horses who live out 24/7, and they look fabulous on it, even carrying a bit too much weight - despite the vile weather we've had
 
Auslander said:
Might be worth trying copra. My lot are retired/semi retired competition horses who live out 24/7, and they look fabulous on it, even carrying a bit too much weight - despite the vile weather we've had
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I was looking at changing him to the alfa a oil, keeping his topspec cool condition cubes and also adding some linseed? I have had a look at a lot of different brands and feeds and was considering the Allen & Page Calm and Condition although most feed back I have heard about tends to leave horses with extra fizz so do not want to even attempt that as he really doesn't need extra fizz! I think the alfa a oil, linseed and cool cubes are my best move forward for the moment and if it doesn't work then I can always put him back on to what he is currently being fed! Thanks 😊
 
I have a 17.2hh TBxID who is, admittedly, a fairly good do-er, but all I feed him is chaff (Happy Hoof around £12/fortnight), speedibeet (around £10 every 3 weeks or so, I give him a scoop a day), and Alltech lifeforce balancer (£66 for three months supply). So my feed bill is under 60/month I guess. The Lifeforce really helps keep the weight on as he's digesting his feed properly, and there's no need for a separate calmer. He is sugar-intolerant, and this mixture seems to work for him. To be honest, the best thing you can do for keeping weight on is ad-lib his hay or haylage - George gets about 2/3rd a small bale of hay a day. When he was on haylage, I had to give him 28lbs/night for ad-lib - and he was getting fat on that.

I found Top Spec balancer incredibly expensive - from memory it was something like £60/month - actually, that might have been for 2 horses as I did have 2 on it at the time) but I was also feeding nuts at about £10/week as well as well as chaff - so I guess my feed bill then was about £100/month.
 
Thanks for that 😃 he does get plenty hay and the grass is good when it comes through where we are so hoping during the summer he will get all he needs from the grass (as well as what i am planning to change his feed too) and won't miss his balancer too much, I am just more worried about changing his feed to something that affects his behaviour and weight and condition so want to make sure that I'm choosing the correct feed, such a headache!! I suppose it will just be trial and error but don't want to end up spending loads on dif feeds that are going to end up being wasted if they end up being no good so really hoping that the alfa a oil etc will suit him as will be much less costly as i am £140.00 on feed alone at the moment and that is before hay and livery.
 
I have heard that some horses react badly to Alfa, so do be careful with it. Does he really need the cubes that's you're feeding him as well as the beet? In the summer I don't give G any hard feed except chaff for his supplements, and he's just the right weight. He's been getting the beet as he needed a bit more oomph as we came into winter.
 
JennBags said:
I have heard that some horses react badly to Alfa, so do be careful with it. Does he really need the cubes that's you're feeding him as well as the beet? In the summer I don't give G any hard feed except chaff for his supplements, and he's just the right weight. He's been getting the beet as he needed a bit more oomph as we came into winter.
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The alfa a oil is fine for him he was on it before and it is non heating same as the cool cubes the only reason he was put on a feeding plan advised by topspec was because at the end of last winter he lost condition and weight due to being in a field with not very good grass at a dif yard, he was on the alfa a oil with sugar beet and dodson & horrell conditoning mix which the conditioning mix left him a bit loopy due to the amont of sugar in it but since moving yard and changing feed he has been great behaviour and condition/weight wise! I probably won't need the cubes or at least the same amount of cubes once the better grass is through it is just the balancer that is always going to cost a fortune as at £45 per bag every two weeks which is a lot as he needs 750g a day! So of he was feeding on alfa a oil at £16 a bag very two weeks or so and cubes till grass is through is a huge saving compared to what I am currently paying although I do realise if he doesn't do well without topspec feeding plan then he will just need to be fed it and there is nothing I can do about it but really hoping the alfa a oil, cool cubes and linseed will be good for him therefore save me a small fortune.

Oh and I have already started to fizzle out the beet and calmer as don't think he needs it tbh well def not the beet anyway! If he changes behaviour dramatically i can always re-introduce the calmer but really think he will be fine without it, he is like a dif horse this winter compared to last winter! Much more chilled and better behaved due to change of feed 😊
 
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Seriously, if you're looking to save money and keep condition, you're better off dropping the cubes and keeping the beet! Also I'd be dropping the top spec balancer, it's even more expensive than I remember it, and it didn't do enough for my horses to make it worthwhile. If you need a balancer, look into a powder one such as the Lifeforce, or Spillers TEN or pink powder; they work just as well (if not better) and are nowhere near as expensive. If course the top spec lady is going to out you on a top spec diet - they want to sell their products :wink3:
 
catherine22 said:
Have a look at Winergy Conditioning, I have my TB and ISH on it (along with adlib haylage) and they're both looking brilliant on it, plus its only about £12 a bag
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Bear in mind that Winergy comes in 15kg bags whereas most feeds are sold in 20kg bags. Also most places seem to sell it at £13.69 for 15kg, so would work out as £18.25 for 20kg, so not exactly a cheap option!
 
TGM said:
Bear in mind that Winergy comes in 15kg bags whereas most feeds are sold in 20kg bags. Also most places seem to sell it at £13.69 for 15kg, so would work out as £18.25 for 20kg, so not exactly a cheap option!
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Still a looot cheaper than what I am currently paying a month 😊
 
You could look at Saracen Releve which is a low starch, low sugar, but high calorie (12.9 MJDE/kg) feed, prices seem to range from £13.69 to £16.99 for a 20kg bag.
 
Add Copra/Coolstance and/or Micronised linseed to your Speedibeet

Replace lite chop with Top spec just grass

Equimins advance Vit or pro balance to replace TS balancer

Not massive changes but saves a few ££
 
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