What would you feed my horse?

[Firehorse]

He’s 14.2, 10 years old. Lives out 24/7. Stripped grazed so once it’s munched, they’re scratching around at short regrowth in other areas. He has been hungry when it’s been raining & windy lately.
He’s ridden 3 times a week, hacking from 1 hour to 3 hours. Short canters, plenty of hills!
To me he looks a little ribby but his dentist said last week, he’s perfect. He’s a welsh cob type but quite lightweight. Definitely not a typical cob.
When I bought him he was hving half a scoop of nuts twice a day which I continued. Hay or haylage in winter.
Recently he’s been a bit dull. He’s healthy so no worries there. I’ve been slowly changing his nuts over to a course mix with a little more digestible energy. This has done the trick & given him his enthusiasm back. But on 3/4 a scoop once a day. He’s also getting micronised linseed.
Should I add chaff to bulk it out so he gets a full scoop of feed? Or just add chaff over winter? Or just stick with what he has? I feed once a day in the morning and then he gets the grass in the afternoon/evening. And obvs haylage in winter. I can’t feed him hay during summer to fill him up as he lives with 7 others who aren’t mine.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Could you bring him in for enough time to let him have a haynet? He sounds like he needs more fibre.

 

[Firehorse]

Could you bring him in for enough time to let him have a haynet? He sounds like he needs more fibre.

We don’t hve stables. They all live out 24/7. Sometimes I can put him in a separate paddock to get more grass but it’s not always possible depending which areas are being grazed.

 

[tallyho!]

Personally I can’t see the point of chaff for bulking out... your paying good money for what is essentially just hay/straw chopped up. You could scrape that off the floor yourself, right?

For me, what goes in a bucket has to provide some value over and above the forage so it has to be nutrient rich. Micronised linseed is great, herbs are great, sunflower seeds, carrots apples etc. plus essential amino acid rich foods/supplements that might be lacking in a strip graze scenario.

Don’t feel like you have to “bulk up”, I’m sure it was a way marketeers invented to sell bagged feeds. If you feel you’re giving enough to provide the energy you need, that’s perfect.

 

[windand rain]

I would ditch the coarse mix and give a basic feed of grass nuts grass chaff micronised linseed and a good broad spectrum vitamin mineral supplement. Coarse mix is the work of the devil and causes far more issues than it helps. It also depends on how hungry you think he is as if he has an empty belly it needs filling with fibre to keep his digestion going restricted grazing means he needs a full tummy as extra or he will get ulcers if he is slim grass chaff will do the job if he is fat oat straw will. If he is on his own/ with company with the same needs in the field he can have hay which would be best

 

[Leo Walker]

I'd feed him grass nuts or pink mash, some sort of carrier and then add a decent mineral balancer. They don't get everything they need on restricted grazing and it can make them feel really hungry. I feed equimins advance complete but there are a few similar. I'd also be adding salt at 10gms per 100kgs of bodyweight and 100gms of linseed if I fed grass nuts, not needed with pink mash.

I do add a huge scoop of chopped hay/straw chaff to feeds if they will eat it. I find turning them back out full does help stop gorging. With restricted grazing yours may well need more fibre, so I'd look to get a chopped straw chaff and add a big scoop or two to the feed.

 

[SpringArising]

+1 on @windand rain and @Leo Walker - it sounds like he's genuinely hungry with probably an empty stomach which is definitely not good. You need to work out a way of either giving him the hay that he needs, or adding a fibre to his feed.

 

[holeymoley]

Hay only. As it sounds like he’s lacking in fibre. I would avoid grains. These types can survive off very little. If you’re wanting to add a bit of something linseed or speedi beet would probably do. I’d also try a balancer or vitamin supplement to make sure he had everything needed.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I would just feed hay sounds like his not getting enough from the grass but doesn't really need hard feed, I would always just feed hay over hard feèd anyway and if the grass is space his obviously not getting enough fibre and roughage.

 

[sunleychops]

I would ditch the coarse mix and give a basic feed of grass nuts grass chaff micronised linseed and a good broad spectrum vitamin mineral supplement. Coarse mix is the work of the devil and causes far more issues than it helps. It also depends on how hungry you think he is as if he has an empty belly it needs filling with fibre to keep his digestion going restricted grazing means he needs a full tummy as extra or he will get ulcers if he is slim grass chaff will do the job if he is fat oat straw will. If he is on his own/ with company with the same needs in the field he can have hay which would be best

"Coarse Mix" is far away from being the work of the devil, The problems arise when people don't follow recommendations and/or don't know why they are feeding what they are.

Also, have you seen the papers linking feeding oat straw with higher prevalence of EGUS?.....

 

[twiggy2]

A handful of Non molasses speed beet, salt, micronised linseed and a good supplement.
Then as others have said I would feed forage, being hungry when it's raining and windy would indicate to me that he needs more forage to keep his gut working- this will keep him warm. It's really not good for horses to have empty guts, in all honesty if you cannot give him the forage he needs at that yard you need a new yard.

 

[windand rain]

"Coarse Mix" is far away from being the work of the devil, The problems arise when people don't follow recommendations and/or don't know why they are feeding what they are.

Also, have you seen the papers linking feeding oat straw with higher prevalence of EGUS?.....

Carbohydrate as in grain molasses and other high carb diets are noted for the prevalence of ulcers and other diseases related to high sugar high starch diets no one suggested exclusive use of oat straw but perhaps you could point me to scientific, unrelated to feed company, research that suggests a balanced diet including oat straw increases the risk of EGUS as it may actually fibre length rather ran type that makes the biggest difference. Saracens feeds are not independant researchers

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Hay, soaked if necessary and definitely not pony nuts or coarse mix.

 

[JFTDWS]

Hay. Not pony nuts or coarse mix in a million years What is this place coming to?

 

[Mule]

I'd give him hay in the separate area you mentioned, so he can eat it without the other horses trying to take it.

 

[sunleychops]

Carbohydrate as in grain molasses and other high carb diets are noted for the prevalence of ulcers and other diseases related to high sugar high starch diets no one suggested exclusive use of oat straw but perhaps you could point me to scientific, unrelated to feed company, research that suggests a balanced diet including oat straw increases the risk of EGUS as it may actually fibre length rather ran type that makes the biggest difference. Saracens feeds are not independant researchers

Whilst I don't argue with you the fact that high starch meals are attributed to egus it needs to be evaluated that horses do not eat percentages and people need to start looking at starch g/meal rather than just see a percentage and freak out.

The paper I refer to is Risk factors associated with equine gastric ulceration syndrome (EGUS) in 201 horses in Denmark and was not done in collaboration with a feed company.

 

[windand rain]

Whilst I don't argue with you the fact that high starch meals are attributed to egus it needs to be evaluated that horses do not eat percentages and people need to start looking at starch g/meal rather than just see a percentage and freak out.

The paper I refer to is Risk factors associated with equine gastric ulceration syndrome (EGUS) in 201 horses in Denmark and was not done in collaboration with a feed company.

Will have a look the only rather vague research I found was by saracns and as their recent promotion is a load of hooha they are not high on on my list of feed suppliers https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2746/042516409X441929 if if this is the research it states straw as the only source of forage as again no one is suggesting this it is a bit irrelevant. This also is research into horses exclusively housed not the in/out or out /out routine we follow in all conscience as good management for our horses.
It just confirms that 24/hour stabling contributes to ulcers and forage should be primary and varied
It also suggests water was with held if the horses were turned out. Measures of starch had a higher affect and feeding at greater than 6 hr intervals was also significant

 

[Barton Bounty]

He’s 14.2, 10 years old. Lives out 24/7. Stripped grazed so once it’s munched, they’re scratching around at short regrowth in other areas. He has been hungry when it’s been raining & windy lately.
He’s ridden 3 times a week, hacking from 1 hour to 3 hours. Short canters, plenty of hills!
To me he looks a little ribby but his dentist said last week, he’s perfect. He’s a welsh cob type but quite lightweight. Definitely not a typical cob.
When I bought him he was hving half a scoop of nuts twice a day which I continued. Hay or haylage in winter.
Recently he’s been a bit dull. He’s healthy so no worries there. I’ve been slowly changing his nuts over to a course mix with a little more digestible energy. This has done the trick & given him his enthusiasm back. But on 3/4 a scoop once a day. He’s also getting micronised linseed.
Should I add chaff to bulk it out so he gets a full scoop of feed? Or just add chaff over winter? Or just stick with what he has? I feed once a day in the morning and then he gets the grass in the afternoon/evening. And obvs haylage in winter. I can’t feed him hay during summer to fill him up as he lives with 7 others who aren’t mine.

I would add coolstance copra, the only thing imo that gives super condition without any fizz, you get fab results in a very short time and you dont need a lot of it, add some honeychop lite chaff and some micronised linseed and you have a really good dinner, not heating and not bad for any ulcer horses as my boy has them , no mixes or grains! They are so bad nutritionally too 😊

 

[Jellymoon]

Can he have more grass? Or failing that, some hay? That would be my first port of call.