What would you feed the new horse?

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horsegirl

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She is a fraction over 16HH TBXID 10 or 11 years old, a good doer and a little overweight at the moment. She will be ridden 4 or 5 times a week for about an hour mostly walk and trot, maybe a few bursts of canter and a bit of jumping (2ftish) at the weekend.
 
To start, I would feed her mainly on hay/haylage and just feed a balancer or a vit/min supplement mixed with a handful of chaff or beet.

Use a weight tape once a week to work out whether she is losing, gaining or maintaining weight and then decide whether she needs more feed.
 
definitely don't overfeed as moving to a new place can cause a few problems and as it's winter you may find that the work 5 times a week doesn't always happen

so basic hay and hi-fi and perhaps a few nuts on the days when worked.
 
Keep it simple until she finds her feet. Alfa A or Alpha Oil with a bit of beet and broad spectrum vits. Ad lib hay/haylage to help her settle in. Keep assessing her condition and energy levels.
Did the last owner not supply you with feed details?
 
She hasn't moved yards and yes I know what she is fed at the moment, her previous owner has given me a lot of her feed but she feeds to a different method. I like to feed plenty of forage so my horse has a huge bucket of feed that is mainly alfafa whereas she is fed a small amount of mix with only a handful of chaff (hifi) so has finished eating in about 5 mins
 
I've just got a new horse, and his previous owners gave him nothing but hay. He's usually going to be kept with another horse (although she's away at the moment) so I want him to have feed as well so he joins in with the yard routine. Also thinks it helps them to settle. He's 15.3 6 year old ISH. So I've been giving him Hi-Fi and speedibeet, with carrots. He also has a Dengie Stable lick. He's been with us nearly 3 weeks and so far his temperament is fine, he lost a little condition in the move but still looks well. Personally I would always start with plenty of fibre and no starch/cereal, especially in winter when exercise may be limited, and then gradually adjust it once normal work starts in the Spring.
 
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