Which feed? feed companies advice but still confused!!

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royal

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Hi everyone, sorry this is long!

I've contacted 3 of the main feed companies (A&P, D&H and Spillers) and they have all recommended feeds for my mare, but I still don't know which to go for!

A bit about my horse:
15hh ish x mare. Very laid back / lazy but can be spooky. Has suffered from tying up (4/5 attacks in the last 3 years), currently worked about 6 times a week - 2-3 x hacking of up to 2 hours a time, 2-3 schooling sessions of up to 1 hour each with some fairly intensive work, 1 x jumping session a week up to about 3ft in height.
We concentrate mainly on showing.

Obviously due to the tying up she has to have a low starch/sugar diet. Currently only on Fibergy chaff with pink powder, sodium bicarb and veg oil.

Is out during the day and in at night with soaked hay which is dry weight calculated specifically for her. Muzzled when at grass as too much grass can set off an attack.

She is a good doer but is maintaining weight nicely at the minute and isn't too fat or thin.

Now she is doing more work, she doesn't seem to have enough energy for it and has also started wolfing her straw bed down so clearly needs more in the way of hard feed.

Recommendations have been as follows:
A&P - Ride & Relax
D&H - Staypower cubes (designed to be fed in lower quantities) or Ultimate balancer
Spillers - slow response cubes (not keen on these as she was on these the first time she tied up).

So...anyone have any thoughts, preferences, recomendations?

Creme brulee or chocalate eclair for getting through the essay!!
 
I have used both Staypower cubes and Ultimate Balancer.

The SP I would recommend but when my horse was on UB his coat and hoof condition was fab but his body condition dropped off so I had to top it up with more hard feed making it rather expensive.
 
thanks marmalade....did the staypower cubes induce any fizziness/silliness? and did they actually give a bit more energy?
 
The safest bet would probably be to increase the amount of oil you are feeding, as you can feed this for energy. I wouldn't necessarily go for the A & P range, as their feeds tend to be high in starch, though to be fair I don't know the percentage for R & R, but it will say on their website. If I were in your position, I would feed Alfa-A or Alfa Oil, as they both have a high energy rating, together with Hi-Fibre cubes and a decent balancer (or stick with the Pink Powder), together with extra oil at a rate of up to 60ml per 100kg of bodyweight per day, increased gradually of course!
 
I personally would recommend that you feed her a high oil, high fibre diet...
baileys outshine and a&P fast fibre with baileys lo-cal balancer is a good start.
or
equijewel and releve is a diet formulated for horses who tie up
 
Thanks for the advice stacy.

Unfortunately I definitely won't touch the Alfa's....she tied up the last time she was on alfa a oil and research has shown that high protein levels can cause attacks (alfa a oil has mega high protein!). Something I won't risk again.

She already gets alot of oil (I feed as per epsm diet).

I had thought about the high fibre cubes but they will be going in her treat ball at night to try and cut down the bed eating.

I think with the restricted grazing and higher workload she definitely needs something more in her bucket feed.

Am waiting for Saracen to call me back as we speak...nowhere local ish to me stocks the staypower cubes :mad:
 
My mare is also prone to tying up and she is a very good doer and she is fed TopSpec feed. In teh summer she has Topspec anti-lam and in the inter either the top spec lite or the comprehensive. It is fantastic stuff and her coat and hooves and general well being have never been better. Their advice line is excellent and they do chaff too so can supply a complete diet. It is all non-heating but gives enough energy for hunting, evening etc etc.
 
jenhunt said:
I personally would recommend that you feed her a high oil, high fibre diet...
baileys outshine and a&P fast fibre with baileys lo-cal balancer is a good start.
or
equijewel and releve is a diet formulated for horses who tie up
Click to expand...

Saracen's have just phoned me back. They were great and seemed so knowledgable about tying up.

They have recommended Re-leve at 2kg a day (1 round scoop).

Anyone else fed this?
 
I was just about to say you should talk to Saracen's but just saw you have done.

I would really recommend you go with their advice - give it a try.

A friend of mine used to do some research into tying-up etc and she was really impressed with their work and their feeds. She knew horses that suffered really badly that have gone on to do well with the Saracen's diet.
 
Some more info which may help......

Ride and Relax is quite a low energy feed 9.5mj/kg and has a starch level of 15 and is similar to D&H Leisure Mix (even though D&H didnt suggest this).

Staypower Cubes have a starch level of 15.5 and energy level of 12 mj/kg

Slow Response have a starch level of 12 and energy level of 11 mj/kg and are cereal free.

Stay power and Slow Response are slightly higher in oil too.
 
royal said:
Saracen's have just phoned me back. They were great and seemed so knowledgable about tying up.

They have recommended Re-leve at 2kg a day (1 round scoop).

Anyone else fed this?
Click to expand...

I had a pony who was fed on it, and she looked great and never tied up again... saracen and their american counterparts have done an astonishing amount of research into tying up and EPSM/PSSM and I highly rate their feeds.
 
Hi, i posted a similar feed question to Baileys regarding my mare who had 2x episodes of RER and this is the response:

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding feeding your horse. The first objective when feeding a horse susceptible to Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomylosis (RER) is to try and reduce the carbohydrate or cereal content of the diet and so it is therefore preferable to avoid high cereal based coarse mixes and cubes and use lower cereal based cubes or balancers as these usually have a lower starch (carbohydrate) content. RER can also be caused by the horse not receiving a balanced diet with respect to vitamins and minerals as well as lacking in electrolytes.

From the details provided we would recommend the Baileys Lo-Cal to provide your horse with a balance of vitamins and minerals, whilst keeping the carbohydrates to a minimum. The Lo-Cal has been formulated to be fed as the sole concentrate source as a forage balancer for horses and ponies. It is a small palatable pellet containing essential nutrients to promote a healthy coat and hooves, maintain condition and maintenance of muscle without significantly increasing calorie intake. The Lo-Cal also contains a yeast culture to aid fibre digestion and efficient gut function. The Lo-Cal is designed to be fed in small quantities thereby minimising calorie intake, but providing good levels of vitamins and minerals. It is free from traditional grains such as oats, maize and barley. We would suggest feeding in the region of 1-1.5lbs (0.45-0.68kg) per day.

As the horse’s energy requirements are increased, adjustments to the diet will need to be made extremely gradually. As her work intensity increases or if further weight and condition is required it would be beneficial to consider the inclusion of different energy sources. Fibre found from hay, pasture and alfalfa as well fats and oils used as an alternative energy source is preferable.

To increase the energy density of the ration in a safe format, the ration may be top-dressed with the Baileys Outshine. This is a high fat supplement consisting of a palatable blend of oils. The addition of this blend provides the horse with a highly concentrated source of readily available energy resulting in increased endurance during competition and reduced recovery time afterwards. It also contains added body salts and other nutrients such as selenium and vitamin E, which are essential in muscle metabolism and vital for protecting the muscle cells and so is preferable to feeding straight oil. Feeding rates would vary between 1-3lbs (0.45-1.4kg) per day as required.

This can be bulked out with a low molassed chaff and sugar beet if required. All new feeds should be introduced over a period of 7-10 days and plenty of forage should be made available.

My mare is looking good on this and 'touch wood' no RER.

FYI - we are on pretty poor grazing and my mare is hacked/schooled most days, warmed up, cooled down and plenty of turnout.

Hope this helps.
 
teazle - i was thinking of the ers pellets too...its so hard to decide whats best!
The other problem is our local saddleries don't stock them or the staypower cubes and ordering them is a bit hit and miss (they don't tell you if their supplier didn't have it in stock until it doesn't turn up on the lorry!)....

I have found one place thats a bit further afield and they do stock the releve as standard but do very little D&H feeds....


smartie bean and mahoganybay - thanks for the info - i've previously tried her on the lo-cal and whilst it was an ok feed, it certainly did nothing for her energy levels...
 
I don't know whether you have heard of or come across Thunderbrook Feeds, Debbie there has a totally different approach to feeding and specialises in metabolic syndrome and tie ups etc, worth a call.
 
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