Which Feed?

[MoodleCob]

Good evening all!

I have an overweight 14.2 cob. She is currently being fed Mollichaff Showshine because that's what's included in livery I'm going to start providing her own feed as it's not exactly the best thing for her, I'm thinking Allen and Page slim and healthy. Can anyone else suggest any other feeds, I don't want to be feeding her rubbish, and I'm not worried about price.

Thanks all and hope you have a great weekend!

 

[L&M]

How about Allen and Page's fast fibre? It is also designed to be lo-cal and is fully balanced so no need for additional vit/mins supplements etc.

My two have been on it for the last 2 winters and have found it very economical, they love the taste, and look well on it.

 

[Irishbabygirl]

Maybe just a balancer if she's that much of a good do-er?

 

[3Beasties]

Nothing, if she doesn't need feeding'then don't feed her!

 

[kaiserchief]

I feed my boy Pure Easy which I think is wonderful. It smells fab, has nothing nasty in it, Kai adores it and is looking fabulous for the time of year.

http://www.thepurefeedcompany.com/products/pure-easy

He's neither a good nor poor doer though - I can feel but not see his ribs all year round, he isn't cresty and has no fat pads and I fully intend to keep him that way. I'd rather have him a bit light than overweight. Given this it may be that your mare would do well on just a balancer (Pure do one called Pure Balance).

As you say she is currently overweight, what is her feed/turnout/riding regime? This is a seriously high risk time of year for horses to develop laminitis and a good time to look at her overall management to try and reduce the likelihood of her developing the condition.

I'd be inclined to weigh and soak (and rinse well) her hay, and feed it double or triple netted to eke it out, work her every day and avoid turning her out in a field which has enough grass for her to happily stand in one place eating - mud with a few tufts dotted about the place and tasty trees and hedges is (in my opinion) much safer as it will encourage movement (if you have no choice over fields, I'd muzzle).

Obviously when you're restricting a horse's intake it is important that they don't miss out on vital minerals so a balancer is very useful in that respect.

Good luck - managing a good doer has to be one of the most difficult things ever! I remember one winter my old mare had lived out 24/7 and came out fatter in the spring than the previous autumn due to me kindly feeding her tons of hay due to the snow when in fact she was quite capable of foraging and finding her own food. I ended up keeping her in and working her every day for a month before I was happy with her weight and able to turn her out with a muzzle on.

 

[Littlelegs]

Nothing! If you feel guilty give her a token gesture of a mug of hi-fi or happy hoof. If she has acc

 

[Littlelegs]

Phone! If she has access to grazing then wouldn't even bother with a vitamin/ mineral supplement myself.

 

[Spyda]

I wouldn't not give a multi vit/min supplement, even on grass. Modern grazing isn't what it used to be. I'd not plan to feed anything except a handful of whatever chaff you fancy buying with a decent general purpose supplement mixed in. Same in winter, with enough hay to keep her in condition. Unless she really lacks energy, I am sure she will be fine on grass/hay and a general supplement.

 

[Littlelegs]

Spyda, find that quite an interesting point, I suppose it depends on the grazing really. I've always had good doers on plenty of low quality grazing & only in overnight in winter. Unless old or ill i've never gone in for supplements for fatties, even over winter when really they're pretty much on a few carrots & hay.

 

[Spyda]

Spyda, find that quite an interesting point, I suppose it depends on the grazing really. I've always had good doers on plenty of low quality grazing & only in overnight in winter. Unless old or ill i've never gone in for supplements for fatties, even over winter when really they're pretty much on a few carrots & hay.

I'm the sort who'd rather err on the side of caution. Seeing the low levels of minerals in many fresh grass and hay analyses across the country suggests a GP supplement wont hurt. Whilst ideally every horse owner would have their grass and hay personally analysed for deficiencies and inbalances, it's expensive and many can't or won't. Since the 70's I've been adding a GP supplement to my horses diet, back then Codlivine sold in a little hessian bag; these days I'm getting my forage analysed for specific inbalances but it doesn't have to be that complicated! I'd recommend a basic GP supplement because just because you're a fatty cob doesn't mean you're getting all your vits and mins from your forage alone diet.

 

[Littlelegs]

Spyda I agree its best to view on side of caution, I will freely admit my response wasn't phrased very well & based on the assumption a horse would only be on grazing/ hay alone if it was suitable grazing. Got to admit mine have hay in winter from the same pasture they graze in summer so I stand corrected as I haven't a clue about the content of the ops forage. See we agree on the hard feed tho!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

If she's even slightly overweight, she doesn't supplementary feeding. Give her a Himalayan salt lick and hay.

 

[Ladydragon]

I personally like the routine of feeding even when they're out 24/7... They are all waiting to come in and get a bit of grub and time to have a good groom and check over before tootling back out to turnout or doing a bit of work... Plus if you do need to throw some oral meds or supplements into them it helps (me anyway) if it can be mixed into a feed...

My daughter had a very overweight pony on loan... An older girl at 18yrs... When she arrived she had a heavy hanging crest and a cullulite bum... She just has a little bit of Allen & Paige's L Mix... Over winter when they were in at night she had a smallish haylage net overnight... High in fibre, very low starch and no straight sugar... It looks a bit like rabbit food but other than her neck still hanging a bit (I don't think it'll ever come right), she's in great condition now...

 

[Rosie'smum]

Rose was overweight but all i feed her is half scoop of top chop lite and 450g (100g to every 100kg) of baileys lo-cal balancer and is has dropped so much weight!
But of course feed is not everything and exercise is most important.