why buy branded feed?

[cptrayes]

I went into my local feed place and asked for two bags of their own brand CFS cubes. They misheard me and thought I'd said Spillers, and I nearly fell over backwards at the amount of money they asked for.

I'm really puzzled. The own brand cubes are made by a huge and very reputable manufacturer.

If you buy branded horse food when you know own brand are available, why? I'm really intrigued.

 

[dianchi]

Sadly their isn't an own brand Calm and Condition I would be on it like a shot!

I would bet that their own brand are made by that reputable company in Braintree? Its a good money spinner that one!

I have swapped off Charnwood Linseed onto a cheaper/own brand one and saving a few extra £'s and its got a higher oil content!

I guess as the world of feeding is a pretty complicated place at the best of times people prefer to stick with what they know!

 

[MiniMilton]

In some cases it can be a false economy. As soon as I switched to a cheap own brand one my muck heap started growing some impressive crops. The horses were obviously getting no benefit of those particular grains.

 

[HaffiesRock]

I buy good old fashioned 24 hours soak beet pulp as its half the price of speedi beet. I also by Argo grass nuts which are much cheaper than the other grass nut alternatives.

 

[JillA]

I buy good old fashioned 24 hours soak beet pulp as its half the price of speedi beet. I also by Argo grass nuts which are much cheaper than the other grass nut alternatives.

But what sugar levels does the old fashioned one have? I have unmollassed, which means speedibeet or SS purabeet, because I have an IR horse and an itcher who does better on low sugar (which they all do unless they are in hard work TBH)

 

[dogatemysalad]

Because I know its GM free.

 

[HaffiesRock]

Its unmollased sugarbeet http://www.tridentfeeds.co.uk/products/equibeet/ only £6 a bag and lasts a month. I think it is only 6% sugar compared to about 5% for speedibeet, which is £12 odd in my tack shop.

 

[Buddy'sMum]

I buy good old fashioned 24 hours soak beet pulp as its half the price of speedi beet. I also by Argo grass nuts which are much cheaper than the other grass nut alternatives.

Shhh...don't tell everyone! ;-)

 

[cptrayes]

You can soak the sugar out of sugar beet anyway. Juat soak it in four times as much water as it needs for 24 hours, stir it and the water will go dark with molasses and then drain it in a seive.

My horse food is not made in Braintree, it's made in Cheshire. I don't believe that there is any differnce in quality between CFS cubes and Spillers, ive been feeding it for twenty two years and saved myself a fortune.



The no GM requirement is interesting, though not something which bothers me.

The 'plants on the muckheap' would presumably only happen with mixes, and I don't feed them anyway because cubes are so much cheaper, and cooked and lots of horses with sensitive digestions seem to do better with cooked cubes than other feeds, if barefooter anecdotes are anything to go by.

 

[Goldenstar]

I don't feed any cubes or mixes at all but do feed speedibeet because it's easy and micronised linseed .

 

[dianchi]

You can soak the sugar out of sugar beet anyway. Juat soak it in four times as much water as it needs for 24 hours, stir it and the water will go dark with molasses and then drain it in a seive.

My horse food is not made in Braintree, it's made in Cheshire. I don't believe that there is any differnce in quality between CFS cubes and Spillers, ive been feeding it for twenty two years and saved myself a fortune.



The no GM requirement is interesting, though not something which bothers me.

The 'plants on the muckheap' would presumably only happen with mixes, and I don't feed them anyway because cubes are so much cheaper, and cooked and lots of horses with sensitive digestions seem to do better with cooked cubes than other feeds, if barefooter anecdotes are anything to go by.

Interesting, I only knew of that one selling an "own brand" product.

If the feed met my horses requirements I would have no issue in feeding it.

Interesting point on the nuts v mix!

 

[wench]

I always would feed nuts in preference to mix. Main point is its cheaper!

I only feed "branded" if I have to, ie if horse has special dietary needs, or if I'm competing.

I had one a couple of years ago that needed some weight putting on, did just as well on cheapo pony nuts, as some conditioning nuts!

If you are near a Mole Valley farmers, there food is "own brand" price... but is safe to feed to competition horses!

 

[Overgrown Pony]

I changed to the local agri merchants whole oats and full fat soya meal fed with Speedibeet about 6 weeks ago and my horse has never looked better and my wallet is thanking me. I tried all the expensive conditioning feeds on the market last winter to no avail.

 

[marmalade76]

I buy branded stuff.....

....when it's on the discount pallet and cheaper than the own brand! There's many a bargain to be had, it might be near it's use by date or have a hole in the bag and at half price I buy anything that's suitable for my animals. Other than that I buy own brand/off farm, etc.

To the person who wants own brand C&C, why not buy beet instead as that's the main ingredient of C&C and you already feed linseed.

 

[JillA]

Its unmollased sugarbeet http://www.tridentfeeds.co.uk/products/equibeet/ only £6 a bag and lasts a month. I think it is only 6% sugar compared to about 5% for speedibeet, which is £12 odd in my tack shop.

Equibeet sounds good value - might get hold of some. I always soak for at least 8 hours anyway, but with an old dentally challenged mare on total hay replacer diet every couple of £££ on a bag makes a difference

 

[Capriole]

I don't mind, my supplier has some really decent own brand stuff. And I know last winter I was using a big brand nut they had bulk sold him, bagged in his own brand bags.
We tend to buy the main feed in bulk and we've got a really good deal on a branded nut this winter. Alongside that we will also be feeding some of his unbranded/own brand products.

 

[Clava]

But what sugar levels does the old fashioned one have? I have unmollassed, which means speedibeet or SS purabeet, because I have an IR horse and an itcher who does better on low sugar (which they all do unless they are in hard work TBH)

Equibeet (Eurobeet) is unmolassed but requires a long soak and is a lot cheaper than Speedibeet or kwikibeet.

(sorry crossed posted with HR)

 

[Tnavas]

But what sugar levels does the old fashioned one have? I have unmollassed, which means speedibeet or SS purabeet, because I have an IR horse and an itcher who does better on low sugar (which they all do unless they are in hard work TBH)

Unfortunately your horse is most likely a victim of the Commercially Prepared feeds. Since the introduction of these feeds we've seen a maassive increase in the metabolic ailments that were rarely if ever seen 30 years ago.

If you read some of the labels the content is horrific, Soy being the biggest culprit - it has been proved that it causes major metabolic upsets in humans - so why feed it to your horse as well. In some feeds peanut hulls have been used to bulk up the feed. Broll/Bran/Mill Run is all wheat and we know that wheat is not good for horses.

For those of you that are feeding normal 'straight' feeds - if you find whole grains coming through then increase the fibre you are adding to the feed so that it slows the digestive process through the horse. Feed it by weight not volume - 75% of a feed should be fibre and never ever less than 50%.

I've never fed a commercially prepared feed over and have had hundreds of horses in my care and also owned a good few and have never had a horse with insulin resistance and during my time in the UK - 20+ years I fed sugarbeet (traditional with molasses added) to everything, no IR or laminitis - EVER.

Commercially prepared foods are exceedingly expensive and believe me the only real research that may have been done on them is the stuff fed to racehorses.

The best hard feed for any equine is oats and this has been proven!

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Interesting thread. I dont feed cubes, nuts, mix etc but do use balancers. Does anyone know of a good own brand balancer?? Ive yet to find any to be honest but would definately give one a go x

 

[dianchi]

I buy branded stuff.....

....when it's on the discount pallet and cheaper than the own brand! There's many a bargain to be had, it might be near it's use by date or have a hole in the bag and at half price I buy anything that's suitable for my animals. Other than that I buy own brand/off farm, etc.

To the person who wants own brand C&C, why not buy beet instead as that's the main ingredient of C&C and you already feed linseed.

For some reason my mare wont eat just a bowl of sugar beet, I think its the texture she doesn't like, with C&C we soak it overnight and it goes more solid so she can bite at it.

Plus sugar beet in the summer is a nightmare to try and soak and keep nice!

 

[JillA]

Unfortunately your horse is most likely a victim of the Commercially Prepared feeds. Since the introduction of these feeds we've seen a maassive increase in the metabolic ailments that were rarely if ever seen 30 years ago.

If only it were that simple!! I know someone who says it is due to the fact that most equines these days don't get enough work - lots of pet theories abound. Where is the proof about oats? I'd be interested in seeing that - I have very rarely fed oats, over the years, preferring barley when I had enough horses to justify buying an assortment of straights. I suspect the metabolic issues are related to high levels of sugar over time, rather like diabetes I people - and yes, a lot of the mixes or prepared foods have molasses to increase palatability and maybe disguise some nasties

 

[ester]

have always used own brand nuts and usually molassed sugar beet shreds (all from mole valley). He's on A+P fastfibre atm though (and oats - obv any brand).

Re the oats/barley I do remember reading that historically we have fed more barley than oats in this country whereas in the US they think barley sends horses loopy and feed oats.

 

[Tnavas]

If only it were that simple!! I know someone who says it is due to the fact that most equines these days don't get enough work - lots of pet theories abound. Where is the proof about oats? I'd be interested in seeing that - I have very rarely fed oats, over the years, preferring barley when I had enough horses to justify buying an assortment of straights. I suspect the metabolic issues are related to high levels of sugar over time, rather like diabetes I people - and yes, a lot of the mixes or prepared foods have molasses to increase palatability and maybe disguise some nasties

It does all boil down to the fact that people feed their horses far more than we used to. I remember as a child/teenager my pony rarely ever had hard feed - I rode and competed off grass alone.

I will try and find out the details about the oat thing - the Fiber Fresh nutritionist was talking about this at the recent Equidays NZ - Pony Club Camp. A link to this company http://www.fiber-fresh.com/equine/ their products are totally fibre, cut, wilted and vacuum packed within hours of harvesting. I have the nutritionists card so will contact her and ask her where she got the information.

 

[ellie11987]

For those of you that are feeding normal 'straight' feeds - if you find whole grains coming through then increase the fibre you are adding to the feed so that it slows the digestive process through the horse. Feed it by weight not volume - 75% of a feed should be fibre and never ever less than 50%.

I've never fed a commercially prepared feed over and have had hundreds of horses in my care and also owned a good few and have never had a horse with insulin resistance and during my time in the UK - 20+ years I fed sugarbeet (traditional with molasses added) to everything, no IR or laminitis - EVER.

Commercially prepared foods are exceedingly expensive and believe me the only real research that may have been done on them is the stuff fed to racehorses.

The best hard feed for any equine is oats and this has been proven!

This... I don't feed any commercial feeds anymore. Mine gets unmolassed beet, grass nuts, oats and linseed. I want to know exactly what she is eating, and not all these additives like soya and molasses. I don't bother with branded feeds for this reason - I only feed cheap straights and add my own minerals for forage balancing. Simples.

 

[Tnavas]

This... I don't feed any commercial feeds anymore. Mine gets unmolassed beet, grass nuts, oats and linseed. I want to know exactly what she is eating, and not all these additives like soya and molasses. I don't bother with branded feeds for this reason - I only feed cheap straights and add my own minerals for forage balancing. Simples.

Great - Horse is healthier, you can reduce or increase the energy foods if the horse is being cheeky - and its sooo much cheaper too!

 

[deicinmerlyn]

Are grass nuts barefoot friendly, does anyone know.

 

[Tnavas]

Are grass nuts barefoot friendly, does anyone know.

Possibly but may have molasses used to bind the grass meal

 

[Tilo]

Its just a shame that the only company who do grass nuts that are less than 14% protein, is simple systems though. I would love to feed them, but the protein is too high for my old pony.
I feed Mollichaff, dare i admit!! No hard feeds, just the chaff that has added vits with no alfalfa.

 

[Tnavas]

Its just a shame that the only company who do grass nuts that are less than 14% protein, is simple systems though. I would love to feed them, but the protein is too high for my old pony.
I feed Mollichaff, dare i admit!! No hard feeds, just the chaff that has added vits with no alfalfa.

The protein level would only be a problem if you fed less than the recommended amount

 

[Scarlett]

All the grss nuts I've tried have been molasses free and make a super feed for my barefoot TB's