Why do people feed so much?

I think it will be interesting to see what the equine nutrition course many of us are starting throws up on this subject!!
I really think feed companies have a lot to answer for, but when you actually speak to them, they seem to say feed less than the bag says!!
 
Some stats:

The average well-known Equine feed company has over 9 different mixes "to suit your horse". Baileys has 30 different mixes.

What they don't tell you is that they are all variants of the same raw materials. With bits taken out or added in... and most of what is added in is mollasses syrup.

Definitely stay away from mixes. Goodness only knows what's really in that stuff.
 
PandorasJar said:
Horse rider. Im not sure what you mean by good condition but obese? Obese is not good condition to me, good condition is a suitable weight/condition score/fitness etc for the seasons. Underweight and obese are not good condition in my eyes.
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Sorry, I meant not obese. Was on my phone and the text is too small for my aged eyes.
 
I think a lot of it is clever marketing, and some times, people over worry or over analyse care (such as worrying about supplementing poor grazing, if they lick soil, and stuff etc- let's face it, it is easy to read things of this forum which can make you feel that you need to 'find a solution'! ;) )

I try to keep feed to a minimum as both mine live off fresh air (one ID, the other welsh D). ID has hay, measured and two feed a day made up of hi-if molasses free, top spec balancer and cider vinegar. Welshie has haylage ( very carefully measured!) and 1feed a day of half scoop hi-fi and top spec balancer, with a nature bute supplement (she has spavins)

The equestrian feed industry these days is huge and the growth of social media, which allows them to reach further than ever before, means that people must sometimes buy into the hype of certain products. With so many mixes, cubes, balancers etc on the market, not forgettign different chaffs, feed stuff you soak, traditional 'straights' etc - it is a mine feild, especially for those who are not quite as experienced?
 
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Having a relatively new horse, I am feeding for temperament as well as weight as he is a bit "fizzy" if not worked (and at the moment it's impossible as everywhere is like an ice rink) and I'm too old to want a giddy horse. He's on the light side so gets a haynet while turned out, two large small-hole nets at night and one feed a day of a large handful of mixed hay and barley straw chaff (unmolassed), a mugful of balancer, carrots, and a glug of supermarket vegetable oil (his skin was very dry when I got him but is improving weekly).
He certainly loves his food and always gets through the lot!
Three months in and this diet seems to suit him and me but will adjust once we can work again if he starts to drop weight. However, when we start work again, it will mean that the snow has gone so he can graze again during the day and will probably get the extra calories he needs for the work from that.
If I do need to adjust his feed, I will do it by changing the amount of the various components as I don't even want to start going through feed companies' claims on all the different options!
 
Good point about C&C...

I think this is a very good marketing ploy by Allan and Page. You read the bag and you think it will keep your horse calm and keep condition on it. I fed it to one of my horses, until I really looked into feed, and decided it was a load of rubbish.
 
Actually, based on how much feed I sell, people around here don't seem to overfeed at all. The current trend is for molasses free, low starch feeds - I sell loads of unmolassed chaff and the Allen & Page cereal free range.

My own horses could all do with more weight (I seem to be cursed with poor doers) and my big lad is on: ad lib haylage, TopSpec Comprehensive, Calm and Condition, Alfalfa chaff, Equijewel and linseed. He also gets buckets of chaff to have in his stable as an extra source of forage. Because he's young and growing I try very hard not to give him anything with a lot of starch - his bucket feed looks big but the vast majority of what he actually gets is forage based.
 
I have 2 pure bred Arabs (1 is 4, 1 is 25), a 16year old ex racehorse and a 16 year old part bred Arab. They get a Horslyx each in the stable, and the TB (16.3) gets 3.5 kg hay overnight, 1 kg in the morning at 6 and 1 kg in the afternoon when he comes in - the others (between 14.3 and 15.1) get 3 kg hay overnight with a kg in the morning and a kg on coming in. I haven't changed the amounts due to the snow, either.

My oldie has COPD and has a Respiratory Horslyx, and the 2 16 year olds get a Mobility one. I give my oldie literally a handful of Happy Hoof with his joint supplement in. And that's it. They are out from 8 til 6 each day, and none of them could be described as thin! The Horslyxes last from 5-6 weeks. I do have very good hay, though, and I feed it in Shires small mesh nets to eke it out.
 
As a first time owner of relatively little experience I was shocked when I investigated what the feed manufacturers consider 'light work', 'medium work' and 'hard work'. I thought my boy (ridden 6 times a week, 3 40min-2hours and 3x 1 hour sessions in the school) would be light-medium but according to the feed manufacturers he barely makes it into the 'light' category.

Not only are there many mis-conceptions over these ratings but you have to go out of your way to find out the actual classifications. I

There is a guilt thing too. From the day I first got my boy I saw neighbours on both sides giving buckets full of food both in the morning and in the evening.

I think you have to go with how your horse looks and feels. Mine seems to survive on dirt with the odd blade of grass, 2 x small elimni haynets at night and a pinch of chaff to carry the general supplement.

He eats with such gusto and obvious pleasure that I would like to give him more, but at the end of the day to keep him healthy less is more.
 
njyr said:
I was shocked when I investigated what the feed manufacturers consider 'light work', 'medium work' and 'hard work'. I thought my boy (ridden 6 times a week, 3 40min-2hours and 3x 1 hour sessions in the school) would be light-medium but according to the feed manufacturers he barely makes it into the 'light' category.
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Agree with this. After surgery, OH's horse was able to return to light work, which consisted of daily exercise, up to an hour each day. I asked what other people considered "light work" and was amazed that so many people considered this medium work or even hard work.
 
Well mine get huge buckets full of fibre feed and very little hay Why because they are fatties so cannot have adlib hay
they are out 24/7 so need fibre through their system to keep warm and produce poo
Cant eat hay as it gives them diahorrea
wont eat wet hay so I cant soak it or leave it out in the wet

Before anyone says leave them with wet hay they will eat it eventually I tried that and when I went back the next day a snowy one. and we found only three poos for four ponies non hidden in snow as it wasnt that deep. The hay untouched I promptly gave them their fibre feeds back and their small amount of hay and everything was fine. They look brilliant rounded and content with shiny coats so it works for them. They always lose a lot of weight coming into spring which seems their natural way and although I restrict grazing all summer to four ponies on an acre of grass they do not need feed,hay or to be muzzled. They are given equibites in summer for their vitamins and again look great. They are allowed free access to three acres of grown grass in november whne they gain enough weight to see them through to January when we start to feed again the feeds and hay
 
I have both ends of the spectrum. From the little native x pony (looks like an oversized shetland) who is never rugged, and only has a handful of feed plus high fibre haylage even in the snow, to the TB who wears more rugs than I thought a horse would ever need, and is currently on two scoops of conditioning feed, twice a day, plus almost ad-lib haylage! On those widely differing amounts of feed/pampering, they maintain the same condition. People are the same, my OH eats the same amount I do, and weighs significantly more!
 
That is a bit of a sweeping statement and has nothing to do with feed companies.

Horses are individuals, some can live on fresh air but others require more, especially if they are in hard work.
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
That is a bit of a sweeping statement and has nothing to do with feed companies.

Horses are individuals, some can live on fresh air but others require more, especially if they are in hard work.
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Couldn't agree more, but why don't more people LOOK at their horses and adjust the feeding according to what they see before them?
 
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