Winter Feed for a Good doer (Cob) advice

Flibble

Flibble

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 September 2007
Messages
4,282
Location
Gloucestershire
www.annamason-art.co.uk
I like to plan ahead sorry.

My boy is 15.3 and 7 cob who is a very good doer.

Currently he is ridden 6 out of 7 days out at night and in by day on a trickle net and gets a small feed of balancer to which I add salt garlic and any veg I have handy.

I have never owned such a good doer before. Over winter he will be in at night out by day and weather allowing ridden the same amount so what would you suggest I do feed wise. The balancer he has is Saracen Shapeup.

He will be clipped.
 
My Cob is the same as yours although older at 14yrs. At the moment he is out during the night and in during the day on soaked (12hrs) haylege and ridden at least 3 times a week.

Winter months he is in during the night with a full haynet of unsoaked haylege and has 1 scoop of Dengie's unmolassed hifi. Then out during the day unrugged. Exercise wise, we hunt most weekends.

With this regime he doesn't put too much weight on although I don't mind if he puts a little on going into winter - natures way.
 
I wouldn't feed him at all. He's getting a balancer (I personally wouldn't even feed that to a very good doer) so IMHO he doesn't need anything else unless he loses weight. Even if he does lose weight, I'd always opt for upping the hay first until you get to adlib. If the horse can't maintain his weight then, you can look at increasing hard feed. My very good doer only gets a little bit of hard feed even when he's hunting.
 
Ok thank you ladies. He is on the balancer to get the extra vits and minerals he needs as he has been losing shoes. He doesn't get loads probably half their recommended amount.

I do find it complicated as I have always had horses I needed to build up. The balancer is supposed to help them lose weight but only as part of an exercise regime.

It's quite funny really I want a well behaved horse easy to do that wasn't loopy if he had days off and now I am making sure he is ridden every day to keep the weight down because mentally he is quite happy without. At least one of us is losing weight.
 
LOL I am in the same boat with my good doer! He is on haylage due to a breathing problem, at the moment he gets 1-2 small slices a day triple netted along with a tiny hard feed of chaff, re-leve and linseed. In the winter he'll get 1/2 - 3/4 a large slice haylage, if he needs any more hard feed I'll add speedi-beet and maybe up the amounts of the other feeds.


Is there any reason you use the Saracen balancer? Lo-cal from Baileys is much better for the fattys!
 
Ok then, if it helps this is what my good doer gets... (he had rubbish feet, still not brilliant but a lot better now)

About half of a Stubbs scoop D&H Safe & Sound
1 mug linseed meal (for his arthritis)
Seaweed
Magnesium oxide
Brewers yeast (contains biotin)
During spring and autumn flushes of grass and when wormed, or if he gets haylage, he will also get something like yea-sacc or Protexin Gut Balancer

In winter he will get Speedibeet too, if needed.

His feet have improved dramatically since adding these and changing to a farrier who doesn't rasp off all of his hoof wall!
 
Flibble said:
Lovely thanks I have copied this and put in a folder under Charlie and called it Chestnut Cob.
Click to expand...

A lot of people swear by Farrier's Formula which basically has all of that in plus some other stuff, and is what I will change over to (probably) when the stuff I have in the feed room runs out. Supposed to be good so you could think about that and just a handful of chaff to carry it.
 
Im forage analysed so they get the minerals and a handful of fast fibre. Thats id :D

Only supplements id use would be the ones from Forage Plus or Pro Hoof - as they have the highest levels of mins in without being forage analysed and no mollasses or soy etc
 
How is his overall condition currently? If you are happy with it and you feel he is fit and at a good weight then why change what you are giving him?
I will however echo others in saying there are probably better products on the market than shape up. Personally I find Bailey's low cal daylight robbery as with a lot of their products. I much prefer spillers happy hoof, d&h safe and sound or dengie healthy hooves.
 
I would only feed hay or haylage ad lib, if he was putting on weight then I'd soak it.

Obviously, I wouldn't feed anything cereal based or with sugar in it.

Veg, or apples etc is also a no. Carrots are too high in sugar for horses.
 
He doesn't have loads of carrots and currently his condition is on the fleshy side say a 3.5.
He put on lots of weight when I first had him as his paddock was too rich and I was quite ill.
I seem to have it in check now.
Moved paddock and lots of work
 
If you are feeding fresh carrots, then they are actually made up of 80% water, so as long as you aren't feeding bucketfuls then you should be fine.

I would be inclined to increase his hay over winter or if this can not be done then perhaps adding a chaff to his feed may be enough if you perhaps give 2 feeds daily in winter. If you still feel like he needs more condition then I would add some unmollassed sugarbeet.

To be honest however, there is no point forward thinking. You can only make an informed decision when the time comes. Your horse may cope well enough through winter just by being offered hay and the warmth of a stable over night. :)
 
Thank you all for your good advice i know i cant forward plan just need some ideas ready in my head. He is such a good doer this is the shine on his coat with no effort at all:

Two.jpg
 
He is gorgeous! The picture speaks for itself. Keep doing what you are doing. I reckon he will be fine.

I'm in the same boat as you. I now have an extremely good doer and in all honestly, the thought of winter feeding had crossed my mind ;) I've now had a stern word with myself and have decided to cross that bridge when we get to it. Chances are, these ponies are going to surprise us and do just as well in winter.

Ps....that is one hell of a shiny coat! :eek: :D
 
My Welshie lives out in the day and in at night all year. During the winter he is un-clipped and not rugged at all, which helps with weight management.
He is ridden at the weekend only due to darkness and no facilities.
I strip graze him each day so he has things to nibble on and then when he comes in at night he has a third of a small bale of hay soaked.
He has a couple of handfuls of dengie twice per day to put his vit/min supplement into and that is his lot.
He does ever so well in winter to say he is not rugged!
 
Hi

Check his weight and condition score him. Then you know if you are feeding to maintain current weight - build him up or to lose weight.
Next determine what level of work he is in - probably light.

Then I would feed according to your findings - if light work and maintain current weight then prob 80-90% fiber- grazing/hay etc. And 10% hard feed - again a balancer will give him any deficiency in the current fiber intake. You could use a mix etc if you feel he is lacking energy but I would strongly recommend that you get him fit enough and at a correct weight before doing this step as far too many horses are just either -over weight, lacking fitness or not in front of the leg enough and responding to the questions asked, and then far too many owners try to feed energy into the horse.

hope this does not sound harsh but very often people feed far too much and is not required - save your money I say and don't over feed.
Hope you get on ok -
You could also speak with a feed rep
 
Honest answer I don't yet just not had such a good doer before and you are so right no way to I want to start putting too much in. You aren't being harsh I need honest opinions.
I am fat scoring weight taping and believe he is coming down to clost to ideal for his build and size.
Winter he will be clipped in at night out by day and ridden as much as possible.
 
Cool so if trying to get his weight down - few other things

dont over rug he can use his own internal fat stores to keep warm
soak hay - (still debatable how effective this is but my vets still say its useful)
get low quality hay - so long as not dusty or mouldy
get onto a low quality sparse field for grazing
you can also strip his field to make him walk to water etc - tape of around edges to make him look for food, keep him active.

hope you get to target weight soon
enjoy
 
My 15 hh welsh is fed a couple of handfuls of chaff to put an all round vit/min supplement into twice per day. He is stabled at night on one third of a small bale of soaked hay. Out during the day on a bare paddock and strip grazed each day in winter to give him something to keep him happy. He is not rugged at all come hale, snow or gales and comes out of winter having maintained his weight.
 
My boy is fed Baileys Lo Cal at recommended levels in the summer and Saracen Bio-Life 2000 in the winter at recommended levels. If you aren't going to feed a balancer at the recommended levels, don't bother - you're only balancing the diet for vits, mins and protein if it is at recommended levels, so you are wasting your money otherwise!

Soaking your hay for longer than 20 mins (like 1hour or more) will also help to get rid of some of the nutrients and increase the work you do with your horse if you can. I try to work my horse hard enough to work up a sweat each time I ride him and work him 6 days a week for 1-2 hours per day with the occasional 3-4 hour hack. Using a grazing muzzle will also help.

Good luck :)
 
He's looking fit and lovely shiney coat but a little tubbier than I'd like (although many would say he's in perfect 'show condition ;)) If he didn't loose any more though it certainly won't be the end of the world.

A balancer or a powered supplement will give him all the vits and minerals he needs. They're all pretty much the same and what you're feeding now clearly works well for him!

I think you'll find you'll still need to restrict his hay over the winter as adlib is far too much for very good doers. A small holed net to slow him down is usually enough, or you could mix a little straw into it so he can keep eating without the calories. If he does loose weight then just give him more hay!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top