Winter Feed for Native

[PotofEarlGrey]

14 yo Connemara mare with no health concerns, is an extremely good doer.
Currently overweight from summer pasture
Is in light work - hacking (mostly walk & trot) an hour a day, 6 days a week, with one of those rides being 2 hours or longer.
Will be stabled at night, out during the day on decent grazing.

Thoughts appreciated on her planned winter feed:

Soaked hay
Ad lib oat straw

2 x a day:

Thunderbrook Organic Meadow Nuts
Salt
Mag ox to replace what's lost in soaking the hay
Yea-sacc

(No balancer or vit/min supplement.)

 

[Highmileagecob]

My piebald leg-at-each-corner is a similar good doer. He got ad lib haylage (allergic to hay) and a small amount of Fast Fibre with Equilibra balancer. He is now rising 29 and has failing dentition, so forage is moving more and more towards short chopped stuff mixed with a soaked element. I have never fed any bagged feed, everything has been forage based.

 

[AmyMay]

I’d feed the hay/straw and just a small handful of nuts with a balancer.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I'd personally add something like Progressive Earth vitamin & mineral as even on a weight loss programme, they still need vitamins and minerals.

I've never yea-sacc so not 100% sure what it does.

If the grazing is good and they are overweight, I'd be tempted to muzzle for turn out too.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Well I wouldn't use the TB nuts!
Our horses are similar good doers, although both 16hh. They live out with shelter on hay, oat straw chaff and a handful of Agrobs Wiesencobs, to carry oily herbs, salt and Aloe Vera juice. The Appy does sometimes need magnesium but we are guided by her she doesn't have it all the time.

 

[stangs]

Looks fine to me, presuming she’s currently doing okay on Thunderbrooks.

I disagree with the above about feeding a balancer. Unless you start seeing feet or coat issues, or anything else that makes you think there’s a deficiency, I wouldn't see a need to feed it (given that she’ll still have access to grazing).

Also worth keeping in mind where you source your straw from and whether it’s been sprayed with glysophate which might affect the metabolism (PurBee’s done some posts on this if you have a search.)

 

[MereChristmas]

My Connemara was 17 last winter. He was fully clipped. He wore a light turnout mostly and a few times a medium weight. He is ridden 3 or 4 times a week.
He was in at night with hay and out during the day. He had a small amount of A & P Fast Fibre plus salt and NAF Senior In the Pink Powder.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

His feed sounds fine as it is I don't see the reason for adding more or changing if its working for him.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

Well I wouldn't use the TB nuts!

Would you mind sharing why?

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

Looks fine to me, presuming she’s currently doing okay on Thunderbrooks.

I disagree with the above about feeding a balancer. Unless you start seeing feet or coat issues, or anything else that makes you think there’s a deficiency, I wouldn't see a need to feed it (given that she’ll still have access to grazing).

Also worth keeping in mind where you source your straw from and whether it’s been sprayed with glysophate which might affect the metabolism (PurBee’s done some posts on this if you have a search.)

Thanks for this, I will look into glysophate.
Yes, I don’t want to get into feeding a balancer unless indicated

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and suggestions.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Would you mind sharing why?

Because I wouldn't want to give my money to that man! If you do a search on here, plenty of info will come up.
I know Agrobs aren't always easy to get hold of but we are fortunate that our local feed store has a long standing relationship with them and it is very rare for us to struggle. Good quality grassnuts such as Emerald Green would do as well, I think

 

[Burnttoast]

I wouldn't feed straw unless it's organic. All non-organic cereal crops will have been sprayed with a variety of synthetic pesticides (including fungicides) that can screw up a horse's microbiome. I'd soak hay and feed salt and a good balancer (progressive earth/forageplus) - I've done quite a few grass/hay analyses over the years and none of them have been so good that a balancer wouldn't have been necessary. A handful of grass nuts or similar as a carrier. When my boy had no access to hedges I used to forage from local hedges for a bit of variety for him to improve his gut flora.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

Because I wouldn't want to give my money to that man! If you do a search on here, plenty of info will come up.
I know Agrobs aren't always easy to get hold of but we are fortunate that our local feed store has a long standing relationship with them and it is very rare for us to struggle. Good quality grassnuts such as Emerald Green would do as well, I think

Thank you, I shall look into that.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

I wouldn't feed straw unless it's organic. All non-organic cereal crops will have been sprayed with a variety of synthetic pesticides (including fungicides) that can screw up a horse's microbiome. I'd soak hay and feed salt and a good balancer (progressive earth/forageplus) - I've done quite a few grass/hay analyses over the years and none of them have been so good that a balancer wouldn't have been necessary. A handful of grass nuts or similar as a carrier. When my boy had no access to hedges I used to forage from local hedges for a bit of variety for him to improve his gut flora.

Thank you for the reminder! I need to collect a load of Haws

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

I suppose one of my questions is that my pony is a native; she's evolved to live off poor forage and fresh air. So beyond the Mag ox to replace what's lost in soaking the hay, does she really require a balancer or vit/min supplement?

 

[Burnttoast]

I suppose one of my questions is that my pony is a native; she's evolved to live off poor forage and fresh air. So beyond the Mag ox to replace what's lost in soaking the hay, does she really require a balancer or vit/min supplement?

Mine is a hardy native too (he was born on the New Forest) and they can do very well with forage that's very low in DE but I feel that when they have limited access to varied forage (ie, one field; one source of hay, particularly if they're only grass, no herbs included) it's easy for mineral levels to become and remain unbalanced. Feral ponies have a much wider choice of grazing. I get my hay from a different area and soil type for this reason - it helps to balance out my grass, which is pretty crazy, in mineral-ratio terms, so it's like he can range over a wide area while staying in one place. That's why I like the forageplus balancers - they're formulated against many hundreds of UK grass analyses so they do actually balance what is eaten, in general terms, rather than just supplying some notional idea of a horse's RDA. The gold standard is analyse your forage and feed minerals accordingly.

 

[SEL]

There's quite a bit that they don't really get from grazing winter grass - vitamin E for instance - that it's useful to have a balancer provide. We're really low in copper & selenium around here and as my hay is from within 5 miles I assume it's not going to be making up the deficiency in my grazing. Ideally you'd analyse your hay but last time I looked that was £60 for a full analysis.

My good doers are on simple systems soaked hay cobs, with a bit of chaff to make it less sloppy and mix in balancer. If anyone is likely to need a bit more oomph they get some grass nuts added. Otherwise it's hay and whatever winter grass there is.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

Mine is a hardy native too (he was born on the New Forest) and they can do very well with forage that's very low in DE but I feel that when they have limited access to varied forage (ie, one field; one source of hay, particularly if they're only grass, no herbs included) it's easy for mineral levels to become and remain unbalanced. Feral ponies have a much wider choice of grazing. I get my hay from a different area and soil type for this reason - it helps to balance out my grass, which is pretty crazy, in mineral-ratio terms, so it's like he can range over a wide area while staying in one place. That's why I like the forageplus balancers - they're formulated against many hundreds of UK grass analyses so they do actually balance what is eaten, in general terms, rather than just supplying some notional idea of a horse's RDA. The gold standard is analyse your forage and feed minerals accordingly.

Thank you, the Forageplus does look beneficial.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

There's quite a bit that they don't really get from grazing winter grass - vitamin E for instance - that it's useful to have a balancer provide.

Thank you, I had not considered Vit E

 

[Shoei]

I feed our good doers straw and they have a balancer. They are out 24/7 so have access to grazing, they'll get a bit of hay if the ground is solid for days but there fibre comes from straw and grazing! I feed whatever we are growing on the farm, so wheat this year, but I know this is clean and dry feed quality straw, which may be in less supply this year due to the weather. Yes, it has been treated with chemical as we aren't an organic farm but so has the grass that my hay is made from, so that it isn't full of weeds.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

I feed our good doers straw and they have a balancer. They are out 24/7 so have access to grazing, they'll get a bit of hay if the ground is solid for days but there fibre comes from straw and grazing! I feed whatever we are growing on the farm, so wheat this year, but I know this is clean and dry feed quality straw, which may be in less supply this year due to the weather. Yes, it has been treated with chemical as we aren't an organic farm but so has the grass that my hay is made from, so that it isn't full of weeds.

It seems that most people feed a balancer or supplement...

 

[Chianti]

Because I wouldn't want to give my money to that man! If you do a search on here, plenty of info will come up.
I know Agrobs aren't always easy to get hold of but we are fortunate that our local feed store has a long standing relationship with them and it is very rare for us to struggle. Good quality grassnuts such as Emerald Green would do as well, I think

I thought Thunderbrooks was owned by a woman- a Dr Carley?

 

[Gloi]

Thread 'Thunderbrook Feeds - your thoughts & experiences please' https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/...eeds-your-thoughts-experiences-please.737642/

Thread 'Why is Thunderbrook still in business???' https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/why-is-thunderbrook-still-in-business.820770/

 

[Burnttoast]

I feed our good doers straw and they have a balancer. They are out 24/7 so have access to grazing, they'll get a bit of hay if the ground is solid for days but there fibre comes from straw and grazing! I feed whatever we are growing on the farm, so wheat this year, but I know this is clean and dry feed quality straw, which may be in less supply this year due to the weather. Yes, it has been treated with chemical as we aren't an organic farm but so has the grass that my hay is made from, so that it isn't full of weeds.

This spraying of everything horses eat is exactly what I try to avoid. Most of the plants people see as weeds used to be common in hay and provide phytochemicals that horses can't get from grass alone. Selective herbicides are endocrine-disrupting chemicals and some of the most significant health problems horses face are endocrine ones like PPID, EMS that are a total pain to treat and manage.

 

[PotofEarlGrey]

Thread 'Thunderbrook Feeds - your thoughts & experiences please' https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/...eeds-your-thoughts-experiences-please.737642/

Thread 'Why is Thunderbrook still in business???' https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/why-is-thunderbrook-still-in-business.820770/

Thank you

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Baileys loc cal balancer
Hifi lite
Salt
Magox

H gets no hay in the field until usually about Feb as I have more than enough grazing for him. He gets 8/10kg of hay over night in the stable and always has some left, he also gets a full clip and lightly rugged

Welsh sec D extremely good doer, hoping to keep him in work until December then give him and myself a little holiday until some time in Jan.

 

[Cazza525]

Nothing apart from hay….

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Thank you, the Forageplus does look beneficial.

My cob reacted badly to the linseed in FB Winter Balancer

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I’ve got a 15yo connie. She gets grass nuts (a handful) and honeychop lite and healthy chaff (a handful, maybe 2 in winter). Then equimins advance complete balancer in winter when grazing is poor.