xStephx
Well-Known Member
Hi
As the title really i'm after opinions on winter feeding. I have two ex-racers Fred 19 and Marley 12. They are both chunky at the moment, Fred normally drops to a nice weight in winter and I really struggle to keep weight on Marley, hence why he is chunky now. Last year I tried all sorts for Marley, changing from our barley to conditioning mixes and allen and page calm and condition. Normally he would have chaff and sugar beet too. Nothing worked and ribs were a little visible under fluff, and he was just very dull in every way. He doesn't eat a lot of hay, I give him as much as he will eat, I normally chuck most away!
This year I want to try readi grass or similar instead of chaff and possibly leave some in the stable too. However I really don't know what else to try this year without spending a small fortune on feeding two horses. I want them to have all vits and mins and for fred possibly the addition of a joint supplement. I was wondering about feeding a balancer along with sugar beet but really don't know if this will be cost effective or enough to keep weight on. Ideally Marley I think would be better with three feeds but this is impossible during the week. He can be stressy in the stable particularly if they have to be in 24/7 which doesn't help with weight. Neither are in heavy or even medium work really, Fred gets schooled three times a week for about 45 mins and marley will be schooled twice a week for 45 mins, hack for an hour mainly walk once a week, and jump once a week. I can shove the highest energy feed in Marley and he won't be bouncing off the walls.
Any ideas would be great or someone who has had a similar issue but now got a solution, as I find feeding a minefield as there is so much out there to try and as last winter i can keep trying but get nowhere!
As the title really i'm after opinions on winter feeding. I have two ex-racers Fred 19 and Marley 12. They are both chunky at the moment, Fred normally drops to a nice weight in winter and I really struggle to keep weight on Marley, hence why he is chunky now. Last year I tried all sorts for Marley, changing from our barley to conditioning mixes and allen and page calm and condition. Normally he would have chaff and sugar beet too. Nothing worked and ribs were a little visible under fluff, and he was just very dull in every way. He doesn't eat a lot of hay, I give him as much as he will eat, I normally chuck most away!
This year I want to try readi grass or similar instead of chaff and possibly leave some in the stable too. However I really don't know what else to try this year without spending a small fortune on feeding two horses. I want them to have all vits and mins and for fred possibly the addition of a joint supplement. I was wondering about feeding a balancer along with sugar beet but really don't know if this will be cost effective or enough to keep weight on. Ideally Marley I think would be better with three feeds but this is impossible during the week. He can be stressy in the stable particularly if they have to be in 24/7 which doesn't help with weight. Neither are in heavy or even medium work really, Fred gets schooled three times a week for about 45 mins and marley will be schooled twice a week for 45 mins, hack for an hour mainly walk once a week, and jump once a week. I can shove the highest energy feed in Marley and he won't be bouncing off the walls.
Any ideas would be great or someone who has had a similar issue but now got a solution, as I find feeding a minefield as there is so much out there to try and as last winter i can keep trying but get nowhere!