Cubes v mix?????

[georgie1]

Im all confused......at the moment i use a cool coarse mix, Hi Fi lite & sugarbeet (although reducing out the sugarbeet coming into spring)

Would you recommend a Cube or a mix? What advantageous or disadvantages do you find with either?

I was thinking of swapping her cool mix for some sort of cube....would be more of a balanced feed .....is this correct or not.

To swap the cool mix what cube have you found to be a good one? Would like to put a little more sparkle in her coat, however she is shedding like a mad thing so could have something to do with her coat being fluffy.

Many thanks for your help... I find Feeding a complete nightmare.

Gx

[Roofio]

I used to feed J spillers cool mix but cut it out to try and reduce his sugar intake to help his feet. I think, but I could be wrong, that mixes tend to have more molasses than cubes tend to. You could try spillers fibre cubes or similar with a general supplement like Benevit maybe.

My two have Baileys Lo-cal and have never looked better, but its not cheap :o

Do you feed the mix to keep weight on her?
:)

[carthorse]

Cubes & mixes are both balanced feeds so don't make that your reason for changing.

As Roofio said cubes are often lower in sugar.

A scoop of cubes weighs more than a scoop of mix so if you change be careful you don't start accidentally overfeeding.

Some horses can choke on cubes so be sure to mix them with chaff or similar & dampen well.

Older horses with poor teeth often find mixes easier.

I find adding oil to the feed helps give a good coat, as does making sure they have a full ration of vit & mins.

[georgie1]

Thanks guys, i feed the mix as it was what she was on when i got her, along with sugar beet. She does not need to put on any weight and with spring grass coming through (sometime soon) i dont think she needs the sugar beet for weight.

The cool mix is fine, just thought that a cube would give a more rounded vit & min intake.

As i am not giving an awful lot of the mix do you think that a vit & min supplement would be worth giving?

Many thanks for your advice.....i seem to be starting to fret about what to feed her, is she getting enough, am i being stingy with her feed, too much...dont want to put her at risk of lami, even though as far as i know, she is not prone (touch wood). Starting to lay awake at night worrying!:o

Gx

[carthorse]

I'd say if you're both happy with the mix then don't change it.

if you aren't feeding the recommended amount of mix (& most of us dont unless we want very fat &/of very mad horses!) then a vit & min supplement is a good idea. I use Feedmark's Benevit which is meant to be a good all round supplement & promotes a good coat as it's oil based, plus it has the huge advantage f free delivery to your door if you order directly from Feedmark ;)

[georgie1]

Thanks Carthorse.....I am taking a big deep breath and have decided to add a min & vit supplement, staying with the cool mix.

Phew...decision made :o:)

I am turning into a Worrying Willie :o:D

Gx

[Pink's lady]

Cube over mix anydays. The mix is coated in mollases (hence the reason most horses prefer mix).

Personally I'd feed neither though, unless the horse is a poor doer needing more calories than fibre along can give.

[eventerbabe]

Personally I'd feed neither though, unless the horse is a poor doer needing more calories than fibre along can give.

absolutely agree with that. My good doers are on a fibre based diet of hi-fi lite and speedibeet with an added vitamin supplement. I've found a lot of cool mixes to have the opposite effect because they tend to have such a sugary coating.

[puzzles]

Mixes tend to contain more starch ad less fibre (and slightly higher in energy) compared to cubes, so can be more likely to exaggerate a horse's behaviour and cause excitability.