Feeding Question!!!

[Perfect Pony]

shadow has just started to be fed, he is on at the mo molly chop and pony nuts, half a scoop of each!!! i need to give him more when it gets cold i know, i have had him 4 years but never found a food thet suits him!!!
Last year he was on molly chop, course mix and sugar beet!!! was ok but he lost condition in his coat, and he wont eat his food with oil in so that doesnt help!!!
The year before he was on barley, beet, course mix and molly chop, he was a bit better but quite 'round'
anyone got any ideas???
he wont eat his food with anything other than food in it either so supplements are a prob!!! at the mo during winter he gets a stable cough so he has respiraze in his food which he will now eat if i mix it in lots and a respiratory horse lick and that worked well too!!! so thats the only supplement he has, any ideas???
He doesnt go mental on high energy food so that doesnt bother me!!! want something to keep his condition up but pref not a supplement as he will prob not eat it!!!
He is a 16.1hh tb 15 year old gelding who is otherwise very fit and healthy!!!
Thanx in advance

[dcp]

Hello, Have you thought about feeding a balancer? Or do those cause problems? I use D&H. They also do a barley conditioner which I wanted to feed my TB but some people say it would send him loopy as he can be a typical TB if you know what I mean? Have you tried an alfa a oil chaff or does that not work? So many feeds it's easy to get confused i do all the time.

[Perfect Pony]

hmmmm, i dont know, i have tried some different foods to mix with his chop but he is very fussy, he likes the simple stuff!!! anything that has a funny flavour he just wont eat!!! im just lucky hes not a prob with wormer as there is no way he would eat food with wormer in!!! he wont touch food that has any sort of oil in, and garlic, not fond of that either!!! Blummin fussy animals!!!

[mellissa]

I have found that the best way keeping a horse in good condition is to slightly increase the energy intake as winter draws in and make sure he is kept warm as the body uses much energy just to keep warm. You can manually calculate the horses feed requirement- I did this at university but cannot remember the calculation= look on the National Research Centre NRC 1989) website for the calculation.

Appetite = 2.5% of bodyweight this is how much it will actually eat. Basically an average 16.2 Tb weighing 550kg will eat about 13.75 kg per day of dry matter.

Adjusting energy intake 10 to 15% above or below the requirement should result in weight gain or loss.

If you feed hay, which averages 7.4MJDE/kg (milojoules of digestible energy per kilo), it may be worth changing to haylage which averages 11.0MJDE/kg

Oil is very well digested by horses, but you say he is a fussy feeder. I have personally found that the very best method of keeping weight, condition, muscle tone, appetite and skin good is to feed Blue Chip (another member has already suggested feed balancers such as this) in addition to the normal ration. It is small pellets so he should find it perfectly palatable. It is expensive to buy, but it will last you ages. My horse have never looked so well I would not be without Blue Chip.

Have his teeth checked (he is 15 and they get long and sloping by this age), worming etc all up to date.

Hope this helps

[Perfect Pony]

ok thanx will have a look there, blue chip sounds good!!! will try that one out!!!
his worming is up to date and he had the dentist out 2 months ago so his teeth are fine!!! its just one of those things i guess, doesnt flippin help when he is a skinny tb tho!!! he has hay, would give him haylage but it doesnt keep long enough if its only him eating it!!! thanx for your help, will try out the blue chip!!!
was thinking would a veteran mix work on him, i know he is not a veteran and is extremely fit and healthy but would this just bring up his condition???

[Trewsers]

Our 14 year old TB gets Happy hoof, carrots and an apple and we put Biotin in daily too. He will eat oil - I sometimes put a bit in for coat condition. I don't give him anything else - other than his haylage. Never thought about supplements - he doesn't seem to need them, the Happy hoof seems to keep him in good condition. Perhaps you could try that? We've been very happy with it.

[Jessey]

Yep, if you can't get oil and stuff into him a balancer is a good plan, I like Equilibra, did my boy great when we couldn't get any weight on him and its really plain little pellets.

Moli-chop has a fairly low feed value, its mostly chopped straw and molasses so not the best, its great for bulk but won't really help keep weight, you could try Alfa-A (either plain or with oil already in it), I have also used the Saracen conditioning feed which is very good (my guys love that one) and also I used the Allen & Page Veteran mix (can't remember what its called) and it is really good and you're right it would have much higher feed values than 'normal' feed does.

Might be worth trying the Saracen web page, they offer a nutritionist service which is very helpful (and free), the best one I have found.

J x

[mellissa]

If you look at the various websites- Dodson & Horrell, Baileys, Saracen etc they give actual feed values and you can use these to compare with other feeds- such as veteran mix etc.

To be honest, most of the feeds are similar with varying nutrient value according to the type of horse. For example, a stud diet will be similar to a performance diet- youngstock and performance horses have similar energy, protein % and vitamin requirements, and mature leisure horses have usually lower requirements. However, all horses are individual and even if the work intensity ratios are different, temperament and if the horse is a good 'doer' pay a vital part.

I do feel that some owners are fooled by 'gimmicks', I know some owners of leisure horses that feed competition mix for no reason at all. I have a performance horse and he gets very basic feed- ad lib haylage, original mollichaff, sugarbeet, competition cubes (because they are cheaper but exactly the same nutrient value as the mix) and Blue Chip. You can see his shine and muscle tone a mile away.

The nutritionists working for the feed companies know their job, and formulate feeds for feeding exclusively. For example, they may suggest a veteran mix at a rate of 4kg per day. That is all that is meant to be fed (with roughage obviously) in order to satisfy the nutrient requirements of that horse. Most owners add a bit of chaff, sugarbeet, supplements etc and the balance and values are disrupted. There was a woman down my yard who had so many supplements that her storage area looked like a chemical factory!!!! What people do not realise is that if they over supplement it can have the adverse effect and 'KNOCK OUT THE EFFECT IN INTERACTION WITH OTHER VITAMINS OR MINERALS', causing a DEFICIENCY.

There is no miracle feed that can make your horse grow bigger, jump higher, gallop faster or become placid. Common sense and an eye on your wallet is to be advised. Having said that, I do swear by Blue Chip (no I do not work for them!!) and it does help digestion by its probiotic (gut flora proliferating) action enabling your horse to get the best out of its food, whatever it is actually fed.

Mellissa X

[nat17]

Personally I would feed a better quality chaff. Maybe a Dengie Alfa A or Hi-Fi, It can make alot of differance and they do quite a few to suit most horses now :)