Simple Systems Feeds

[katieB]

Who here feeds Simple Systems feed? I have been looking at the website and had a feeding plan sent from one of their reps. It isnt as expensive as I thougth it would be and the stuff thats actually in the feed makes sense to me to feed it. The only thing im bothered about is that Milly has been lacking energy recently so I was planning on introducing a higher energy feed. There doesnt seem to be much energy in the SS feeds and im worried she'll have even less get up and go than now.
Also, if she has been fed mixes and chaffs all her life will she be used to working off the energy levels and vits & mins in them, will something like SS be too much of a drastic change for her?

[k8schmutz]

Never tried personally but I nearly put Lulu on it. Only reason I didn't was postage was quite expensive and don't have a stroe anywhere near me.
However I'm pretty sure DavidH has put Ed on it, if you look in the tried and tested bit of their website I'm sure thats's him in it :D

[Jessey]

The people who run it are endurance riders, so they know loads about high energy off of fibre, and it really does work :D

The vits and minerals should be fine, it is a different type of energy to mixes, a bit like the difference between fruit and chocolate, bananas will keep you going for hours, chocolate on the other hand will give you a short burst of 'sugar' energy which runs out quickly.

When I start feeding my 3 again properly I will order some. I recently tried the Lucibix with our old chap. He has been scouring for weeks and we couldn't find anything to settle his tummy, even the vet didn't look hopeful. About a week ago I gave him 2 feeds of Lucibix and *touch wood* since then the scouring has stopped and he is steadily gaining the weight he had lost :D Its so gentle on the tummy and what they would naturally eat.

J x

[Dapple Grey]

When we first got William and he was very thin I gave him Luciebix in the middle of the day rather than a third feed as I didn't want him to get silly. He gained weight well and I continued to give it to him for one feed a day during last winter. He still has some behaviour issues so I have now cut out any mixes/cubes completely and he has Green Gold with Lunar Eclipse (calmer) and unmolassed sugar beet but I will probably also give him Luciebix in the winter when he is in.

He always seems full of energy and people say how well he looks with a good coat and feet. He does an average amount of work and occasional small shows. I don't find it expensive as it seems to go a long way and also prolongs meal times so adding more interest to the day. I know its not really the idea behind Simple System but you could always add a bit of mix or whatever if you found you needed a bit more oomph!

The people at Simple Systems seem helpful if you have a query.

[Bozzy]

I've been really tempted to go with SS for ages but it's the delivery costs that I find so expensive plus the hassle and expense of having to order in bulk that's put me off so far. I've emailed them today asking their advice on what to feed Forrest so maybe I'll finally take the next step this time and order some.

[janette carter]

My new yard were very enthusiastic about it last winter and I used the Lucie Cobs (also got some Timothy Hay off of them). Seems a bit of a pain to have to keep soaking them may use the GreenGold Chop and lucie nuts this winter. The others haven't been using much this summer so I am on Dengie at the moment until they do another order.

You should be alright energy wise. If I needed an instant type boost up I'd probably add some straight oats rather than a sugary mix.

[chewitmonster]

I'm on SS and have been for 8 weeks now. Silver is loving it. He has Luciebix and total eclipse just as a dinner because hes out for 18 hours. He has maintained his weight fantastically, I just need to up his work load to lose some! He is a very good doer.

Since being on it he definately has more stamina and in my weekly lesson instead of having energy for half of it he could then go and hack out for an hour after it.

He is a lot calmer now as well but his turn out increased dramatically just as I switched so I'm not sure how much SS has had an effect. Today for example, we went out with mum walking for an hour doing a hack that is very busy for the first part. Normally he would be trying to turn for home and getting very worked up. All I had was a feeling of him being tense in the situation. Doesn't sound much but it is a great improvement.

Personally I think the stuff is great. My local stockist is in Penistone so only about 40 mins away. I've found it cheap and once I'm into a routine (luciebix is soaked), very easy to deal with. Big thumbs up from me!

[Bay Mare]

I use all Simple Systems for Saff apart from the apples which are Sainsbury's :)

She is a lot calmer (cal-mag makes this even better) but has tons of energy and looks great. Her skin is good, her coat is good, she loves the stuff :)

She can easily do an hours lesson or a couple of hours hack without even breaking into a sweat and it's not that I'm riding her every day because I'm in London 4 days a week!

[harryhorse11]

i've had a feed regime emailed to me from the too, i'd love to use it but like you say it's the postage and the amount you have to buy in, I kind of think if I order in the whole winters feed and then my horse didn't like it it'd be a total waste:(

[Bay Mare]

I did find that you have to introduce it really slowly as they are so 'hooked' on the molasses that you can't just switch over (plus you still have to follow the rules of feeding to introduce new feedstuffs gradually). I 'diluted' it with her previous feeds over a couple of weeks, now she happily munches away at it though she does like the sloppy stuff (Meadowbix and Lucienuts) for winter, the dry stuff (Ruff Stuff and Greengold) for summer and the dry stuff with a 'topping' of sloppy stuff in the spring and autumn :rolleyes:

The quantities that you have to buy are one of the problems that people come across, it's something that they really need to work on. Maybe ask them if they deliver to anyone else in your area and share the load?

[chewitmonster]

whats this about the quantities? I've only ever picked it up so not sure what you're talking about :p

[Bozzy]

i've had a feed regime emailed to me from the too, i'd love to use it but like you say it's the postage and the amount you have to buy in, I kind of think if I order in the whole winters feed and then my horse didn't like it it'd be a total waste:(

If you're serious about wanting to try it then we could look to splitting the delivery costs for the minimum order?

[Dapple Grey]

It seems very palatable. William just loves it, especially if I misjudge the amount of water in the Luciebix so he can slurp it down like soup and smear it everywhere - not sure that is a reccomendation! May be they would send you a sample or perhaps you could approach your local feed merchant to see if they would stock it?

[amandal]

Ziz loves it, she's on luciebix and total eclipse, it's lasted for ages too. Her coat is amazing, she's shining -she's grey !! her feet are in good condition now too, she's less jumpy when out walking (we're only on in hand hacks at the mo due to some injuries she's had). I wish I could persuade anyone else at the yard to order it with me but have been unsuccessful so far so am seeing if I can afford 20 items this time to get free delivery. My local delivery guy is 5 mins from the house and comes and drops it off after ringing to check I'm home, wish he sold it too !

[katieB]

Hmm didnt realise there was a minimum order or that the delivery charge was expensive. Does anyone know how much it is?
Chewistmonster, what do you feed? I take it they designed your feed to help calm Silver down a bit if thats whats needed.

[chewitmonster]

I feed luciebix and total eclipse :) I mentioned that Silver was tense while out hacking when I asked for a reccommendation. I have to say he doesn't jump and run forwards when those blasted pigeons fly out from the trees (they always wait till the very last second! grrrr). They said that he should be on between 1/2 and 1 1/2 kg a day split in two meals. That was when Silver was only turned out for about 6 hours a day. Now hes out for 18 hours and he doesn't get breakfast so hes on between 300g-1/2kg a day (more if I know I'm having a lesson or whatever the next day). He is fine in regards to condition and is maintaining weight and impulsion so I'm sticking to that for now :) Works out very cheap!

Just found some info they gave me when I picked up my first order:

Delivery charges - minimum delivery value is £30
- charge for delivery value under £60 is £10
- charge for delivery value £60-£120 is £5
- charge for delivery value £120 + is free
- If you spend over £200 then you get 5% discount

Says apart from the linseed products, all of the feeds last for a very long time in storage.

[Bay Mare]

Chewit - have you seen the new product 'Lunar Eclipse'? It has magnesium in it so should have a calming effect. I don't know if it's a 'mare' supplement though or whether it would also be suitable for geldings. Failing that cal-mag or mag-ox has very good reviews (including from me!).

[Peanut]

I really like the sound of SS so have sent an e-mail asking for a diet plan. Am looking forward to seeing what they suggest.

[chewitmonster]

Chewit - have you seen the new product 'Lunar Eclipse'? It has magnesium in it so should have a calming effect. I don't know if it's a 'mare' supplement though or whether it would also be suitable for geldings. Failing that cal-mag or mag-ox has very good reviews (including from me!).

Yeah I had thought about the Lunar Eclipse...just bought a 15kg bag of TE though so I'm spent out! I have to say though we took him out for an hour on his own (mum on foot) and met a lot of traffic (rush hour) and children screaming near forge dam and even though he was obviously a little 'ohmygod' he coped extremely well and he was very easy to handle. I like a little bit of fizz so think I will stick to it for now.

Don't reckon your Saff is as stressed out hacking as Silver can be though - she sounds lovely to hack. He loves it but gets worried bless him. xxx

[Bay Mare]

No, that's one thing that Saff doesn't get stressed about, she loves meandering around the countryside with the dogs ... shame that I don't!