feed info needed pls.

[lexilou]

my new gelding only came to me 4 weeks ago, everything is going fine although im looking for information on what hes fed. he is underweight and has poor teeth (hes only 8 bless!) and hes on ~
spillers high fibre cubes,
baileys no1 cooked cereal meal,
sugar beet ,
and alph-a

now a girl at my yard has mentioned that heated feeds arent suitable for arabs(my horse is an arab) and maybe i should consider an alternative

what can i feed him that will get weight on him but not fizz him up?

[jovi_y2k2]

with any horse diet we should all be looking towards as much fibre as possible as this is what horses are designed to eat, so plenty of good quality haylage or hay, for weight gain without fizz i was advised to put star on a diet of alfa-a, ultimate balancer (like blue chip but cheaper!) and then speedi-beet as it is unmolassed and i have to say it has been highly effective, i feed everything at recommended weights split into 2feeds and although i do give a calming supplement aswell he is much more managable

[lexilou]

yes hes on supplements to give all nutrients poss. he cant actually have hay/haylage as he just pockets this in his cheeks and spits it out due to teeth, so hes on redigrass whenever hes in. hes out on grass 24/7 as this is best thing for him
someone mentioned a feed called calm and condition?!?

[carthorse]

I take it you're getting a dentist to him ASAP? If his teeth are that bad he needs seeing urgently - he won't be efficiently using the feed you're giving him, he'll be uncomfortable & he certainly shouldn't be ridden.

I'd change the High Fibre cubes for a conditioning cube & feed them well damped so they're easier to chew. I'd also try adding oil to his diet, either as straight oil of by changing your Alfa-A to Alfa Oil or Baileys Outshine.

Ideally split his feed into several meals to give him a better chance at digesting it. Make sure he's kept warm enough because thin horses feel the cold more & use a lot of calories keeping warm.

[vciky]

Topspec for me all the way!! It isnt the cheapest but I still dont think it works out too expensive and the difference in my horses condition has been amazing:D Thier cubes have no cereals or mollasses in but still have good ebergy levels without the fizz.

I feed:
Top Spec feed balancer
Top Spec cool & Condition cubes(only to one though!)
Speedibeet
Bran
Linseed Oil
Magnesium
Yea Sac

At grass in the day - fed hay when in at night.

Their hoof growth has been fantastic, they have plenty of energy and stamina but not in a 'hotting up' way, thier coat is gleaming! I would not change from this diet now, I have found it hugely succesful.

Casey last year:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Vicky_Whitlock/Gypsy%20Holiday/DSCN0463.jpg

Casey this year:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Vicky_Whitlock/hartshillshow010.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Vicky_Whitlock/willowback018.jpg

Antsje last year
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Vicky_Whitlock/Antsje/DSCN0753.jpg

Antsje this year:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Vicky_Whitlock/Friesian%20Inspection/still5.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Vicky_Whitlock/Antsje/Hartshill230906029.jpg

[jovi_y2k2]

vciky how much is top spec balancer roughly? and how long does a bag last?

[vciky]

From Top Spec Website:

TopSpec Feed Balancer is available in 20kg sacks, which last a 500kg horse for 40 days or a 250kg pony for 80 days.

On the website it is priced at £29.50, my merchant sells for £30.99:confused: I feed our two horses and 1 pony on it and it lasts about 2-3 weeks. the leisure time feed balancer is slightly cheaper, so come the spring I may look into feeding one horse (good doer) and the pony this instead.

We have all our horses barefoot but casey had problems due to the slow hoof growth - I was amazed at the rate of growth after swapping to TopSpec. Although it can be more expensive than some balancers I wouldnt change back now and apart from Anstje, who is in harder work, I only use a bit of speedibeet to mix the balancer in for our other two so it doesnt work out that expensive.

I know many other people who have had good results with TopSpec products aswell. My horses are fab on it - they have plenty of energy but are never stupid. I know a few people who tried simple systems noticed a drop in energy or 'spark' in thier horses. i havent had any problems at all. I am a big advocate of a high fibre / non cereal diet.

Link to TopSpec Website (http://www.topspec.com/TopSpec05/products.htm)

[lexilou]

I take it you're getting a dentist to him ASAP? If his teeth are that bad he needs seeing urgently - he won't be efficiently using the feed you're giving him, he'll be uncomfortable & he certainly shouldn't be ridden.

I'd change the High Fibre cubes for a conditioning cube & feed them well damped so they're easier to chew. I'd also try adding oil to his diet, either as straight oil of by changing your Alfa-A to Alfa Oil or Baileys Outshine.

Ideally split his feed into several meals to give him a better chance at digesting it. Make sure he's kept warm enough because thin horses feel the cold more & use a lot of calories keeping warm.

YES he has been seen to a dentist and had 2hours of dremel work done bless him, were now on top of the situation and he has them seeing to every 6 months, i wouldnt leave a horse without proffesional attention if i knew they needed it.

to keep him warm i have him in a full neck turnout rug and do already soak his cubes.
thanks for your advice.x

[chewitmonster]

I use simple systems and my horse is the only horse without a rug on at the moment. He is toasty toasty warm and hardly has a coat yet (doesn't really get a winter coat till a bit later though so probably not a relation to feeding). Simple systems feeds are not expensive and don't contain any mollasses, starch or additives. They've definately not fizzed up my horse and he is a lot more rational about scary objects now. Top stuff.

Haven't got any personal experience but the Top Spec range is also reputably good :) xxx

[carthorse]

Oh the poor boy, he must have been in a real mess!

Good luck with him, I'm sure he'll gradually put on the weight now he's being looked after. Now he can chew his feed better you'll probably find he gets a lot more out of his feed & will soon put on some condition :)