Anyone know much about calf mix for horses?

[Huggy]

Ramsey is again incredibly thin. He has molli, soaked build up cubes, soaked hi fibre cubes and 16plus. This fills half a large bucket twice a day. Last visit, my farrier said to try calf mix, as his Shetland had done really well on it. I've looked it up, and there's very mixed views on it. I've tried grass cubes(bound him up), Alfa beet (gave him colic), and tried adding HiFi senior (too coarse for his old teeth to manage). Any advice/experiences would be welcome before I go for my next batch of feed. Thanks.

 

[carthorse]

I don't, but I'd be wary especially since he sounds like he has a sensitive gut. Instead I'd tweak what you're already feeding. I'd take out or reduce the molli as it's unlikely to add many calories & replace the hi fibre cubes with more build up cubes. If he'll eat more of this then I'd give more. Will he eat micronized linseed? If he will it's good stuff as it gives a lot of calories for very little volume & is also good for joints & skin. There are all sorts of products on the market, but given his reaction to grass cubes & alfabeet (which is basically alfalfa & sugar beet) which are common ingredients in many feeds I'd rather not start adding in new thing - if you do then read the ingredients very carefully & remember alfalfa is also called lucerne.

 

[Jessey]

I'd second @carthorse there, linseed is great as it's twice the calories of most things and pretty easy on old teeth. It's quite popular in rural bits of the states to give calf feed but most vets seem to advise against it simply because it's not designed for horses and ruminants digest differently, can't say I've ever looked that closely to see how the ingredients differ tho.

 

[No_Angel]

I feed calf mix to my goats, I've not fed it to the horses though. Mine has linseed in it, but also has sugarbeet pellets in it so would need to be soaked.

 

[Huggy]

Well, luckily going to buy feed today. Will get the linseed and buy more build up cubes. The sooner some nice fine lush grass comes through the better. Scared to leave him without a rug, in case someone calls the rspca!

 

[chunky monkey]

Sounds like ramsey has sensitive gut. Cant remember what the mineral that horses are paricularly sensitive too. Cattle can tolerate most things.
Youd probably be just as good to buy horse course mix. I give my boys course mix. They are all made up differently, so what I sometimes do is buy a couple of different brand bags and when I tip them in my feed bin I mix them together that way they are getting food designed for horses, but what bits and mins one brand one may include may be different to another.

Some products have added copper for example and sheep aren't supposed to be feed it as they get very sick if they consume too much. But cows need copper. Cows feed contains copper, and also has added magnesium. Sheep dont need in such higher quantities.

 

[Huggy]

Good news is I got the linseed and he didn't mind it at all. Will cut molli and am upping the build up.To be honest, I think I'm firefighting now, and as long as he's enjoying his food, and puts on a bit of weight, I'll be happy. Not too worried about long term, just want him to be comfortable and happy. Will update as we go along.

 

[OwnedbyChanter]

My old lad before he passed loved calm and condition as it was easy to get plus a mug of linseed and alpha a work oil

C&C feed at the recommend account chaff to give something to chew as your lad seems to not get on with alpha a I could opt for safe and sound and add a lot of oil.