Concentrate feeding quantities

[Sonia]

OK so I've decided what to feed Ellie (Sugar beet, D&H HI-FI Lite, vit/mineral supplement and carrots/peelings etc) - and for her weight (480kg) she should have about 2kg of concentrates a day. Does the 2kg include the fibre (HI-FI) or is it just the sugar beet+vit/mineral supplement then add the HI-Fi afterwards?

Blimey - I think I need a degree in Equine Nutritional Science to make sense of this lot!!!!

BTW She has access to hay/grass, is a cobby type - good doer

Thanks
Sonia

 

[Rachel R]

Hi-fi is a bulk food and should not be considered as concentrate. Sugar beet I think is really bulk food and also should not really be included in the concentrate weight. Supplements are just that - not concentrate feed stuff.

Concentrate feeds include things like cubes and nuts and mixes, and the traditional grains like oats and barley. Generally they are fed for energy. Bulk rations like hay, grass, chaf and sugar beet provide warmth and can be used for weight gain.

The feed you describe initially made me think that your horse needed bulk and not fizz, but you say she is a good doer? How much work is your horse doing? If it is only weekends then she will probably be fine. If more energy is required - try it abd see before you add more, consider feeding one of the concentrate feeds listed above.

Hope that is some help. You're right, feeding is a minefield, but in my experience many people overfeed thier horses or spend loads of money on unnecessary expensive supplements. If you are feeding a balanced diet there should be no need to supplement as you will unbalance it.

Rachel

 

[Sonia]

Thanks Rachel - that was helpful. Ellie is exercised for 1hr most weekdays and weekends a bit more (weekdays will be more difficult as the days get shorter).

She has access to unlimited hay/grass so I guess I'm keen to ensure that she gets an adequate diet in terms of enery/protein/minerals/vitamins etc etc. Just what should I give her? On the literature and from the feed companies they say no more than 2kg per day - but I guess of what ?

I guess I just have to see how she reacts to the food she's given.

Sonia

 

[Rachel R]

You could add a small quantity of something like a light mix or low energy cube if you feel she is lacking in energy or starts losing condition as a result. For example, Baileys meadow sweet, D&H Pasture mix, Spillers cool mix etc. As always introduce gradually and start with a reasonably small quantity, build it up if you need to, without feeding more than the 2kg.

To expand on this, if she did say 2 hours a day of hard work or went hunting, then you would still feed the same weight, but change to something like a competition mix or oats.

You are right though, try it and see, my horse usually gets no concentrates in the winter as he gets fizzy and does not do the work to need the energy. Occassionally he gets Baileys top line cubes or barley rings if he needs to gain condition, but even these can make him fizzy if he is not doing much. Bear in mind that hay contains carbohydrate, and some chaffs (Alfa A especially) have quite high percentages of protein.

Rachel

 

[Wally]

There was an old ostler that worked for a friend of mines dad, he would alway say that all you needed to hunt a horse twice a week was good quality hay. He didn' hold with fancy corn feeding. His horses looked fantastic.

Don't worry too much about feeding, Horses get a lot out of digestible fibre, it's what they were designed to eat. If she looks good and has enough oomph don't worry.