What will I feed my horse?

MiissTL

Hello,

My horse is a 16.1hh chestnut gelding. He is out now for the Summer. I want to give him bucket feed, maybe once a day, just to have him at his best. I used to hunt him but now I only use him for leisure riding, maybe 3 times a week. Therefore, he does not need anything to give him extra energy. Any reccommendations on what would be best to give him would be greatly apppreciated!

twomeys

We would recommend Bluegrass Nice n'easy cubes or mix. This is a feed specificially designed for horses in low work or maintenance. It has less than 10% protein and a couple of weeks on this you will have a super looking animal. We have tried all the feeds over the years and we now only sell Bluegrass as we feel its the best. Its what we use on our 21 year old, 5 year old and 9 year old and it gives them great condition and doesnt give them that sugar rush that other feeds do.

Bluegrass have a website and the reps number is on it. He will tell you your local stockist if you cant find it.

heres a link: http://www.bluegrasshorsefeed.com/page.php?id=39

By the way they have a dietary plan where you fill out all your animals history, weight etc and it will recommend feed amount and type.

Regards,

Eoghan

convert

The protein percentage of the food will depend on the condition of your horse and the quality and quantity of grass that he's kept on, in addition to the breed, age and condition of your horse, and whether he's a good/bad doer.

Ideally you'd want to feed something with relatively low energy level would be best as you don't want him becoming overweight and getting laminitis.

My 16hh TB horse is in very light work at the moment (about 30 mins gentle work each day), and being ridden 'from the field'. He's betting about 7lbs of 12% cubes at the moment, and he's doing really well.

If you take a look at the redmills website you can have a look at their brochure and see the low energy feeds that are available. They also have feeding guidelines for all horses, so definitely worth a look.

Gain also have something similar.

MiissTL

Thanks very much for your suggestions. My horse is a 9 year old and is in good condition. Nothing is wrong with him, just want to ensure he is the best he can be. All for his own sake and not mine.

Thanks again.

DougalZ

If your horse is on a good quality pasture he really shouldn't need anything else until grass growth rates drop in Sept/Oct. If you think your pasture is lacking a mineral lick (Equiblock or similar product) should suffice, you can pick one up in any of your local agri-stores.

Kaytay

dont mind that bluegrass ****e, its wayy overpriced and is of no real benefit compared to gain/ red mills freeds. Just my personal oppinion. For my horse out in pasture i usually feed her PEGUS STABLE MIX, Its a nice light feed that has a small amount of everything, and really brings a good shine to the horses coat. Having said that since it was summer u had the horse out, and the horse is doing ver little, i wouldnt advise ''feeding him/her up'' as the grass is sweeter in summer and is growing faster than in winter (usually) and horses are mad for sweet grass. id personaly reccomend pegus as the feeds are good value and decent too.

twomeys

Just to respond to Kaytay's opinion.

Firstly Bluegrass is the official feed to the Irish team so I don't think with all the options they'd have that they would pick a "****e" feed as you put it!

Secondly to optimise nutritional value for your horse, if they are living out, soil should be tested for mineral level content. For example Kerry soil is naturally depleted in copper and selenium, so for our customers, we recommend Bluegrass as their products contain these minerals even in their cheapest feeds.

Thirdly, it is worth noting that Pegus Stable Mix sells for €8.00 and Bluegrass Nice n easy Mix is €8.70 (from their own site), so as being "way over priced" again I cant see how it is.

Lastly with regard to Red Mills Gain. Its important when recommending a feed you know whats in the feed. Red Mills Gain is very heavily Molassed, this gives a sugar rush to a horse and can make them restless and give extra energy. This will not suit all riders, especially if your looking for something balanced for leisure work. The OP specifically asked for a feed that would not do this, hence our recommendation.

I appreciate Kaytay that it is your opinion and thats very valued here on boards but we are trained in this field. We can sell any feed out there and have tried most. We went with Bluegrass because of the facts. There is another high quality feed but is a bit more expensive.

Regards,

Eoghan