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Post by ba on Feb 11, 2015 22:03:14 GMT 1
Sorry it's taken me so long to reply, I've had limited computer access and have been busy with life! It always seem to get in my way! Lol
Thank you all again for your helpful replies and advice. The update is that he now loves the Fibre beet and I have discovered that he doesn't like the succeed if it is wet - presumably because the binders go a bit 'jelly like' when damp. If I give him his balancer with the fennel and succeed dry and a separate bucket with fibre beet and charcoal he licks both bowls clean. I am going to try him with the Mycosorb dry next - wondering if it is the texture when wet that he doesn't like.
I have considered pasture management and hay supply issues, moving yards may solve this problem to some extent. However my yard is one of the best locally. I live in an area of the country that is over populated with horses! Therefore hay and pasture quality is difficult. Lots of yards have very restricted turnout for most of the year. He also has other limitations in terms of how he is turned out but that's another story!
Ok, so: any thoughts/advice on my current feeding regime?
Am: 250g top spec anti-lam 0.25kg fibre beet - dry weight Fennel Charcoal - natural
Pm: 250g top spec anti-lam 0.25kg fibre beet - dry weight Charcoal - natural Fennel Succeed
Ad-lib hay 24/7 Access to a Himalayan Salt lick and Mineral Lick
He also has Sand-Ex for 7 days every 6ish weeks.
He currently eats this feed which is a bonus as he hasn't been interested in feed for a while, so I'm happy that he at least likes it. Is there anything I can do better?
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Post by janwilky on Feb 12, 2015 8:40:52 GMT 1
Hi ba, glad you've found a way of getting him eating In lots of ways you just have to be guided by how well your horse is doing, whether his guts are happy and he isn't colicing and his weight is right etc. Personally I would use one of the good quality mineral balancers (one of the ranges by Equivita, Forageplus, Progressive Earth or Equimins) rather than the Topspec one, but if it works for your boy you may want to stick with it. Something I've just come across this week but really like the sound of, is a new (to this country) range of feeds called Agrobs Pre Alpin, made from species-rich meadow hay in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. Someone on the Phoenix forum has been trying them and having really good results, and I'm thinking of having a trial too as they are really good spec forage-based low sugar feeds. They include a 'Musli' mix which has added vegetable shavings and seeds, 'Weisencobs' which are a coarse hay cub that can be soaked (to hide yucky minerals!), and a chop with linseed oil. Prices are reasonable and they deliver free if you buy 4+ bags. Apparently the suppliers are really helpful if you e-mail them for advice: www.red-rufus.co.uk/#!pre-alpin-equine-feeds/c5f5 Just thought it was worth mentioning as they are apparently very palatable as well as healthy
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Post by ba on Feb 12, 2015 21:58:27 GMT 1
Thanks :-). I'll have a look into the feeds you have suggested. I'm not overly keen on Top Spec to be honest and I recieved some really poor advice from one of their reps at our last yard visit. I would be happy to change from the Top Soec balancer - the difficulty I have is making the 'right' move to a different, better one. My head is spinning!
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Post by janwilky on Feb 13, 2015 12:34:24 GMT 1
Thanks :-). I'll have a look into the feeds you have suggested. I'm not overly keen on Top Spec to be honest and I recieved some really poor advice from one of their reps at our last yard visit. I would be happy to change from the Top Soec balancer - the difficulty I have is making the 'right' move to a different, better one. My head is spinning! I can sympathise! In a nutshell, most commercial balancers have too much iron and not enough copper and zinc to balance 'average' UK forage. High iron (and manganese) levels can block the uptake of copper and zinc, which are very important and usually in short supply in UK grass and hay. Commercial balancers also tend to be padded out with 'fillers' that are at best useless, and may cause gut or foot problems for some horses. There are a small number of balancers that are more carefully formulated and not padded out with fillers. They tend to be more expensive but you need to feed less. There can be palatability issues with some of them, with some horses, but introducing very slowly into a base feed that your horse actually likes usually helps. The balancers generally recommended for barefoot horses (bearing in mind barefoot owners tend to end up being geekish about feeding because barefoot only works if the diet is spot on) are: Forageplus - they have a wide range of balancers for different needs and can also do a personalised mix based on grass/hay analysis if required. Sarah Braithwaite (the owner) is very helpful if you ring or e-mail her. Excellent quality supplements but quite expensive, partly because they use chelated (yeast-bound, known as Bioplex) forms of certain minerals which they argue are more bioavailable. forageplus.co.uk/EquiVita - relative newcomer but the owner is very, very helpful. Similar specs to the more expensive Forageplus mixes but they use the cheaper sulphate forms of copper and zinc. Many people have found no difference with the non-chelated minerals, or even an improvement, so this option could be one to try if cost is an issue. The same company also produces a fab range of herbs. www.equinatural.co.uk/mineralbalancingProgressive Earth on ebay also have a range of balancers: stores.ebay.co.uk/progressiveearth/Equine-Balancers-Premixes-/_i.html?_fsub=11777623018I haven't used them but a lot of people rate Equimins products too: www.equimins-online.com/all-products/2-equimins-advance-concentrate-powder.html They even have a pelleted version that is helpful for horses that don't like the powdered mixes. The formulations vary in their mineral levels (look particularly for levels of copper and zinc) but also in what else is included: some include probiotics (usually yea sacc 1026 or sometimes listed as Sacccharomycyces Cerivisae), some include essential amino acids and/or vitamins. Generally, you get what you pay for but unless your horse has specific problems it's often best to start with a basic mix and see how you get on. Personally, I find the inclusion of yea sacc very helpful (I buy it separately) but I don't find I need all the extra amino acids as I use copra for added protein and that has really helped my older two build some muscle - what works for you depends on your horse, the level of work he's in, the quality of your hay/grass and what else you're putting into his bucket feed. Hope that helps
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