Feeding my eventer
I often get asked what i feed Elmo and the answer is ... Not a lot!!
Here's what goes in his feed bucket and more importantly why!
Dengie pure grass pellets - 1/2 jug mixed with water - to act as a carrier for his balancer
Equivita balancer - 3 scoops - this balancer has been developed to provide vitamins and minerals that are generally lacking in UK grasslands. Just like us taking a multivitamin. These vits and mins aid many of the body functions so when out of balance or deficient, they cannot function optimally and may result in behaviours such as lethergy, spookiness, lack of stamina etc.
Micronised linseed - 1 cup - typically I would only feed this in winter as grass and hay are lacking in the omega 3 it provides. However it is also a good source of calories which he needs when competing and oil for his coat so I opt to feed it all year.
Salt - 1 tbsp - our UK grasses are also lacking in salt (sodium chloride). This is rarely present in bought feed as it will make the feed spoil when stored. Salt licks also dont provide enough so supplementing it in their feed is encouraged, particularly after heavy work when they have been sweating. I add it daily.
Thunderbrooks healthy herbal chaff - 1 scoop - I use this to mix in with his food to avoid him eating it too quick and to encourage him to chew more. This chaff is just cut meadow grasses so no additives such as molasses which you often find.
Marigold and cleavers - a sprinkle - these are great for lymphatics but I only add them really because he loves them and it makes him eat his whole feed!!!
Here's what goes in his feed bucket and more importantly why!
Dengie pure grass pellets - 1/2 jug mixed with water - to act as a carrier for his balancerEquivita balancer - 3 scoops - this balancer has been developed to provide vitamins and minerals that are generally lacking in UK grasslands. Just like us taking a multivitamin. These vits and mins aid many of the body functions so when out of balance or deficient, they cannot function optimally and may result in behaviours such as lethergy, spookiness, lack of stamina etc. Micronised linseed - 1 cup - typically I would only feed this in winter as grass and hay are lacking in the omega 3 it provides. However it is also a good source of calories which he needs when competing and oil for his coat so I opt to feed it all year. Salt - 1 tbsp - our UK grasses are also lacking in salt (sodium chloride). This is rarely present in bought feed as it will make the feed spoil when stored. Salt licks also dont provide enough so supplementing it in their feed is encouraged, particularly after heavy work when they have been sweating. I add it daily.Thunderbrooks healthy herbal chaff - 1 scoop - I use this to mix in with his food to avoid him eating it too quick and to encourage him to chew more. This chaff is just cut meadow grasses so no additives such as molasses which you often find.Marigold and cleavers - a sprinkle - these are great for lymphatics but I only add them really because he loves them and it makes him eat his whole feed!!! So basically he gets soaked GRASS with balancer, linseed and salt mixed with chopped GRASS and sprinkled with some plants. He's also in a mixed GRASS field 24/7 and when in eats dried GRASS (hay).
The horses gut was developed to eat GRASS so to keep things simple and to avoid adding anything unnecessary for his guts to digest this is what I feed. No binders, fillers, additives, grain or soya. 'But he wont have any energy' I hear you cry - I assure you he could have gone round the XC 3 x over yesterday
. The farrier has also commented on the quality of his hooves recently, something we have previously struggled with.
Horses are hind gut fermenters which means they eat grass and plants, these pass through the stomach and into a giant fermenting chamber called the ceacum where there are millions of bacteria that break down the grasses. This is what they do best. Anything too foreign in terms of feed entering this chamber will upset the bacteria as they dont know what to do with it and can lead to acidosis.
Now remember I'm not a nutritionist, just somebody who has done lots of research, read lots of feed bags and spoken to lots of nutritionists! So I'm not saying you must all change your feeds this is just what I feed and im not preaching for you all to convert! But I would encourage you to read the back of your feed bags and see just what is going in to your horses, it shocked me when i started reading up on feeding and nutrition!
Remember less is more, and grass/ hay/ plants should make up the majority of what they eat!
The horses gut was developed to eat GRASS so to keep things simple and to avoid adding anything unnecessary for his guts to digest this is what I feed. No binders, fillers, additives, grain or soya. 'But he wont have any energy' I hear you cry - I assure you he could have gone round the XC 3 x over yesterday
. The farrier has also commented on the quality of his hooves recently, something we have previously struggled with.Horses are hind gut fermenters which means they eat grass and plants, these pass through the stomach and into a giant fermenting chamber called the ceacum where there are millions of bacteria that break down the grasses. This is what they do best. Anything too foreign in terms of feed entering this chamber will upset the bacteria as they dont know what to do with it and can lead to acidosis.
Now remember I'm not a nutritionist, just somebody who has done lots of research, read lots of feed bags and spoken to lots of nutritionists! So I'm not saying you must all change your feeds this is just what I feed and im not preaching for you all to convert! But I would encourage you to read the back of your feed bags and see just what is going in to your horses, it shocked me when i started reading up on feeding and nutrition!
Remember less is more, and grass/ hay/ plants should make up the majority of what they eat!