Hello!
I am feeding a totally fibre based diet as my horse is not working at the moment. He is currently having 7 kg hay and 1kg Hi-fi lite with 1/3 kg sugarbeet as a partial hay replacer split into two feeds. He has pink powder too as a supplement and balancer but I would like to give him some Allen and page fast fibre as I know it contains a lot of the vits and mins a horse needs. The reason for giving all this is that hay and his grazing has become short and I do find he eats his hay more slowly after his feeds which is obviously more beneficial for a greedy good doer! I also want to make sure he has tasty food to eat given that he is on a strictly fibre diet and he is prone to getting bored of his chaff! What supplement would you recommend he had if I added or replaced some of the hi-fi with the fast fibre? I am concerned about overloading with certain vits and mins.
Many thanks.
Hi Fibre feeds, which supplements to add?
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Irishcobfan
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Expert_NAF_Nutrition
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Re: Hi Fibre feeds, which supplements to add?
Hi,
Thanks for your enquiry, and I do think that with the issues surrounding hay this year you won't be the only one looking increasingly to partial hay replacers. I would advise however that you try to stick to the long chop fibres as much as possible, i.e. hay and haylage, as these are more natural to the diet and give the horse more to do in terms of breaking down and digesting. The easier we make the fibre to eat, the more your horse will get out of his diet - which perhaps you don't want with a good do-er!
If you are using a feed with vitamins and minerals, and feeding at the recommended rate for your horse, then you may not need an additional supplement to meet vitamin and mineral needs. However, beware! Very few people, particularly those with good do-ers, are feeding at anything like the recommended feeding rate. Feeding less not only means that the vitamins and minerals are not being fed within the feed at the intended rate, but also that the bag is open for longer. Vitamins in particular are very susceptible to attack from the air (which is why ours are in air tight containers), and so if the bag is open for a while the level drops away significantly.
If you are not feeding the A&P at the recommended rate then I would advise that you continue to supplement, though you may want to reduce the level slightly to accomodate the nutrients in the feed. For example, the recommended rate for Pink Powder for a cob would be 2-3 scoops per day. If he's also on some feed, and not in work, then the lower rate of 2 scoops would be adequate. For horses in work, the 2-3 scoop level is designed to fit with some hard feed to meet all requirements.
Alternatively, if your horse is a particular good do-er then you may decide to change the Pink Powder to NAF Slimline, which is a unique supplement designed to help those horses who struggle with their girth, while providing them with all the vitamins and minerals they require.
Finally the only other supplement I would advise for all horses and ponies is natural salt. Salt is the one nutrient that horses have been shown to self-select - that is, they will take the amount they require if it's available to them. Therefore you just need to ensure that he has access to a NAF Himalayan Salt Lick in his field and stable and he should help himself!
I hope this has answered your question. Any further queries please do contact us again, and please let us know how you and your horse get on with NAF products - remember, we always love to hear expletive!
Kind regards,
Kate
Snr Nutritionist, NAF
Thanks for your enquiry, and I do think that with the issues surrounding hay this year you won't be the only one looking increasingly to partial hay replacers. I would advise however that you try to stick to the long chop fibres as much as possible, i.e. hay and haylage, as these are more natural to the diet and give the horse more to do in terms of breaking down and digesting. The easier we make the fibre to eat, the more your horse will get out of his diet - which perhaps you don't want with a good do-er!
If you are using a feed with vitamins and minerals, and feeding at the recommended rate for your horse, then you may not need an additional supplement to meet vitamin and mineral needs. However, beware! Very few people, particularly those with good do-ers, are feeding at anything like the recommended feeding rate. Feeding less not only means that the vitamins and minerals are not being fed within the feed at the intended rate, but also that the bag is open for longer. Vitamins in particular are very susceptible to attack from the air (which is why ours are in air tight containers), and so if the bag is open for a while the level drops away significantly.
If you are not feeding the A&P at the recommended rate then I would advise that you continue to supplement, though you may want to reduce the level slightly to accomodate the nutrients in the feed. For example, the recommended rate for Pink Powder for a cob would be 2-3 scoops per day. If he's also on some feed, and not in work, then the lower rate of 2 scoops would be adequate. For horses in work, the 2-3 scoop level is designed to fit with some hard feed to meet all requirements.
Alternatively, if your horse is a particular good do-er then you may decide to change the Pink Powder to NAF Slimline, which is a unique supplement designed to help those horses who struggle with their girth, while providing them with all the vitamins and minerals they require.
Finally the only other supplement I would advise for all horses and ponies is natural salt. Salt is the one nutrient that horses have been shown to self-select - that is, they will take the amount they require if it's available to them. Therefore you just need to ensure that he has access to a NAF Himalayan Salt Lick in his field and stable and he should help himself!
I hope this has answered your question. Any further queries please do contact us again, and please let us know how you and your horse get on with NAF products - remember, we always love to hear expletive!
Kind regards,
Kate
Snr Nutritionist, NAF
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Irishcobfan
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:52 pm
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Re: Hi Fibre feeds, which supplements to add?
Hi Kate,
Thank you for your reply, it's really helped me make a decision to stick with what he is having plus the Pink powder. I remember reading about the importance of salt in a reply to someone else so he already has that so thank you for that aswell!
Kind regards
Irishcobfan
Thank you for your reply, it's really helped me make a decision to stick with what he is having plus the Pink powder. I remember reading about the importance of salt in a reply to someone else so he already has that so thank you for that aswell!
Kind regards
Irishcobfan
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