[Tasia]

Hi everyone there has been some posts about not feeding sweet feed | have read that it is not a good feed. Am I getting the wrong idea everybody that I asked about feeding said it was fine .Have I been misled? If I change his diet will it improve his overall health?(coat too)
Right now I feeding...
Otter Co- Op Sweet feed 12%, Sure crop oats, 2 table spoons of paprika and 8 ounces of canola oil. I have some thing called Pro Choice I dont know what the heck it is but I am not feeding.
Is this bad for him ?
What should I change?
tasia

 

[wild_spot]

Plenty of horses do just fine on sweet feed. However, research is showing that it isn't the best diet for horses - It is similar to feeding a child junk food. Horses are not built to digest high amounts of sugars and starches.

I have recently swapped to a no-grain diet for all my horses - And I do think they are healthier overall. At the moment i'm not feeding but they have free choice mineral blocks and iodised salt licks.

When I do feed, i'm using Speedi-Beet, white chaff and Copra for energy and oils. All of these feeds are low in NSC's (Non-structural Carbohydrates) Which have been linked to laminitis, insulin resistance, EPSM, tying up, etc.

 

[wild_spot]

If you want to change to a low NSC diet, you can try things like Micronized lupins, soybean hulls, etc. to replace grain - Speedi-Beet is a good bulk feed (smilar to forage) - Oils are a good way to add energy and good fats to the diet. I use Copra for this as it is high in coconut oils.

 

[kevinshorses]

I just feed hay to my horses. I feed sweet feed if I am riding really hard only on the days I ride and only to the horse I am riding. 99% of horses are overfed for the work they are doing.

 

[totalfreedom]

A good place to learn about it is www.safergrass.org I still haven't gone into reading a lot on that site so I kinda feel like a hypocrite for reccomending it. But lots of experts suggest spending much time learning about nutrition for horses and such. I've been thinking of ordering the videos to learn about it. But.....haven't yet.

Another thing you can notice from horses that have a crappy diet grow rings around the hoof wall.

So basically I agree with what has been said about removing sweet feed and grains and such. And feeding low NSC feeds.

It's like this. You CAN eat and live on processed foods and crap like it. But..., you WILL eventually end up with a chronic health problem or cancer or no immune system and such. But it's not really designed for the body. So I wouldn't reccomend it. "rant, rant, rant" LOL:wink:

 

[wild_spot]

^ Exactly. The reason we don't see a lot of the ill-effects of a sweet feed diet in horses is because they don't live long enough for it to have the same impact as junk food has on people.

 

[deineria]

A lot of horses do fine, it is true, on sweet feed, but I feel certain - based on my own experience - that ALL horses will do better without it.
I have fed it, and I no longer do.
I find you can feed less of the non sweet feed type feeds and get a better condition, and I've had some horses that just looked like death on it, and when
I changed the feed, their condition changed only for the better, but also,
most horses do best on an all hay diet it the hay is good quality and they are lightly worked only.

 

[Tasia]

Okay the last thing I want to do is harm my horse. In the summer spring and fall he is worked hard thats why I thought he would need grain of some kind. Should I start researching a new grain now and then start in the spring?
Oh and what kind of feeds do you give?

 

[wild_spot]

If you want to go no grain there are plenty of feeds that supply energy without grain. I use Copra - A coconut meal. It is high in coconut oils so provides energy and fats in a good form - Plus you can soak it so it helps with hydration onhot days.

Other, healthier options than grain are soybean hulls or micronized lupins.

 

[trIplEcrOwngIrl]

I have never really like sweet feed just because if is called SWEET so I kind of think of it as feeding candy to my horses.

 

[Tasia]

bump still need help

 

[Tasia]

Hi do you think it would be a good expierement to try no grain for a week or so to see if it is making him hot? and is speedi beet avalible in Canada?

 

[PaintHorseMares]

I just feed hay to my horses. I feed sweet feed if I am riding really hard only on the days I ride and only to the horse I am riding. 99% of horses are overfed for the work they are doing.

We do the same, except we feed SafeChoice instead of sweet feed, only when our mares are worked, otherwise good hay only. Good for the digestion, teeth, and keeps them busy; simple and natural has always worked the best for us.

 

[Sophie19]

Hi do you think it would be a good expierement to try no grain for a week or so to see if it is making him hot? and is speedi beet avalible in Canada?

Take it away a little at a time so that his body will have an easier time adjusting. But yeah, take him off it and see how he does.

 

[~*~anebel~*~]

Your horse will need an adjustment period for changing any feed. Depending on how much you are actually working him, you probably don't need to be feeding him anything other than a good quality hay and free choice minerals/water.

 

[taylor12]

My horse eat Sweet feed EVERY night!!! Their FINE.i would suggest mixing it in with your food and sweet feed together and see is they like that.if they do try sweet feed alone.Ifthey don't like it,mix it together like before and feed them that.

 

[totalfreedom]

Hi do you think it would be a good expierement to try no grain for a week or so to see if it is making him hot?

Keep in mind I'm no expert. I'm only a student. I am only regurgetating what I've learned from the experts which have walked on both sides of the track. I don't like to learn from people that only choose to look at one side of the coin. It makes em unable to distinguish truth from a sea of hogwash.

Yes, and I also think you should try it for an entire year, and then the rest of the horses life.

A quick question. Does your horse have rings around the hoof wall? I'm just curious. I've read and heard that feeding a horse an improper diet will never allow you to grow a proper hoof on the horse. You'll always have white line seperation. That's what I've been learning anyhow. Some people have said that you can look at the hoof wall and see rings which were formed from the diet. And if the diet has always been improper the hoof wall will just seperate from the coffin bone and create lamellar wedge.

Simply put. Horses were not designed for grain or sweet feed. They were designed to forage on low nsc grass throughout the day which is high in fiber. It's harmful for the horse to be fed grain and sweet feed. You CAN feed it to em, but in the end the horse will pay for it.

You came asking for suggestions. I can only suggest to learn from those that are experts and that have chose to ask questions from the accepted norm. www.safergrass.org

Here's a site if you check out the pics you can see the hoof wall seperating from the coffin bone. www.hoofrehab.com You can also see pics of the ring around the hoof wall I'm talking about.

Also check out this site. Jake, 12 yr QH Gelding The left front april 2009 picture shows a good pic with rings in the hoof wall. I didn't even know it but that horse was on an improper diet. I was only trying to find a pic to show the rings, but lo and behold, it says the horse was fed an improper diet.

 

[MN Tigerstripes]

Like the others, I believe it's a good idea to try and wean your horse off the sweet feed. Especially if you're having some behavioral issues with him. Do it slowly over a period of 1-2 weeks (depending on how much he is getting). If he starts to lose weight up the amount and quality of his hay first. You always want to max out on forage before adding any grain.

If you cannot find beet pulp I've had success adding rice bran to the diet if they need extra energy. Don't feed straight "regular" rice bran though, it'll throw your Ca ratio way off. Get a stabilized variety, I have a triple crown brand that I've seen good results with.

 

[Tasia]

Ok hello I have talked to my riding teacher he said I should take him off the sweet feed and get some crushed oats give him a handful when I ride and leave it at that.

 

[Tasia]

Keep in mind I'm no expert. I'm only a student. I am only regurgetating what I've learned from the experts which have walked on both sides of the track. I don't like to learn from people that only choose to look at one side of the coin. It makes em unable to distinguish truth from a sea of hogwash.

Yes, and I also think you should try it for an entire year, and then the rest of the horses life.

A quick question. Does your horse have rings around the hoof wall? I'm just curious. I've read and heard that feeding a horse an improper diet will never allow you to grow a proper hoof on the horse. You'll always have white line seperation. That's what I've been learning anyhow. Some people have said that you can look at the hoof wall and see rings which were formed from the diet. And if the diet has always been improper the hoof wall will just seperate from the coffin bone and create lamellar wedge.

Simply put. Horses were not designed for grain or sweet feed. They were designed to forage on low nsc grass throughout the day which is high in fiber. It's harmful for the horse to be fed grain and sweet feed. You CAN feed it to em, but in the end the horse will pay for it.

You came asking for suggestions. I can only suggest to learn from those that are experts and that have chose to ask questions from the accepted norm. www.safergrass.org

Here's a site if you check out the pics you can see the hoof wall seperating from the coffin bone. www.hoofrehab.com You can also see pics of the ring around the hoof wall I'm talking about.

Also check out this site. Jake, 12 yr QH Gelding The left front april 2009 picture shows a good pic with rings in the hoof wall. I didn't even know it but that horse was on an improper diet. I was only trying to find a pic to show the rings, but lo and behold, it says the horse was fed an improper diet.

I have also heard about the rings. My farrier said he has the best feet he has ever seen so I dont think he has any rings.