STOCKYARD
HORSE  DISCUSSION FORUMS

horseygirl74

I currently feed Chaff, Lucerne and Economix to my 3 T/breds - I am happy with what I am feeding them (they are all pretty good doers and have 24hr access to grass) but I would like some suggestions as to what I could add, for a bit of variety? They have access to mineral blocks - 2 of my boys get gastrocoat as they are sometimes prone to ulcers.
One of my boys is a windsucker and nothing will stop him (have tried everything and at the end of the day he isn't hurting anyone) - His windsucking has become a little more aggressive since he came off a 3 week trial (he was up for sale) and have noticed he has dropped alot of weight from his neck - any suggestions in regards to how I can help build this up again (apart from working long and low)? I know that this can be a common problem with windsuckers, but up until now I've not had this problem with him. Any suggestions would be helpful

Bec1404

Par-boiled rice is great and all the horses i have had love it. It wont heat them up and puts weight on them quickly. It does take a bit of prep (pour boiling water over and leave for 20-30 minutes) but the results are worth it. For tbs the best advice i can give is hay, hay ,hay! Get a roll in the paddock to keep your windsucker amused and hopefully he'll forget about his habit. He might have started up again due to the stress of moving from property to property. Once he's settled again you might find that he'll pick up on his own

Caroline

Horses dont mind eating the same thing every day.

Stick with what you feed. Perhaps more Economix to the windsucker for weight gain, and more hay for the lot.

Remember Economix is a complete feed so dont add other goodies, as you just create imbalances in the ration.

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Heifer

wat you're feeding sounds about right

chick_with_a_chainsaw

not sure why you want to add stuff to your horses feed if they are fine on it. as for the windsucker loosing neck err weight cant you put a collar on him. at least even if he looks funny he wont loose the weight as much.

horseygirl74

Thanks for the advice everyone - just thought they'd get a bit bored of the same thing everyday!
Have tried a miracle collar and it doesn't work - he has found a way of sucking with his collar on - no matter how tight! He has figured out that he can rest the front of his bottom teeth on a post and push against the post and suck - my dentist noticed he is wearing away the front of his bottom teeth, so advised me to take the collar off and let him do his thing. Doesn't really faze me (altho can be quite annoying) just haven't really noticed him losing the weight thru his neck until the past couple of weeks - will bulk up his hay load and see how I go!

Lil Dove

Maybe add a few chopped carrots & mix watered molass with the feed, to 'spice' it up a bit...yummm

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The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears. ~Arabian Proverb