Whats in your bucket ?

The simple balanced bucket that we advocate is not designed to trick the horse into eating something he doesn’t want or need. As long as changes are made slowly, horses soon appreciate a healthier bucket feed that provides the nutritents they need – without the ingredients that we humans tend to see as tasty!

Although the odd sliced carrot, sprinkle of soaked grass-nuts, cup of copra or other ‘tastier’ ingredients  can be helpful while transitioning, in the long-run, horses don’t really need these addatives in the daily feed.

The purpose of a bucket feed is to provide the essential things that are lacking or are present in insufficient levels in the forage.  Generally, to provide essential nutrients that are lacking in hay-orientated forage, we employ the following ingredients:

1. Plain salt (sodium chloride)
2. A good-quality vitamin and mineral supplement ( Premium MVA)
3. A plain chaff – hay or hay/oat straw chops. This is provided to enable chewing, rather than because of any nutritional value the chaff might have. Having said this, avoid chaff that introduces alfa, molasses, oils and other unnecessary additives
4. Copra 200g  Copra is a useful mash given my horses work and energy needs. Copra oil supplies saturated fats which are more resistant to oxidation than polyunsaturated fats and is very low in any omega 3/6 fatty acids. It provides a small amount of additional calories without increasing oxidative stress, making it a useful safe, slow-release energy source alongside micronised linseed For animals with active metabolic issues soaked hay nuts provide a better option, they are better balanced for Calcium and Phosporus and lower in energy (calories/DE)
5. Micronised linseed 200g. Micronised Linseed is a valuable feed where a small amount provides many benefits.  I feed a higher level, up to 200g per day, so linseed has a key supporting role, particularly in providing the fatty acid profile in their diet. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help regulate inflammatory processes, support skin and coat condition, and contribute to metabolic stability.  It adds Omega-6 fatty acids that are also essential and serve important roles in maintaining cell structure, supporting immune function, and enabling normal inflammatory processes. Inflammation itself is not harmful; it is a necessary part of healing and defence.    In the pictures, you can see that this simple bucket does not look very appealing to us humans. But it is good horse-feed. Never forget that the forage is the biggest part of the diet. The bucket is only required to add the finishing touches to its forage – thereby fully meeting the horse’s needs.   The top picture shows that there is quite a lot of powder, and the amount of other ingredients is relatively small.  Below you can see this mixed well with a small amount of water.

My horses generally get their small bucket feed once a day and will come down from their hay stations and wait in line for their bucket to be put out.

To the foundations of a diet based on long fibre forage (hay and mature grasses), you can add GrazEzy and Alleviate C as approprite to the horses needs.   In our experience, these ingredients are all that are regularly needed to provide a well-balanced and nutritionally-appropriate diet for your horse.