Am i feeding him right?

Jasper65

Jasper65

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I have a 16.1 rising 5 tb gelding and recently his weight has been up and down like a yo-yo. He is on supervised grass livery, not in work and gets 1 feed a day with a large bale of hay in the field which is replaced as soon as it runs out.

He is currently on an own brand Lightly molassed straw chaff, D&H build up mix and a high fibre nut. He gets a small scoop of chaff and the same of build up and half of nuts.

He also gets Naf pink powders, Naf general supplement, Naf pro feet and garlic.

I was riding him once a week but found he had no energy about him and then I broke my wrist so he has been off work since beginning of november.

I would like some advice as to whether I am feeding him right? how i can increase his energy levels without blowing his mind? Why is his weight changing so much?

Any help would be greatly appreiciated
Thanks Jasper65
 
for a tb it sounds ok. I would personaly get ride of the straw chaff and nuts and replace it with a conditioning fibre thatw ill give you the benifits of both in one. I use spillers conditioning chaff, I can see why you might want to feed build up but I personally don't like it I prefer to feed an endurance style mix proviwhich provides the additonal level of energy and I can build up muscle and topline condition through training. That is alot of supplements all have a reported benifit in their own right but does he really need them... I would feed one good general supplement or balancer and an oil.

Are the usuals all ok, particulary worming, that can effect the weight. Oh and remember the old saying feed little and often, what you giving him I would prefer to split that into two feeds, morning and night to allow his tummy to digest slower.

Most of main feed suppliers have their nutritionists that are happy to help heres the link to the spillers one I used before.
http://www.spillers-feeds.com/en-gb...Feed/equine-nutrition/care-line-enquiry-form/
 
I'm not sure why you are feeding pink powders and then a general supplement and also pro feet. IMHO you'd be better putting him on a balancer where he is getting everything he needs from that together with ad lib hay.

Regarding lack of energy as he hasn't been ridden since November I'd wait and see how he is first before you change his diet too much. Could be with the spring grass and better weather combined with the time off that he will have a spring in his step anyway. I'd prefer to see how he was going before making any dietary changes to up his energy.

Hope your wrist has healed well and that you are able to be back in the saddle again soon.
 
Agree that you don't to feed all the supplements together, particularly the Pink Powders and General Supplement, as the Pink Powders act as a vit/min supplement as well as a probiotic.

Difficult to say why his weight is fluctuating as you don't actually say how much it is fluctuating and when. Various factors could be involved, such as changes in the nutritional content of the grazing and hay, bullying in the field, changes in workload, changes in weather etc.

If you want to keep condition on and keep the horse calm then try and steer clear of high cereal feeds which Build Up Mix is. Can't really see the point of feeding low calorie high fibre cubes alongside a high calorie conditioning feed? You could try swapping the mix and cubes to something like Spiller's Response Slow Release Cubes, which are higher in calories than the fibre cubes but a bit lower in calories than the Build Up Mix, and significantly lower in cereals than the latter, which should keep him a bit calmer.

If he is lacking condition you may find he needs two feeds a day.
 
Most of main feed suppliers have their nutritionists that are happy to help heres the link to the spillers one I used before.
http://www.spillers-feeds.com/en-gb...Feed/equine-nutrition/care-line-enquiry-form/
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thanks i will contact them and see what they say.
IMHO you'd be better putting him on a balancer where he is getting everything he needs from that together with ad lib hay.
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Which balancer would you suggest? Should i just give him the pink powders?

If you want to keep condition on and keep the horse calm then try and steer clear of high cereal feeds which Build Up Mix is. Can't really see the point of feeding low calorie high fibre cubes alongside a high calorie conditioning feed?
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He has been on this for a while and was suggested to me by a friend a while back. Ive never really had to much to do with feeding and so was unsure as to the calorie contents.

You could try swapping the mix and cubes to something like Spiller's Response Slow Release Cubes, which are higher in calories than the fibre cubes but a bit lower in calories than the Build Up Mix, and significantly lower in cereals than the latter, which should keep him a bit calmer.
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I will swap the cubes. He doesn't particularly need to be calmer specifically as he has no energy about him at all at the moment. If i swap the chaff and mix like ossy said would this work?

Sorry for all the questions, never really had to look at and decide on feeds before so its all a bit new to me :o Thanks Jasper65
 
Jasper65 said:
thanks i will contact them and see what they say.

Which balancer would you suggest? Should i just give him the pink powders?

I will swap the cubes. He doesn't particularly need to be calmer specifically as he has no energy about him at all at the moment. If i swap the chaff and mix like ossy said would this work?

Sorry for all the questions, never really had to look at and decide on feeds before so its all a bit new to me :o Thanks Jasper65
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I'd use the pink powder, but sprinkle it on a carrot or two. If you went for a balancer I would go for baileys lo-cal for value for money.

that (swapping the mix and chaff) would help to give him more calories without making him silly. Another way would be to include speedibeet to help increase his fibre intake and keep him warm, which will help to stabilise his weight!
 
I have an 8 yo TB and he's looking great at the moment. I have been feeding dengie HiFi ( 1 scoop am and pm) and Top spec comprehensive balancer (550g in his am feed) and Top spec cool conditioning cubes (1/2 scoop in his tea) I can't speak highly enough of Top spec, he's maintained his weight and had enough energy to be worked 5-6 days a week (weather allowing lol) and he's never been more even tempered. I would definately recommend you have a look at feeding a balancer of one type or another as it would certainly cut down the different sup's you are adding at the moment. I can also recommend giving one of the feed companies helplines. Top spec were very helpful when I called them, and a friend of mine also got a lot from talking to Dodson and Horrell. Good luck. x
 
thanks JenHunt i hadnt thought of speedibeet. Can i ask why you would sprinkle the pink powders on a carrot? Ive never heard of this before?

Thats brill thankyou Nickles1973. I have completed spillers enquiry form and will also speak to both dodson and horrell and Top spec. And im going to go do some more research into balancers now :)

Thanks everyone you have been a great help.
Thanks Jasper65
 
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