Any advice to improve my horses condition please?

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littlen

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I'm looking for some feed/ condition advice and would love some advice please!

I've had my horse for a year and a half ish. I got him as Nobody else wanted him and he was obese, very undermuscled and laminitic (as well as having severe allergies and numerous other problems!)

A small fortune and a million hours later I have a budding endurance horse who is very enthusiastic and has lost a serious amount of weight. He is ridden very regulally and is on a restricted diet of baileys lo cal and a bare paddock daily, he lives out 24/7 in summer.

We recently decided to do a little more than endurance and started showing and dressage too alongside his normal work. However he has not done very well showing this far and mostly comes last. I know it's down to a few problems such as the fact he isn't as well schooled as some of them and I am very new to showing so make mistakes and get nervous. I have also has comments about being placed down because of his breed (Arab competing in classes such as novice ridden which has all breeds in and judges seem to not like him)
so being placed so low has made me worry about his condition. Looking at him critically tonight in order to look like the others at he show he needs more muscle and a better condition in general, as he has no fat at all ( you can faintly see ribs when he moves) I don't know how to achieve this condition without massive weight gain as he is laminitic?
Also his coat looks a little dull and dosent shine like the others (he is white grey) is there anything I can feed or do to improve his coat condition and make it shine?
I also need to increase his muscle lots. He is still undermuscled but I am working on getting him working properly, but it's hard as the breed has a typically high head carriage! Is there anything I can do to improve it quicker?

I think I need. Diet change , at the moment he has baileys lo cal and that's it?!

In all honesty I felt a little embarrased at the last show as I felt like the judges and other competition thought I wasn't looking after him properly and I felt very looked down on :(


Any other tips would be great?
 
I put my 15h TB mare onto blue chip original and baileys conditioning cubes, and she is looking so good now after 6 weeks. She went quite poor after winter, loss of top line and muscle, though she is 16. Now I am putting new horse onto same as he is supposed to be HW Irish D X but needs building up. Also if you have acces to any hills then hill work in trot up is good for muscle building.
 
Have you got any pics you can post of him??

I'd be careful about trying to feed for condition with his laminitis history unless he is really underweight? Show judges do like horses to typically be a little rounder, but that will conflict with your intensions for endurance (and his laminitis), unfortuanately you may struggle to do both successfully as they require different things.

Muscle tone will only come with correct work. If you want to do well showing, try taking lessons with a local instructor to help engage him better. Lunging him with either side reins, chambon or pesoa will help to bring him down more and help build topline a bit more.
 
I have known several laminitics to absolutely bloom on topspec anti-lam or you could try Dengie healthy hooves... adding a little soya oil to his feed should add a nice shine to his coat too...
 
meant to say as well a little lunging in relatively loose sidereins, over a few trotting poles should encourage him to stretch down and over his back. also lunging with two reins rather than just one will encourage him to work better from behind...
 
Had to put a lot of condition on my girl who came to me in quite a poorly state so have been long reining and using a pessoa to add the top line as well as hacking up the hills, but have also been using Baileys Outshine which I have found like a miracle substance!

She now looks amazing on it even after only 3 weeks, that people keep saying how well she looks, it is high oil content so great for the look of the coat as well but also slow release energy so non heating, great benefit in my eyes. If looking at this option would speak to Baileys nutrionists though so feeding right amount (they are very helpful).

I think I might start sounding like an advert for this Outshine soon as I keep recommending it, but have never seen such amazing results as this stuff has shown.
 
Totally don't want to rain on your parade, but if you can just see his ribs when we moves I would say he is spot on! Arabs tend to me more lightly built and muscled aswell. Perhaps some hill work would help if you want him to build a bit over his topline and bum? Endurance work will make it harder for him to build alot of muscle (google pics of long distance runners compared to 100m runners!). Perhaps you would have more luck if you went in classes that were more for Arab breeds? To be honest if I were you I would rather he was healthy and doing well and enjoying endurance than perhaps a bit heavier than ideal having a go at showing, esp with his weight and lami history. Massive well done on the weight loss, have a v good doer myself so know the constant work it is!
 
also echo the endurance fit not necess possible to combine with show condition, and would def prefer horse with lami risk to be the former! But recommend pink powder with whatever you do feed, it will help him make the most of it. and maybe a lo cal haylage like horsehage blue, that really makes their coats and manes/tails bloom as well as giving them a bit of extra curve.

also I am also a fan of Dengie Healthy Hooves. lovely moist nutty stuff. lami trust approved too, altho I would still speak to dengie first.
 
i'd add some oil to his feed.
lunging once a week in 'something' to make him work correctly (pick you method of choice that works for you both ;)) and lunging over poles
 
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