Best conditioning feed for a spooky horse...

[icyfreya]

My new horse (had him a week today, exciteeeee! ) is quite spooky, he is settling in, and is beginning to calm down a bit, but he jumps and spooks when i bring him in/turn him out, when i hack him up the road (2 mins) to the arena, and also today in the arena, it was quite windy, but he spooked 6/7 times, and each time he does he really jumps out of his skin, sometimes breaks into canter etc, and I haven't hacked him out yet, but it's worrying me a little, as his owner said he can be a bit spooky out hacking, and I don't want him jumping sideways/into canter with traffic around! Although I know he is fine in traffic.

Previous people had him on mole valley conditioning mix, which is mollassed, and dengie hi-fi lite (however i'm not sure if they actually fed him regularly as they were very vague about it)...he is 3/4 tb x hannoverian, and not a great doer, and was lacking in condition & topline when I got him...I have switched him to Alfa A original instead of the hifi lite, and also pink powder...

He is looking much much better in himself, and a lot happier too, but i'm wondering if the spookiness could be due to his feed? Is there another conditioning feed which will be less likely to exacerbate spookiness, (as i hear molasses can make horses spooky?) Or anything I can give him to calm/relax him a bit? And also, would he be better on alfa a oil rather than original? He is not at all naughty, hasn't put a foot wrong in any other aspect, so I think he is genuinely scared.

xx

 

[charmeroo]

Hi! I fed my tb on happyhoof with allen & page calm and condition. A scoop of each per feed and I'm sure that worked. You could also feed Nupafeed calmer which I was recommended and used.

 

[Silmarillion]

Some horses do "react" to Alfa A badly, so it's possible it may not be helping... although also possible that it's just your horse's personality! I would give him a bit longer on the Alfa A and get some work into him to improve the topline, see what happens. If you still suspect the Alfa A after a month or two, take him off it and put him on HiFi and see if it makes a difference. It has been particularly windy for a lot of the country this week (especially the beginning of the week) so I'd excuse him for a lot of it, to be honest

The reason I came in this thread was mainly to see if you'd mentioned Allen & Page Calm & Condition, as I know a few horses (including one of mine) who have reacted really badly to it - it sent my Welsh Cob completely round the twist within two weeks, and took her another two to calm down again! I'm always interested to hear other people's experiences with it to see if it's a common thing!

I had my mare on Bailey's Topline Cubes when she came to me, she did very well on them (and then their Working Horse & Pony Cubes once she'd filled out). That was before I realised that she did even better on Alfa A, and I think it's always a better idea to go for fibre and work before heading for the concentrate feeds

 

[Louby]

My boy is very spooky and cannot tolerate most mixes. Spillers Cool Mix sent him loopy but Spillers slow release comp mix was fine. I tend to stick to cubes now though. He is fine on Alfa A and Ive fed it in winter if he drops too much condition and it works great. I also add Top Spec to it with great results.
I cannot feed sugar beet even unmollassed, he is scary on that.

 

[Gucci_b]

My mare was like this, a flipping night mare . I changed her feed to WINERGY Equilibrium as very low in starch http://winergy.com/Products/ this helped and Alfa A original and Magnitude from Equine America http://www.equine-america.co.uk/products.php?cat=17, and I also used fluffy check peices while out hacking and a few times at competions, this kept her focus and she was so much better to ride. I also hacked her out all the time and just kept her going forward, she still spooks but no where as bad as she used too...

 

[Miss L Toe]

I have to soak forage to remove sugars, even an hour or two makes a big difference. When he was growing I gave him Allen and Page Calm and Condition, and some Fast Fibre.
He still gets Feedmark Steady up [Mg and yeast and herbs] Dengie molasses free Hi FI low alfa chaff. [or Speedy Beet].with linseed meal] and vits and mins.
This seems to work but also teach him leg yield and responding to leg aids generally, grid work and so on to make him concentrate and keep his legs moving where you ask.
He will settle in, try to keep him to a very regular routine so he is relaxed, and don't be afraid to keep a finger through the neck-strap to keep your balance. I have a lovely mane which helps us both out, as you are no good on the ground!
Also when hacking and he is spooky, I have my reins bridged and hands resting on either side of withers.

 

[PennyJ]

I found that by removing cereal and molasses from my boy's diet, we stopped the silly spookiness.

The best combination for him is Alfa A Oil, Bailey's Lo-Cal feed balancer, and speedibeet. For extra energy when required he gets Outshine. Looks fabulous, tons of energy and no more silliness.

 

[LittleMouse]

hiya x are horses are the same! in the winter we fed them on spillers horse and pony cubes x there not conditioning but theyre full of vitamins and stuff!! Also, they have calming stuff xx ares were always fine on that, especially since they were only being ridden twice a week, kept them nice and calm! x

 

[Firewell]

He's probably just new and unsure of everything. I'm sure once you are used to each other you won't notice the spooking and he won't do it as much!
Stick to adlib hay/haylage for now and low energy feeds until you get to know each other .
I would use hifi, pony nuts/fibre nuts, non mollased sbeet. Maybe a squirt of oil. Keep it simple and low key for now and you can always upgrade if necc. Stick to starch lower than 15%. seriously adlib hay is two haynets at least at night and more during day. Good luck!!!
P.s he sounds lovely and all horses take a while to settle in. It takes me at least 18 months to know a horse fully and I grew up in a horse family! Xx