Can a horse compete/ work hard on a purely fibre diet

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Sammy1983

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As above really. My mare is a 12 year old Irish sports horse. I had real trouble finding a feed she would eat and that didn't turn her into a raving lunatic. After trying lots of different feeds we decided to go back to basics and she's now fed on Alfa a oil, Alfa beet and nag general purpose supplement. She was doing really well on this, but in the past month/6 weeks we've upped her work load and she's now schooling or jumping twice a week 45 mins to an hour, and three hacks a week of approx 4-6 miles. Since doing this I've found she seems to be lacking energy whereas she was raring to go before, I have increased her work load gradually and she is very fit. I spoke to Dengie who have advised increasing the Alfa beet and switching to a competition supplement.
I've started thinking that maybe I need to add a mix to her diet to help increase her energy levels. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?
 
my mare gets no hard feed and never has since she was backed, in 2013 was hacking 20+hrs per week in all paces, she is now schooling 5 times per week, hacking twice and lunging once, we school and then go straight out for a hack.

a friend who helped back my mare events, pony clubs, showjumps, hacks, hunts and competes dressage and about 50% of the horses she rides get no hard feed and live out all summer.

so if it does not suit your mare then don't give it, I would try adding salt to her feed though.
 
Have you tried feeding something like "Outshine" from Baileys.

My boy has just completed 65k (40 miles) on Alfa Oil, Baileys Performance Balancer, Baileys Fibre Nuggets and Grass nuts. Hay is ad lib . I wil start to add some Outshine now that he has increased the work. He had plenty in the tank too.

Also mine are out 24/7 and he is fully clipped.
 
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I would either add micronised linseed or copra if you need some extra stamina/energy thats all I feed mine and they have plenty, I used to feed alpha oil with the above but have now switched to graze on green and have found no difference, I also just feed unmolassed sugar beet rather than alpha beet its much cheaper.
 
try feeding some table salt, start gradually at first. They don't get enough from a salt lick. I have a horse that was always very lazy he had two tablespoons a day , heaped in hot weather or if he sweats a lot. Makes all the difference. he goes dead without it. Most horse feed does not have it added as it goes soggy. Also travelling acts as work on the muscles so feed may need to be increased to allow for it.
 
If you struggle to find a feed which doesn't send your horse loopy, then a mix is the last thing I would be going to myself!

I have also had a similar struggle with my boy who is intolerant to sugar, so much so that even a couple of carrots can change his behaviour. He was doing well on just chaff with a balancer (Alltech Lifeforce) and NAF EnerG until the start of the winter when he was lacking energy so I added speedibeet and took out the EnerG which did the trick. As his workload increased, his energy levels dropped again so I simply increased the beet.

The other straight I would be considering would be oats, and if my boy drops his energy levels again then that would probably be my next step, however as the grass is just beginning to come through, he's been fine.
 
I do add feed to her salt now but I might increase the amount. Has anyone ever found they've had a horse that just can't manage to work at a high level or is it the case that if feeding and management are correct any horse should be capable of it? Jennbags did you find that the EnerG helped at all with the energy levels?
 
You could try Red Grass Nuts from Simple Systems - rocket fuel, but you don't have to feed it every day, just the day/morning they are going to be doing some harder work, if that what works for you. The Red Grass nuts are like spring grass.

Or try adding a few oats to the forage feed? Or soaked oats?
 
depends on how strictly you define fibre only and for me, how you define hard work and then to say whether its possible-what are your results!

for eg oats actually have a very high fibre content but are not strictly a fibre feed, they are a grain. ditto is oil excluded from this fibre only diet?

for RC type stuff and low level affiliated, for the average horse then yes probably possible...........but you dont see/hear of many horses at top level on true 100% fibre only diets do you? theres a reason for it.

im well aware there are a few in each discipline incl racing that manage it, but its the exception not the rule and tbh i wouldnt like to try it to try and make the point.

as i said you also have to look at results because theres a difference between doing it, and doing it succesfully! ill feed whatever increases the chances of success and for most horses that includes some grain content whether in a mix or cubes.

I can only use NMT's Fig as an eg (as Goofy is too young) but he has fibre, oil AND grains (oats). His body condition, stamina,and results speak for themselves. When Goof needs more topline and energy he will get oats added in too.

i dont think many horses are capable of performing at 100% at higher levels on fibre alone.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
depends on how strictly you define fibre only and for me, how you define hard work and then to say whether its possible-what are your results!

for eg oats actually have a very high fibre content but are not strictly a fibre feed, they are a grain. ditto is oil excluded from this fibre only diet?

for RC type stuff and low level affiliated, for the average horse then yes probably possible...........but you dont see/hear of many horses at top level on true 100% fibre only diets do you? theres a reason for it.

im well aware there are a few in each discipline incl racing that manage it, but its the exception not the rule and tbh i wouldnt like to try it to try and make the point.

as i said you also have to look at results because theres a difference between doing it, and doing it succesfully! ill feed whatever increases the chances of success and for most horses that includes some grain content whether in a mix or cubes.

I can only use NMT's Fig as an eg (as Goofy is too young) but he has fibre, oil AND grains (oats). His body condition, stamina,and results speak for themselves. When Goof needs more topline and energy he will get oats added in too.

i dont think many horses are capable of performing at 100% at higher levels on fibre alone.
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This is the way I'm thinking at the moment. I am happy to feed oats and oil to her diet. Being nosey Prince33Sp4rkle which oil do you add to your feed?
 
Sammy1983 said:
I do add feed to her salt now but I might increase the amount. Has anyone ever found they've had a horse that just can't manage to work at a high level or is it the case that if feeding and management are correct any horse should be capable of it? Jennbags did you find that the EnerG helped at all with the energy levels?
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Yes it did help in the summer, but as the grass dropped off, I needed something more and I am always very cautious with giving him too much so I took it out when I added the beet. I have been considering adding it again recently but increased the beet instead and that has worked.

I definitely think oats & oil is a better thing to be trying rather than a mix.
 
Hiya :)

Fig's base feed is winergy condition which is fibre (alfalfa) with oil coating (soya).

he gets micronised linseed added to up the oil,and soaked oats (soaked overnight in cold water). The linseed and the oats have really built up his topline and helped with stamina(more the oats for that). He is working at PSG plus pi/pa and competing adv med and is NEVER tired or muscle sore. Some (not all but some) horse is see and know work off fibre, drop off quickly after a hard session and almost run themselves sore trying to keep going when fatigued, i dont want that for our horses.

He also gets equine elite NZ supplements-compete and mega build. The compete helps him get the best out his feed and the mega build helps him hold condition.

i cant recommend winergy enough, my 3yo gets the growth and will move to condition or high energy as a 4yo depending on how hot or not he is!

so, if your horse is hot and a poor doer try winergy condition,linseed and oats if you need them, and if good doer and lazy try smaller amounts of high energy plus oats.

the mega build will also help a poor doer if you want to go down the supplement route.
 
Prince33sp4rkle thank you so much for writing that was very helpful. I've been today and bought a bag of oats that are currently soaking. Question how long do you soak for is overnight adequate? I can honestly say I've never fed oats before soaked or otherwise
 
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Ben is rising six, ridden six times a week, mixture of schooling and hacking with jumping a couple of times at home a week, the last fortnight he has been out three times, including three classes on Sunday and four today... Max 2ft 6 but still quite a step up this last couple of months. He has a fibre block, a large net of haylage and a handful of healthy tummy at night, just normal bog standard grass during day. He has only even started having a meagre dinner about six weeks ago. Fibre all the way and tons of energy!
 
Horses for courses, some can and some can't. I would expect the coloured horse above to do well on what he is receiving given the level of work and his type.

A lighter type may easily need more. My hunters in years gone by did well on forage and oats but as the season went on they needed a little extra and I found a cup of two of racehorse cubes suited the irish horse and flaked peas suited the welsh.

As someone mentioned above, travelling takes a lot out, perhaps more than we realise.
 
Sammy1983 said:
Has anyone ever found they've had a horse that just can't manage to work at a high level or is it the case that if feeding and management are correct any horse should be capable of it?
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Any sound, healthy horse should be able to manage the work you describe in your OP if properly fittened and managed - it isn't really a lot of work, or very intensive. It could be that she is perhaps not as fit as you think, needs an increase in feed to correspond with the increased workload, or there could possibly be a physical niggle going on somewhere (breathing, arthritic changes, foot pain etc) that is enough to make her struggle with the workload but not otherwise show overt symptoms. If she grazes daily, another thing to bear in mind is the grass levels - up to December/January most fields seem to have plenty of grass, but since the cold snap many are looking brown and dead. So in real terms, her diet may have decreased in nutrition due to lack of grass, at the same time you have upped the workload.
 
Thanks everyone that's great. I've added the oats to her diet and I do have the vet coming to do her teeth in a week so I will get him to give her a once over to check everything else is good
 
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