competition feed

[Moon Dancer]

I am after some advice on what to feed my horse. He is a 9 year old section d who currently is only fed chaff, nuts and sugar beet. This is mainly just to give him something when all the other horses in the barn are also being fed. Now I want something to give him a bit more energy, his work load has increased and am hoping to get out to some competitions over the summer.
Would a basic competition mix be enough or is it worth getting something like power and performance?

 

[be positive]

I would not just put him on a competition mix they are high energy and high in starch and sugar, if he is only used to a token feed such a major change could cause problems, why not just try upping what he is currently getting, possibly adding some oil for extra energy, until he has a reasonable amount before making a real change, you may find that get him fitter and feeding a little more is all he requires, especially as the grass will be coming through. Mine compete on minimal amounts of high fibre, low energy feeds twice a day with no problems they get plenty of energy from that and good grass or hay.

 

[w1bbler]

Try adding some oats to existing diet, works a treat for my d when shes working particularly hard & easy to cut out when not required

 

[Moon Dancer]

I did try upping what he was on but it seemed to make him more lethargic which is why I thought it was a change that would be needed. He was stabled 24/7 during a lot of winter due to the weather and so during this time he didnt need more energy giving feed. Since going back out this is when the energy levels seem to have dropped.