Cubes for a Bit more Oomph but still Sane

[onemoretime]

My mare is competing at Medium dressage and about to go Advanced Medium. I am looking for a cube that will give her a bit more energy but still remain calm and sensible.

At the moment she is on Saracens Horse & Pony Cooling nuts which is fine as they dont have any soya in, (so much soya in everything now). I was looking at Saracens Releve cubes but there is sooo much soya in them. Please could I have your recommendations for something suitable. Thanks. Edited to add: Ive just been looking at Spillers Stamina Cubes, has anyone used or using them please?

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Coolstance Copra - 15Mj DE but nothing much heating in there as low sugar/starch, simple ingredients, high protein, palatable and you don't have to soak it for an hour like it says, I fed for years with a 4 min soak at best, it's very clear when it's fully expanded

 

[onemoretime]

Im really looking for a cube to feed but many thanks for your help.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Im really looking for a cube to feed but many thanks for your help.

sorry, I somehow missed that bit of your post!

 

[Squeak]

Would good old fashioned oats work? If they're good quality they shouldn't heat them up.

 

[ihatework]

I’d use one of the ulcer cubes eg
Baileys ease & excel
Spillers digest

 

[silv]

Is it just at the competition you are needing more stamina? I had the same problem, spoke to a nutritionist and she suggested giving a feed of whole oats about an hour before I had to get on for the warm up/test. It did definitely make a difference.

 

[Lois Lame]

I also think oats is the way to go. So much oil is fed these days which I think surely must make a horse sluggish. Makes me sluggish. Oats and a bit of chaff. Bit of bran. Yum.

 

[Birker2020]

Spillers do a stamina cube. They used to do an instant energy as well but I used the mix, not sure if they did a cube in that.

N.B to none horsey people they must wonder why 'nuts' don't have actual nuts in them and why 'cubes' are not shaped like ..well cubes!

 

[Fransurrey]

I was going to say Saracen Re-Leve. Is the soya a dietary issue or something else (GM?)?

N.B to none horsey people they must wonder why 'nuts' don't have actual nuts in them and why 'cubes' are not shaped like ..well cubes!

As a horsey person it drives me mad, too!

 

[Horseysheepy]

I really like Spillers feeds and their feed helpline is very good as well.

I went from their high fibre nuts to their horse and pony nuts for a horse who I'd just broken in to give him some oomph for the miles of hacking I did with him.
It definitely gave him a little more fuel and controlled buzz!

I don't think Spillers put quite as much soya in as other companies, which is why I chose it over dodson and Saracen etc

 

[Annagain]

I've fed Re-Leve for years and not had an issue with soya causing too much oomph. Is that your only concern with it? If so, I'd say give it a go.
Ease and Excel has done both my boys very well this winter. Archie's retired but Wiggy definitely had a bit of an energy boost from it but still stayed very sane.

 

[TheHairyOne]

Ease and excel for me for the summer as well. My horse needs a bit more oumph for everything and this has been great.

I feed scaracen top spec turbo when i dont have decent grass in the winter but i got the phase out time a bit wrong this year and that not was a fun few days!

 

[Hormonal Filly]

Sorry to jump on this post. Following on from the oats recommendations

Would good old fashioned oats work? If they're good quality they shouldn't heat them up.

I also think oats is the way to go. So much oil is fed these days which I think surely must make a horse sluggish. Makes me sluggish. Oats and a bit of chaff. Bit of bran. Yum.

Does calcium need to be fed alongside oats?

My mare just gets Healthy Tummy balanced chaff with Micronised linseed. She is a really good doer on ad-lib hay (little grass) but a perfect weight, she’s doing a lot and would like to give her something for energy so considering oats.

 

[Carrottom]

Dodson & Horrell stay power cubes might suit.

 

[Squeak]

Sorry to jump on this post. Following on from the oats recommendations





Does calcium need to be fed alongside oats?

My mare just gets Healthy Tummy balanced chaff with Micronised linseed. She is a really good doer on ad-lib hay (little grass) but a perfect weight, she’s doing a lot and would like to give her something for energy so considering oats.

I feed these oats as they've got the vitamins and minerals in with them to balance calcium / phosphorus ratios and provide electrolytes and I know they're the good quality/ right kind of oats:

GWF Tiger Oats

GWF Tiger Oats from VioVet.co.uk, FREE DELIVERY available over £29. Great prices and super easy to use website, see for yourself now.

www.viovet.co.uk

 

[Widgeon]

Would good old fashioned oats work? If they're good quality they shouldn't heat them up.

I was going to say the same. We buy them in sacks (rolled) straight from the farmer and they give oomph, but don't heat anything up. I used to be super wary of oats because of their reputation, but now I think they're a massively underrated, useful thing! Mine is a (very) good doer and they don't seem to put weight on him either - or at least, no more than anything else.

 

[onemoretime]

Spillers do a stamina cube. They used to do an instant energy as well but I used the mix, not sure if they did a cube in that.

N.B to none horsey people they must wonder why 'nuts' don't have actual nuts in them and why 'cubes' are not shaped like ..well cubes!

I am going to try the Spillers Stamina nuts when Ive finished the bag we are on. If that doesn't work I will try some good old fashioned oats. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

 

[onemoretime]

I was going to say Saracen Re-Leve. Is the soya a dietary issue or something else (GM?)?

As a horsey person it drives me mad, too!

I looked at Releve cubes but so much soya. I dont think she has a soya problem, Im not aware of it but dont want to feed so much of it.

 

[onemoretime]

I really like Spillers feeds and their feed helpline is very good as well.

I went from their high fibre nuts to their horse and pony nuts for a horse who I'd just broken in to give him some oomph for the miles of hacking I did with him.
It definitely gave him a little more fuel and controlled buzz!

I don't think Spillers put quite as much soya in as other companies, which is why I chose it over dodson and Saracen etc

Thanks for that Horseysheepy. There is a bit of soya in the Stamina cubes but not nearly as much as Releve.

 

[onemoretime]

I feed these oats as they've got the vitamins and minerals in with them to balance calcium / phosphorus ratios and provide electrolytes and I know they're the good quality/ right kind of oats:

GWF Tiger Oats

GWF Tiger Oats from VioVet.co.uk, FREE DELIVERY available over £29. Great prices and super easy to use website, see for yourself now.

www.viovet.co.uk

Many thanks for that Squeak. I will remember those if I need to try oats. Is soya supposed to provide energy or just for putting on weight. My mare is a good doer and I control her grass intake. I have heard that too much soya is not good for females both equine and human. Not sure if that is true or not.

 

[Lois Lame]

Does calcium need to be fed alongside oats?

Lucerne (alfalfa) chaff or hay could be given to balance the oats and bran. I don't think we have Alfa A here, but wouldn't feed it in any case because it has oil added. If I wanted some oil, I'd feed a little boiled linseed (the whole seed) occasionally.

 

[Lois Lame]

My mare just gets Healthy Tummy balanced chaff with Micronised linseed. She is a really good doer on ad-lib hay (little grass) but a perfect weight, she’s doing a lot and would like to give her something for energy so considering oats.

I'd possibly introduce (well, I always introduce things slowly) slowly some lucerne/alfalfa chaff or hay and see how she does on that. If everything okay, then add some oats as well and see how that goes.

I don't know what Healthy Tummy balanced chaff is...

just Googled. It's got alfalfa in it!
'A nutritionally-balanced, pure alfalfa, high-fibre feed containing high specification ingredients to promote digestive health.'

 

[Lois Lame]

I was going to say the same. We buy them in sacks (rolled) straight from the farmer...

Straight off the farmer sounds ideal.

Just curious - I wonder what the smallest amount is that he will sell to a customer.

 

[little_critter]

Straight off the farmer sounds ideal.

Just curious - I wonder what the smallest amount is that he will sell to a customer.

Might also depend where you live. In the past I’ve wanted to buy oat straw to feed my fatty….but it’s impossible to get hold of round here because no one grows oats round here, we are dairy / sheep country.

Ive recently started feeding my boy oats to spark him up a bit. I was assured by a nutritionist that I could feed up to 1kg a day (which looks to be a big volume!) without risking an unbalanced feed as long as he was getting the RDA of his compound feed (ease and excel in this case)
Its early days so can’t say if it’s working or not yet.