Difficult feed advice (possibly) needed please?

sandi_84

sandi_84

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Ok so my lad is hacked or schooled between 2-3 times a week for roughly an hour to an hour and a half at a time (hour schooling/ hour and a half hacks) but he had been pretty sluggish and difficult to get going for a while.
He also had some atrophied muscle from his old saddle (some may remember me posting about it) which is now building back up nicely - thankfully!

So I wanted to give him something that would give him a bit more energy and give him something to work with to build up the muscles that had wasted again. My friend gave me a feed bin of blue chip original balancer and (god help me) pasture mix which I thought I'd try and as I say his atrophied muscles are looking so much better already and it definitely gave him the needed energy which was lovely but has made him a bit too spooky for for my sharer unfortunately :( So I'm having to take him off it, he's been on it 2-3 times a week for the last 3 weeks.

Now to the question -

Do you think I should try feeding him something else? I really would like him to have a small energy boost but it needs to be something that isn't going to fizz him up to the point of spookyness - he's normally very laid back and doesn't spook much at all.

If so what would you reccomend?
 
If his spooking is out of character, he is reacting badly to the new feed regime. It isn't just that your sharer can't cope with the behaviour but actually your horse is feeling uncomfortable (at best).

IMO, feed doesn't build muscle, correct work does that, so I would say that it's the work over time that has helped him to recover, not the feed. If you feel that he needs more energy than he can get from grazing, I'd give him soaked grassnuts and dried grass chaff, if you feel that he needs a bit more Speedibeet would be good. Some people would also say to add in micronised linseed. He will find it much easier to digest this feed than anything cereal- based.

Also he needs to have the same feed consistently each day, not just 2-3 times per week (if I read that right).
 
I've *heard* that if the blue chip original is a bit too much , the lami-light version does the same without the added heat ! Not tried it myself but I know of a girl that uses it, she said the original was like rocket fuel for her horse but tried lami light as the horse had really bad feet, and its done him really well.
 
Im a big fan of balancers- why dont you leave him on the balancer with a handful of chaff if needed? This, along with hay/grass should be plenty as it doesnt sound like he's doing that much work.

Then just keep an eye on him as he's being worked (agree with the above post about correct work gives muscle not the other way around- as long as youre giving him the right sort of nutrition to build the muscle anyway); and just add in/take away as condition/energy levels find the right balance.

Im sure this isnt the case with you- and no offence meant- but some people can have a habit of adding more and more feed to get more 'energy' when actually you can achieve a lovely level of energy/impulsion from some correct schooling work. Then they wonder why their brains are being blown out hacking!
 
Dusty85 said:
Im a big fan of balancers- why dont you leave him on the balancer with a handful of chaff if needed? This, along with hay/grass should be plenty as it doesnt sound like he's doing that much work.

Then just keep an eye on him as he's being worked (agree with the above post about correct work gives muscle not the other way around- as long as youre giving him the right sort of nutrition to build the muscle anyway); and just add in/take away as condition/energy levels find the right balance.
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This ^^^ exactly. I am also a firm believer in balancers and I would stick with it, or change the balancer you are using. I'd dump the pasture mix though .. it's the work of the devil!
 
Pearlsasinger said:
If his spooking is out of character, he is reacting badly to the new feed regime. It isn't just that your sharer can't cope with the behaviour but actually your horse is feeling uncomfortable (at best).

IMO, feed doesn't build muscle, correct work does that, so I would say that it's the work over time that has helped him to recover, not the feed. If you feel that he needs more energy than he can get from grazing, I'd give him soaked grassnuts and dried grass chaff, if you feel that he needs a bit more Speedibeet would be good. Some people would also say to add in micronised linseed. He will find it much easier to digest this feed than anything cereal- based.

Also he needs to have the same feed consistently each day, not just 2-3 times per week (if I read that right).
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Sorry that was really bad wording on my part, my sharer is a way better rider than me! Unfortunately she came out the side door today though poor girl :( Just back in from work and feeling a bit brain dead :/ Yes it is out of character for him, and the new feed is really not agreeing with him :/

Yes I completely understand that muscle build up is more about correct work but our grass has become a bit rubbish of late and I thought that with the hay we are supplimenting and a bit of hard feed it would give him more to work with nutrition wise to help with the muscle build up :o

Aye you read that right, as it was a new feed and I had been told on here that it was pretty high energy I was just giving him small amounts to see how he fared with it.

He is at a decent weight at the moment and I don't really want him to gain too much, he could have a little more weight on without putting him the wrong side of a condition score but not by much. Would grassnuts put weight on him?

As you can probably tell I'm not that up on hard feed, I haven't given hard feed since we moved because of his easy work life now but I do feel that he's lacking somewhat in energy.
 
Any feed will put weight on if you give enough of it. Grassnuts certainly helped to put weight on our old lady when she lost condition after colic but we were giving her several feeds per day. Grassnuts are easier to digest than cereal-based feeds, you can adjust amounts as you see fit but please when introducing a new feed, give a small amount and build up to the amount you need. You really should feed daily and preferably at the same tie each day, to allow the gut flora to get used to the new feed, erratic feeding may be one reason why your horse is reacting badly to the new feed.
 
Take him off the pasture mix, and try the balancer, hay and grass. if he's still too hot, then try the light version (Blue chip do the lami light, or top spec do the cool one). see how you go from there.
 
Dusty85 said:
Im a big fan of balancers- why dont you leave him on the balancer with a handful of chaff if needed? This, along with hay/grass should be plenty as it doesnt sound like he's doing that much work.

Then just keep an eye on him as he's being worked (agree with the above post about correct work gives muscle not the other way around- as long as youre giving him the right sort of nutrition to build the muscle anyway); and just add in/take away as condition/energy levels find the right balance.

Im sure this isnt the case with you- and no offence meant- but some people can have a habit of adding more and more feed to get more 'energy' when actually you can achieve a lovely level of energy/impulsion from some correct schooling work. Then they wonder why their brains are being blown out hacking!
Click to expand...

Spring Feather said:
This ^^^ exactly. I am also a firm believer in balancers and I would stick with it, or change the balancer you are using. I'd dump the pasture mix though .. it's the work of the devil!
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The feed was given to me by my friend (who had tried it on her horse who ended up with very very loose poo on it) but unfortunately she had mixed the balancer in with the pasture mix so I would have to buy a new bag of balancer - which isn't a huge issue if it's the best thing to feed :)

I personally haven't been schooling him much because we have to school in my field and it's not 100% flat all the way across :( It kind of puts me off a bit :o When I do I try lots of transitions and a few basic schooling manouvres to try and keep it interesting for him (and me) but as I don't have a lot of spare cash even since getting my new job I can't afford lessons so I'm worried about introducing new excercises in case I muck it up :o
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Any feed will put weight on if you give enough of it. Grassnuts certainly helped to put weight on our old lady when she lost condition after colic but we were giving her several feeds per day. Grassnuts are easier to digest than cereal-based feeds, you can adjust amounts as you see fit but please when introducing a new feed, give a small amount and build up to the amount you need. You really should feed daily and preferably at the same tie each day, to allow the gut flora to get used to the new feed, erratic feeding may be one reason why your horse is reacting badly to the new feed.
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Ok, thank you Pearlsasinger :) I wouldn't give him a big feed of any new feed straight off, I at least know the dangers of that ha ha! ;)
 
I think a balancer would be a good place to start- you can be more confident that he's getting all his minerals and nutrients without too much extra rubbish that he doesnt need.

I have mine (16.2h TB) on top spec comprehensive and i love it. The extra energy is a bonus (for BE90 level) and he's looking lovely on it. Its a tad pricey- £35 per bag, but i feed slightly less than i need so it lasts a little longer. (it might be worth mentioning he gets dengie alfalfa a and A&P calm and condition in addition)
There are other brands that are cheaper, and the top spec cool balancer is £20 per bag, so more affordable
 
I did have him on Calm and condition last year but he was in much more work back then and even with that he still put on weight - he needed it at the time though :)

Apart from the blue chip light version what other balancers would you all reccomend and what would be the pros and cons versus grassnuts?
 
The only ones i know of are the Ultimate balancer- i think by spillers-, the Blue chip ones and the Top spec ones. Im pretty sure there are others though, and im sure they vary in price.

I only have personal experience with the top spec one, a lady at my yard also uses the top spec cool one on her 18 year old and really rates it.

I have never used grassnuts, so i have no personal experience with them, but i guess a con is that they include less nutrients and minerals than a balancer?

I suppose the downside of a balancer would be the cost.
 
ETA I would be very wary of balancers, unless you know exactly which vits and mins your horse is short of and certainly wouldn't add one to other feeds, which are supposed to be balanced anyway. IME balancers are full of rubbishy fillers which the horse certainly doesn't need.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
ETA I would be very wary of balancers, unless you know exactly which vits and mins your horse is short of and certainly wouldn't add one to other feeds, which are supposed to be balanced anyway. IME balancers are full of rubbishy fillers which the horse certainly doesn't need.
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Hmm, grassnuts sounds like the way to go then! Thanks again Pearlsasinger, brilliant advice as always :)
 
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