Does my horse need hard feed?

[opinionuk]

I'm concerned that my horse isn't getting enough hard feed her feed regime is as follows:

She is out all night and brought in from 9am to 4pm and has unlimited hay during that time.

She has 2 scoops of healthy tummy by Dengie in the morning which she tends to chuck on the floor but no hard feed.

She is ridden 5 days out of 7 moderate work for perhaps 45 mins, hacking, schooling ( prob 20mins) as we both get bored, odd bit of jumping
At weekends we usually go showjumping only tiny or xc schooling or a dressage clinic.

She is a little over weight but looks great but concerned she isn't given anything for energy ..
Do you think she needs some form of hard feed?

 

[Bay TB]

Basically no!
If she has the energy to do the work you are asking of her then she doesn't need anymore feed especially as you say she is a little overweight.

 

[chestnut cob]

Nope, and if you are concerned that she needs more energy, the first thing I would do is get some weight off her (you did say she was overweight). She will probably have much more energy when she is slimmer.

Also, if she chucks the Healthy Tummy stuff on the floor then I don't think I'd bother even feeding that!

 

[PorkChop]

I agree that she doesn't need any hard feed, it is often tricky with horses that hold their weight but you want a bit more energy. You could try a bit of interval training, it was the only thing to get my fatty fitter and slimmer!

 

[hayley.t]

Sorry to hijack but LJR please can you explain interval training to me, just what you did etc. It sounds like it could be of some help to me Sorry if its a stupid question

 

[windand rain]

I use interval training too we usually do it on a hack and fit the times in I do it for my fitness too basically I would do a good walk trot warm up on a loose rein but all paces forward so no dawdling along. then once warmed up do 2 minutes walk 2 minutes trot and repeat for 10 minutes introduce 2 minutes canter at the 10 minute point and repeat the whole process until you have got where you are going or you have done the time you want to ride.
Over time all these can be upped to three minutes and then 4 etc until you and the pony can sustain a good canter for several minutes it is harder than you think to ride at canter for 3 minutes. Do it with a stop watch to keep it accurate
To lose weight I did 20 steps walk twenty steps jog twenty steps walk twenty steps run and repeated until I had done my dog walk. upping the twenty to thirty then 40 then 50 until I was doing a hundred at each pace the slow paces are essential to lower heart rate and increase fitness
Food any food will only make a fat horse fatter so a change of diet isnt needed

 

[PorkChop]

Sorry to hijack but LJR please can you explain interval training to me, just what you did etc. It sounds like it could be of some help to me Sorry if its a stupid question

I used to do it on the beach, but you can do it anywhere where the ground is good, and hills or dunes are even better.

Basically the principle is that you raise the heart rate, bring it down, then raise it again!

So I used to canter for three minutes, walk for one, and repeat twice more. You can use any pace you want, and you build up the cantering to whatever length you want, though I think the maximum I have done (used to event) was six minutes. You know when to increase the length of exertion when they are recovering well - it is the recovery that shows the fitness, not the exertion.

ETA you always leave at least two days between each workout.

 

[maccachic]

Its marketing that make you want to feed a horse in work. would you give an obese person a burger for going for a run

Feed fibre first for gut health, add to this if you require weight gain only

 

[Theocat]

She has 2 scoops of healthy tummy by Dengie

Which is quite a lot of energy! I wouldn't be feeding anything at all if she's overweight, unless she needs a token feed. I agree that getting the weight off and the fitness up will add any extra energy she needs.

 

[amandap]

She is a little over weight but looks great but concerned she isn't given anything for energy ..
Do you think she needs some form of hard feed?

Erm, no. Feed energy aka calories by body condition. If she is over weight(even a little) she is getting too many calories full stop.

Sorry if that comes over as blunt but calories =energy and excess energy feeding = weight gain. That's the simple truth.

ps. If the horse is loosing weight more energy might be needed. Having said that excess sugars can actually cause problems in the digestive system and interfere with nutrient absorption. Excess sugars or mineral deficiency can also cause hoof problems and other problems possibly leading to 'lazyness'.

A low sugar, high forage/fibre diet with balanced minerals (as far as possible) and proteins such as lysine is a basic diet and sufficient for most horses in my understanding.

Energy if required is best given in the form of digestible fibre eg unmolassed beet.

 

[starryeyed]

I wouldn't give her any hard feed if she is slightly overweight - if this is the case then she is getting enough (or even too much!) from her current diet & doesn't nened any more adding to it x