Energy without excessive hard feed??!

helen75

helen75

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Hi,

Any tips to increase a horses energy levels that is out on grass and only needs a handful of feed to maintain its weight?? This horse in question is a fit dressage horse that needs a bit of oomph!!!


Thanks!!
 
Hi,
Sorry but i don't know however Spillers, Dengie and Topspec all have really good and free advice phone numbers. I would give them a tinkle on Monday.
I have personally used the Spillers advice helpline and they were very good and don't do the hard sell for their products only...even recommending a competitors feed!!!
 
Sedgemoor Chaos said:
Hi,
Sorry but i don't know however Spillers, Dengie and Topspec all have really good and free advice phone numbers. I would give them a tinkle on Monday.
I have personally used the Spillers advice helpline and they were very good and don't do the hard sell for their products only...even recommending a competitors feed!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks!! That was the plan anyway but was eager to see what other folk do!
 
maybe a balancer, like baileys outshine or top spec? then dont need high volume? or i personally love baileys endurance mix! does what it says on the tin! keeps the fuel cells full without blowing any gaskets :D
 
I use Dengie's Naked Oats. They are the highest energy value hard feed that I could find. Dengie recommend feeding it by the handful, and say you can feed just when you need it - so for example if doing an event or show, then feed for a day or two before. I also feed Dengie High Performance supplement (Natural Vitality Performance Vits and Mins).

I feed around 1/2 scoop oats twice a day along with some Alfa-A Oil and the supplement. The Naked Oats also have high oil, so you get the best of both worlds. The oats for shorter term energy and the oil for longer term energy.

My horse really reacts to barley or sugar in a bad way - usually by being a ****, not listening, rearing and just generally not paying attention - so I can't feed either. Yet I can feed the oats with no problems at all behaviourally.

Our dressage has really come on since I switched feeds - he is much more responsive, has good amount of sensible energy and concentration is better too. His coat looks good and he has really muscled up nicely.

By the way, if you call Dengie's helpline, they will advise not only on Dengie but on other feeds too. So if you already feed something and want to keep on it, but add something, they can advise accordingly.
 
We've found NAf Enger-G very effective. We tried oats but they had no effect on our lad. Can't feed oil becuase he's too good a do-er and he'd get fat. We can't feed competition mix up to the reccommended amount either for the same reason. We spent all last year trying to find something that would give him some sparkle and pep without either making him fat or sending him mad - or both. The Ener-G is the only thing we've found that is consistant and effective.
 
Shay said:
We've found NAf Enger-G very effective. We tried oats but they had no effect on our lad. Can't feed oil becuase he's too good a do-er and he'd get fat. We can't feed competition mix up to the reccommended amount either for the same reason. We spent all last year trying to find something that would give him some sparkle and pep without either making him fat or sending him mad - or both. The Ener-G is the only thing we've found that is consistant and effective.
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Thta the problem with this horse - can't feed it too much as its such a good doer!

I've heard of the NAF stuff but didn't know anyone that used it.

Thanks all :-)
 
I have a very similar problem with one of my dressage horses, she is a VERY good doer but works really hard. I feed a balancer as it is the most efficient way to get the Vits/Mins in without adding calories. It does sounds as though your lad could be lacking vits etc, so would seriously consider a balancer fed with a low calorie chop. If you still lack energy you can add either naked oats or a small amount of comp mix but keep the balancer constant, think of it as the foundations - anything else you add is for energy.
 
I wish i could sticky this reply i have to write it so often :)

All feed provides energy. If the energy isnt used up by day to day living the horse will get fatter. If the horse doesnt get sufficient energy in its diet for day to day living it will get thinner.

There are slower release forms of energy (fibre and oil) and quicker release forms of energy (sugar and starch) following digestion. But whatever form you feed if its not needed to live the horse will get fat! Because of its quicker release nature, starch based energy (e.g. cereals- oats, mixes) must have accurate feeding timing before exercise because of the glucose/insulin response. If you feed at 8am and ride at 4pm the peak of energy release will be long gone, meaning no potential benefit in the ridden work. But if you feed a couple of hours before riding then there will be a quick release source of energy there if needed. Again- if this isnt used in exercise it will end up as fat. However there is only so long that starch based energy will last, so if you are riding for a longer time period or say, several classes at a competition, then you need more slow release energy.

Ultimately you have to accept that some horses are the way they are and not particularly speedy.

Fitness and weight are obviously important because if the horse is not fit enough for what it is being asked to do then it will struggle. Likewise if its fat it will also find working difficult. If the diet is lacking in protein, vits and mins for the required workload then that will also be a problem.

NAF ener-g provides iron and certain vits and mins, which if the horse is deficient in will make a difference. Unless working very hard and under stress (or ill/recovering) it would be unusual for a horse to be anaemic though. As usual from naf products it is carefully marketed as a quick fix to many problems, which i personally think is a load of cobblers. Most of the problems mentioned in the adverts need a different approach than a syringe of their product! It is also high in starch- as explained earlier.
 
I feed my lad red cell as he is extreamly laid back and was recovering from anaemia and a kidney infection last year, he does work quite and was very wormy as a youngster so does need all his vits and mins. I have just bought my first bottle of NAF Energy (instead of red cell) so i will let you know how it compares (if I see a differnce at all)
 
NAF Ener g.....didn't work and used it for 6 weeks....my neighbour had her grass analysed and found it to have a lot of iron in it, as does most pasture in the uk, so feeding something that has more iron in it is a waste of money!

As teddyt says, products only work if your horse is lacking in something!

I started feeding Power and Performance about 10 days ago, fed about three hours before a ride, not sure whether its the feed or not, but on Sunday we had our first pleasure ride and even in the heat Ben was much more forward going. Time will tell!

BTW he's a good weight and on very restricted grass, ridden 4/5 times a week for around two sometimes three hours.
 
I have a fairly sharp horse who is a good doer. I use Bailey's Lo-Cal feed balancer and increase it according to work. I also add some oats in the winter (unnecessary for him when he gets some spring grass). So far he has remained sane and has had enough energy.
 
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