FEED ADVICE EX-RACER

[Justhorsingaround]

Hi everyone ?

I have just brought an OTTTB retired 2017 and now is 12 years old.

she’s currently not in work as I’ve only had her a week so allowing her to settle with me. I will be starting very light schooling a couple of times a week from tomorrow.

I was sent her with the following diet 2 x a day:

DENGIE ALPHA A OIL- 2 large scoops
SPILLERS CONDITIONING CUBES- 1.5kg
ALLEN & PAGE FAST FIBRE- 1kg
SPILLERS BALANCER- 125g
KEVIN & BACCON HOOF SUPPLEMENT- half a scoop
MUSCLE UP POWER- 2 scoops
This is twice a day.

Im not expert but it seems an awful lot ?

she’s become quite fizzy the last day or so trotting to and from the field she’s extremely head high and anxious which is awful to see it can’t be nice for her. She also struggles when stabled, throwing her head up and down vigorously so I have to stay with her to reassure she she will be coming back out (only being in their to eat)

She’s a sweet mare but been past from home to home since being retired with the only intention of trying to get her into foal as her dad is apparently quite famous, i haven’t a clue about racing ??‍ His name is Multiplex GB.

She has a forever home now with me albeit a very quite home I’m just a novice pleasure rider so nothing crazy over here for her ?

I have spoken to a lady called Sophie Seymore I have heard wonderful things about her so I’m sending her to Sophie to give her the very best retraining as she’s never received it bless her.

Please don’t anyone shoot me down as I’m not an expert as most in you on here but I am trying my very best to learn and give pippa the best I can.
i do get overly sensitive if I feel I am doing anything wrong as she means a lot to me.

she’s never allowed anyone on her back without a saddle and she didn’t even blink when I hopped on for a walk around, so I feel very honoured she’s trusting me already ?

I know I need to toughen up, as I keep being told lol but I guess pippa likes me this way as does my crazy 1 year old sec D. I seem to be better on the ground than in the saddle ?.

Any advice about her feed I would really appreciate it as my gut instinct is telling me this is way to much for her ?

I have posted a picture of my girl she’s a beauty ??

 

[Justhorsingaround]

Sorry I don’t know how to edit my post to remove the duplicate pictures ??‍

 

[Barton Bounty]

Firstly she is lovely and secondly, holy moly tht is some mixture of feed.
there are better ways to get conditioning etc into them that what is listed.
check the ingredients and take out a lot of the sugar ingredients ? it seems an awful lot to me. Unnecessary as well ?

it does take a while to get them to
Settle down to a completely new life so nice and slowly is the best way to go, get her trust and she will do anything for you.

 

[Squeak]

Do you know how long the previous people had her and how long she was on that feed and what her routine was?

If she was on it a long time with them and they thought it suited her then I’d be inclined to think that it’s the move that’s upset her more than the feed and wait until she’s settled a bit more to start changing it.

She looks lovely, my friend has a Multiplex and he’s great, does everything and has a really lovely temperament.

 

[Justhorsingaround]

Firstly she is lovely and secondly, holy moly tht is some mixture of feed.
there are better ways to get conditioning etc into them that what is listed.
check the ingredients and take out a lot of the sugar ingredients ? it seems an awful lot to me. Unnecessary as well ?

it does take a while to get them to
Settle down to a completely new life so nice and slowly is the best way to go, get her trust and she will do anything for you.

Thank you she is a sweetie ?

yes i totally agree, we can’t expect the world from them in a week, it’s just unrealistic. She needs time to settle and build her confidence in me and her new home.

i just wanted to make sure the feed was right as you thought ‘Holly moly’ ? She’s in season as well so may not help ??‍ At least I’ve seen her at her worst in the first week of having her ??‍?

However, a lot of people were also commenting on the amount I was feeding so I thought I should double check. Maybe I should loose the conditioning cubes and she how she goes as I have heard they can cause an issue as she’s not in work ?

 

[Justhorsingaround]

Do you know how long the previous people had her and how long she was on that feed and what her routine was?

If she was on it a long time with them and they thought it suited her then I’d be inclined to think that it’s the move that’s upset her more than the feed and wait until she’s settled a bit more to start changing it.

She looks lovely, my friend has a Multiplex and he’s great, does everything and has a really lovely temperament.

hi ?

they had her last September so not long at all. I have a sneaky feeling she was like this with them as I kept being told, ‘she’s great here but how she acts with you when she gets there we can’t guarantee’ this was said a lot! I mean it’s right but it was overly said to make one then start to suspect lol So my gut instinct says their was a slight issue with behaviour possibly. I don’t mind, I still would of taken her but it’s better to know so I can get on to help her straight away.

I’m thinking of loosing the conditioning cubes as she not in any type of intense work at all and I’ve heard they can really fire them up. when I’m riding her properly we will only ever be waking and trotting everywhere, possibly a little canter if I feel brave enough ?? so I don’t think I need them?

what are your thoughts on the conditioning cubes? ?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would be careful feeding any of that feed if the horse is not doing anything that is all high energy feed and might be the reason why she is a bit hyper going to the field.

I would try and find a more basic fibre based feed until you know what she is going to be like, you may need to feed some conditioning feed if she is not a good doer but at the moment as she is doing nothing and holding weight a few handfuls of chaff for the supplement will be fine.

The fast fibre is fine and the balancer Alpha A can be like rocket fuel mine would be climbing the walls on it, so I would possibly change that.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I would lose the cubes and the muscle stuff and she really shouldn’t need a hellova lot this time of year , very minimal fast fibre too ?

 

[Justhorsingaround]

I would be careful feeding any of that feed if the horse is not doing anything that is all high energy feed and might be the reason why she is a bit hyper going to the field.

I would try and find a more basic fibre based feed until you know what she is going to be like, you may need to feed some conditioning feed if she is not a good doer but at the moment as she is doing nothing and holding weight a few handfuls of chaff for the supplement will be fine.

Hi thank you for your reply ?

could you suggest any feeds you may think would be better at all?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Stay clear of grains and mixes for sure on a tb.
allen and page veteran light, micronised linseed, some fibre nuts, and honeychop light and healthy

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I don't have TB horses but I have Arab's and they can get very hot and silly on the wrong feed so they don't get much hard feed they hold there weight well as well.

I feed a plain grass chaff Emerald grass tastic or graze on green and Spillers speedy mash a tiny amount though, but if I were feeding for condition I would add micronised linseed or copra some can get silly on linseed so it's a bit of try it and see but most horses I know that have it are fine.

Grass nuts can be a good option especially in winter as you can give them a big soaked bucket of them if you find she drops off.

 

[Justhorsingaround]

I don't have TB horses but I have Arab's and they can get very hot and silly on the wrong feed so they don't get much hard feed they hold there weight well as well.

I feed a plain grass chaff Emerald grass tastic or graze on green and Spillers speedy mash a tiny amount though, but if I were feeding for condition I would add micronised linseed or copra some can get silly on linseed so it's a bit of try it and see but most horses I know that have it are fine.

Grass nuts can be a good option especially in winter as you can give them a big soaked bucket of them if you find she drops off.

thank you for all the information, Arabs are beautiful horses ? I’ve heard very similar in keeping to the thoroughbred.
Maybe I should try one change at a time ? so I’m thinking loose the conditioning cubes first, use up the alpha Oil chaff and see if there’s any difference, if not or only slight change the alpha to a softer one as your mentioned

 

[Barton Bounty]

Yeah dont change all at once, gradually introducing other stuff and stopping it, id probably stop the muscle up now though

 

[TheMule]

Oh my goodness, that's a huge amount of food and you will almost certainly have a very sharp and hot horse when you try to ride it on all that!
I'm afraid mine get grass and hay and not much else, especially when coming back into work when I would like them to be sane. I have good grass so I would be happy to supplement that with soaked grass nuts and a basic unmolassed chaff if I didn’t.

 

[TPO]

It's a bit contradictory for them to have fed fast fibre, which is low calories, along with conditioning feeds.

I'd slowly wean her off everything apart from fast fibre and the balancer along with a handful of chaff. Once the spiller balancer runs out I'd look at feeding a powder balancer from Progressive Earth or Forage Plus; they will negate the need for hoof and muscle support too.

 

[Justhorsingaround]

Yeah dont change all at once, gradually introducing other stuff and stopping it, id probably stop the muscle up now though

I’ve stopped the conditioning cubes this evening, I was told this would be fine to do. How long will it take before I should notice any improvement if the CC are apart of the issue ? x

 

[Barton Bounty]

I’ve stopped the conditioning cubes this evening, I was told this would be fine to do. How long will it take before I should notice any improvement if the CC are apart of the issue ? x

A few days will be enough ?x

 

[JBM]

this is what I feed my ex racer
All for putting weight on without the fizz
He’s out of work currently as he needs to bulk up
Defo a lot less food! And I’d say he wouldn’t handle much more ?

 

[Justhorsingaround]

this is what I feed my ex racer
All for putting weight on without the fizz
He’s out of work currently as he needs to bulk up
Defo a lot less food! And I’d say he wouldn’t handle much more ?

thank you ?
All the information really is helping I didn’t realise there were so many different feeds to try!

 

[Justhorsingaround]

*UPDATE*

so I left out the 1.5kg of conditioning cubes on last nights feed and only a large handle full of Alfa A oil (as opposed to 3 large Stubbs scoops) and I don’t know if I’m going mad but she had reduced her hotness by about 80-90%! ? she was far more relaxed and although still a little fizzy going back up to the field, she was very manageable! She tied up, allowed her feet to be picked and oiled. I kept it short, sharp and sweet as not to push her over an edge then took her back in her field to end on a good note. I couldn’t even tie her or touch her the last 48hrs so this is amazing already! ? ?

can’t thank everyone enough for all your advice it’s amazing just a little change can make such a massive difference ? I’m thinking I will see how she goes for a week on the fibre, balancer & alpha and then potentially swapping out the alpha a for a calmer chaff to really take out that hot feed altogether. Thanks everyone ??

 

[PurBee]

Lovely horse ?
As shes not doing much i echo others advice, she doesnt need so much packed nutrition. Sometimes starting from scratch is best and then add more as she needs. Slowly reduce down all the bagged feeds and stick with varied forage and a mineral balancer like forage plus as TPO mentioned, then add more if she needs it as you’ll be doing low-level work when you get going with her.

Her behaviour is likely due to new home - its only been a week she’s been with you, everything is new etc…as stated, go slow with her as she settles, so you can both find your ‘groove’ with each other - she’s evidently sweet natured at heart to be fine barebacked by a new rider and behave well ?

 

[PurBee]

*UPDATE*

so I left out the 1.5kg of conditioning cubes on last nights feed and only a large handle full of Alfa A oil (as opposed to 3 large Stubbs scoops) and I don’t know if I’m going mad but she had reduced her hotness by about 80-90%! ? she was far more relaxed and although still a little fizzy going back up to the field, she was very manageable! She tied up, allowed her feet to be picked and oiled. I kept it short, sharp and sweet as not to push her over an edge then took her back in her field to end on a good note. I couldn’t even tie her or touch her the last 48hrs so this is amazing already! ? ?

can’t thank everyone enough for all your advice it’s amazing just a little change can make such a massive difference ? I’m thinking I will see how she goes for a week on the fibre, balancer & alpha and then potentially swapping out the alpha a for a calmer chaff to really take out that hot feed altogether. Thanks everyone ??

Thats an amazing difference In such a short time!

Many on here write their horses dont tolerate alfalfa/linseed/soya - so always worth eliminating those ingredients in a hot horse and see if there’s improvement.
So happy for you to be feeling more confident with a calmer horse already ?

 

[Justhorsingaround]

Lovely horse ?
As shes not doing much i echo others advice, she doesnt need so much packed nutrition. Sometimes starting from scratch is best and then add more as she needs. Slowly reduce down all the bagged feeds and stick with varied forage and a mineral balancer like forage plus as TPO mentioned, then add more if she needs it as you’ll be doing low-level work when you get going with her.

Her behaviour is likely due to new home - its only been a week she’s been with you, everything is new etc…as stated, go slow with her as she settles, so you can both find your ‘groove’ with each other - she’s evidently sweet natured at heart to be fine barebacked by a new rider and behave well ?

thank you for replying everything is really helping ?

I’d be so lost without the advice, so glad I found this forum!

makes total sense eliminating the heating feeds and going right back to basics and building if needed. I just honestly didn’t know what to do for the best or even if swapping, changing or stopping feeds would be harmful for her. However, I think what she was on was harmful to her, so me making a change surely can only be beneficial to her at this point ??‍

totally agree 100% with the settling in, living creatures at the end of the day it’s a massive upheaval for them and they need time and so does the new owner. I just think with all this heating foods it would block her settling in process so hopefully now if I can catch hold of that and bring her down to earth she will be able to finally take in her new surroundings and settle. Fingers crossed ? but I will keep everyone updated as we go. ?

she is very sweet, and she’s definitely taken to me as I to her. She’s covered in scars which is so sad to see ? havent a clue what she must of been through if only they could tell you hey. At least she won’t ever experience anything bad again and she’ll have a nice future ?

 

[JBM]

If she’s fizzy I’d read ingredients and cut down on any grains (especially oats) and starch!

 

[Barton Bounty]

thank you for replying everything is really helping ?

I’d be so lost without the advice, so glad I found this forum!

makes total sense eliminating the heating feeds and going right back to basics and building if needed. I just honestly didn’t know what to do for the best or even if swapping, changing or stopping feeds would be harmful for her. However, I think what she was on was harmful to her, so me making a change surely can only be beneficial to her at this point ??‍

totally agree 100% with the settling in, living creatures at the end of the day it’s a massive upheaval for them and they need time and so does the new owner. I just think with all this heating foods it would block her settling in process so hopefully now if I can catch hold of that and bring her down to earth she will be able to finally take in her new surroundings and settle. Fingers crossed ? but I will keep everyone updated as we go. ?

she is very sweet, and she’s definitely taken to me as I to her. She’s covered in scars which is so sad to see ? havent a clue what she must of been through if only they could tell you hey. At least she won’t ever experience anything bad again and she’ll have a nice future ?

She will get there, my boy took 3 months to settle in properly

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

You are feeding her absolute rocket fuel and far more than she ever would have had as a racehorse! No wonder she is off her rocker!

I'd go right back to basics.

I fed my lads 1sc Alfa A, 1/2sc Equerry Conditioning Mash, 1/2sc Speedibeet 2x a day along with good hay or haylage. It kept them plenty well covered for winning in the show ring and sane enough to do what I wanted.

 

[Justhorsingaround]

You are feeding her absolute rocket fuel and far more than she ever would have had as a racehorse! No wonder she is off her rocker!

I'd go right back to basics.

I fed my lads 1sc Alfa A, 1/2sc Equerry Conditioning Mash, 1/2sc Speedibeet 2x a day along with good hay or haylage. It kept them plenty well covered for winning in the show ring and sane enough to do what I wanted.

thank you for your advice ?

turns out my suspicions in regards to how much they were feeding her was pretty spot on then, I thought it was to much ??‍

fingers crossed now she will come back down to earth and will be able to settle ?

 

[Justhorsingaround]

Any recommendations for a good non heating chaff to replace the Alfa A oil ?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Any recommendations for a good non heating chaff to replace the Alfa A oil ?

Honeychop lite and healthy

 

[TPO]

Any recommendations for a good non heating chaff to replace the Alfa A oil ?

I feed/fed mine Dengie Meadow Grass chaff.