Feed advice please! Barley...Peas... Maize? or something else?

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OrangeEmpire

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Hi all,

I'm posting in CR rather than NL as I suspect you might have a bit more experience of the types of feed I'm asking about!

My 18yro ex-racer with advanced arthritis has been doing very well on his current ration. He's got good condition and generally seems well. However he's feeling a bit flat currently and I would like to give him something that will give him a bit more disposable energy. I'm aware that part of his being flat is to do with the ups and downs of his arthritis but I think I could help by adding something to give him a bit more energy.

After faffing about with various mixes and cubes over the years and struggling to keep his feet on the ground and the weight on, I've settled on the following diet for him and he generally looks the best he's ever looked:
Rolled oats
Alfa A Oil
linseed meal
Black sunflower seeds
unmollassed sugarbeet

also:
Devils Claw extract
MSM & Glucosomine
Cortaflex
Silica (horsetail extract)
Propell Plus
Vit E and Selinium

Ooof, think that's all he gets! Oh and adlib haylage/grass.

So the big question is: Any suggestions of something I can give him which will give him a bit of spare energy without adding massively to the oil content - he does seem to get rather alot of oils! Oh and ideally without making him go nuts (barley was the major culprit), although perhaps those days are over anyway.
All advice appreciated!
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It does look like your feeding him rather alot! Do you really need to feed MSM & Glucosine as well as Cortaflex I always understood that they were very similar? I feed my girl with Baileys, the outshine is good for energy and also is a good replacer for the VIT E & Selenium that i used to give and now don't have to.
 
Ha ha, yes I do have a bit of a suppliment addiction. Cortaflex doesn't actually contain MSM I believe and you can never have enough glucosomine...
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That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it!

I'm worried that so much oil may be a problem, but on the other hand I've been recommended that I give him a half pint of soya oil a day so perhaps not. He used to have outshine and did very well on it but I think the linseed meal does pretty much the same job at half the price. I will add that to the short-list though, thanks!

I've had Sixteen Plus recommended instead of the oats but I'm concerned that it isn't concentrated enough and will bump up the volume too much - he already gets 2-3 feeds a day (depending on whether he is in or not).
 
I've found A&P Power and Performance great for that extra oomph without silliness.

Personally I'd take out the oats, linseed meal, sunflower seeds, vitE/Selenium and possibly the propell and replace with just P&P. You can over suppliment btw!
 
I prefer grain to any processed cubes etc. I have fed crushed maize before for weight and energy and thought it was brilliant!!! It is best fed damp as it can be very dusty.

I agree that you can over supplement, I think if you look around their is research suggesting that you can overload the body/system so that it can no longer absob nutrients. And high concentrations of some inhibit the absorption of others.

"Rolled oats
Alfa A Oil
linseed meal
Black sunflower seeds
unmollassed sugarbeet"

This feed with adlib hay & grass should give him everything he needs. If you replace the sugarbeet with maize, I used to do 60km endurances on that diet and the horse never looked better! (edited to say - horse got some of it as well
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As he is old, maybe keep a broadspectrum vit supplement and anything you are giving for his arthritis.
 
Really? that's useful info on the maize thank you. I'd certainly like to keep things simple (ha ha, no mixes/cubes I mean) if possible as I've only really finally got a handle on his weight and temperament since taking control of each ingredient.

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ok everyone, I take it on board about the suppliment overload and absorbtion - I do fear he may end up accidentally pickled!
 
I feed all of mien on rolled barley as a base then if tey need more energy they have micronized flaked maize and it works a treat.

Also if they are doing a lot of competing and using lots of energy they are giving a cup of split peas every day which really sparks them up!
 
Looks prety good to me. The only thing I would change is really good hay ,for haylage.I dont mean the sort of stuff that passes for hay,Cut late ,high lignin content.but june cut , grass in flower ,not seed,no rain.
 
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