Feed for good doer who needs 'oomph'

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dizzyf

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My horse is a good doer, but doesn't eat his hay unless hugry (plenty of grass at the moment) he eats his haylage though.

16.3hh Irish Sports horse, competes unafil SJ & dressage most weekends, is generally lazy and laid back, so requires a little more 'ooomph' to get round a course of SJ.

At the moment he has Alfa A and Light Competition Mix (not much as otherwise gets too fat whilst the grass is out) plus supplements.

Don't want him too fizzy.

Any ideas on hard feed or those one off/occasion feeds?
 
A handful of oats? Too many people are scared of oats, IMO. That's certainly what I'd give mine if I could compete her, and she sounds fairly similar to yours!
 
I didnt get very far with my horse on comp mix, he does far better on a balancer and oats. I do feed red cell or propell when he's working hard, but this can make them fizzy!
 
I changed my ISH onto Alfa A oil for similar reasons, and she didn't get fatter, but more energetic.

To get her eventing fit I had to stable her by day in the summer and put more fittening work into her than I had to do with my other horses. She did get fizzier as she got much fitter though!
 
My old draught had oats & comp mix to pep him up & they did the opposite - I do wonder if he had a low-level EPSM thing going on, which would have meant that hard feeds would not be good for him. I find that Simple System red bag grass nuts work well, I 'target feed' them for increased energy & they don't seem to result in unwanted fizziness either :)
 
As already suggested Pro Pel and red cell are good. NAF have bought out a similar thing called EnerG and they also do it in an instant shot so you can give it an hour before competition for instant energy but doesn't make them fizzy all the time. Might be worth looking into. Hope this helps :)
 
Also, you say he has supplements but don't say what! As he doesn't have alot of hard feed he may be lacking in vits and mins (unless you have him on a General Purpose Supplement), which would cause him to lack energy. It may be a good idea to put him on a low calorie balancer such as Baileys Lo-Cal or Blue Chip lami light. These will give him all the vits and mins he needs so he has enough energy but no extra calories so he won't gain weight. They are expensive but you only feed a mug full a day so lasts alot longer than normal mixes or cubes. Hope this helps
 
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