Feed help please.

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SJcrazee

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Hi I'm new!!

I was wondering if anyone can help me. I have a 14.3h cob i want to do showjumping with, he is very fat and lazy, i have had him for a month and he gets quite puffed out when we canter around the school and jump. I have started giving him a scoop of alfa a oil and a scoop of competition mix in the hope that it will liven him up and make him fitter - a girl on the yard told me to do this, is it right?? he also seems a bit stiff and pottery whn i first ride him, he is 10 years old and i want to do a 2'6 class next week but don't know if he'll be fit enough in time - please help!:)
 
hello and welcome....

it sounds like he needs to do a lot more fitness work before you increase his feed, especially if he's quite fat already. Once he loses some weight and gets fitter he won't be so lazy.

Perhaps next week is a little soon to be competing if you're concerned about his fitness.
 
Hi, Feed will not make him fitter, but regular exercise will. Think you may need to slow down a bit, get his fitness levels up over a period of time and talk to an experienced feed merchant about what you feed him. What's the rush? Much better for him to get fitter gradually and once he is fitter you can discuss whether he needs a higher energy feed. Look after him and hopefully he will look after you!!
 
As above, feeding too much will just make him even fatter and then probably even lazier. Get a fitness routine going with lunging and hacking as well as schooling. Once he's a bit fitter, a good gallop will help get them going forward as well as improving fitness. Lots of hill work and schooling on hacks is good, especially for lazy horses as they are often more forwards when they're out

good luck :D
 
I'd give only hay (and perhaps minerals/vitamins if necessary) to a chubby horse.
You'd need to know what's in the hay though, if there's not enough protein he might need some of that or else he won't build any muscle and won't be fit.

How much hay does he get? Free access to a good hay is the best for any horse (and good doesn't equal rich :P An ''easy keeper'' may be better off with more hay and less nutrition) if it's possible. Sometimes it's hard to get a hay fitting the horse, but if they can't have free access to it, they don't need more food either. As long as the minerals and proteins are enough.

How does he look, do you have a picture?
 
I'm afraid that all that extra feed will do is make him fatter and therefore slower. Put him on a diet, increase his exercise gradually, building up his muscles with lots of slow work up and down hills.
If he is stiff at first, it is possible that he has arthritis, so you should follow your vet's advice about jumping him.
 
Alpha Oil, Competition Mix to a fat pony??!!

Cut out the feed all together, don't compete him until he is fit enough for the job, get his weight down as others have said he will become fitter.
 
Thanks for the replies, i don't want him thin as i want to do showing as well so need some fat for that. he gets 1 slice of hay morning and night with a scoop of comp mix and the alfa a do you think i could add some sugar beet instead of extra hay as i can't get anymore hay and he likes sugar beet as i tried him on some.
 
If you are being serious about what you are feeding you will more likely kill your pony through obesity than make him any fitter or faster. Alpha A oil is a conditioning feed used to put weight on poor doers NOT for fatties. Also competition mix is extremely high in calories so will also only put more weight on. The more weight a horse is carrying the slower it will be and the harder it will find work, it's exactly the same as a fat human. The only way you will make your horse fitter is by getting it to lose weight and gradually increase workload and therefore fitness. If your horse is overweight you need to cut out the hard feed and just feed roughage eg. hay, 1 slice morning and night will not be sufficient, also possibly a vit and mineral supplement to ensure he still gets all he needs this can be given in a handful of lite chaff, no mollasses, no alfalfa just plain oat straw chaff.
 
SJcrazee said:
Thanks for the replies, i don't want him thin as i want to do showing as well so need some fat for that. he gets 1 slice of hay morning and night with a scoop of comp mix and the alfa a do you think i could add some sugar beet instead of extra hay as i can't get anymore hay and he likes sugar beet as i tried him on some.
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Less extra food, more hay.
 
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