Feed to add energy but suitable for barefoot

[muckypony]

Hi,

My boy is rather lazy 6 year old.... He would much rather plod along at a snails pace than actually move his backside!! It makes it really difficult for me out competing because it uses up so much of my energy to keep him in front of the leg. Its not a fitness issue for either of us, nor does he have anything preventing him going forwards (had him almost a year and teeth, back, saddle etc all checked/maintained from day one). He loves his jumping and a good gallop with his buddies but apart from that he's quite a lazy a***!

Ive been thinking for a while of adding something to his feed to add a bit of spark, but as he is barefoot I need to be cautious of sugars. He is a good-doer (Welshie!) He currently gets:

1/4 scoop of TopSpec Top Chop Lite
Handful of pony nuts
Handful (or heaped wooden spoon) of SpeediBeet
25ml scoop of linseed

He lives in at night with soaked hay and is turned out 7am-6pm at the least, longer if not ridden. He is ridden 6 days a week and I would says he's in medium-hard work.

Any advice would be great, I would love to event him but I don't think I could physically manage it, no matter how fit I was!

Thanks

 

[Kat]

My barefooter has oats

 

[pairciban]

Hi My horse used to be a lazy git, we changed a lot of things over time and he improved but the biggest difference was when I started him on forage plus performance balancer. He has loads of energy and is really up for work, still stands like a donkey to tack up etc but when you ask a question he answers it. Maybe try a barefoot balancer?

 

[thatsmygirl]

I will probably get shot down for this but one of my barefoot lads was lazy or so I thought ( no sign of anything wrong) tried boots on him one day as I got them in a sale dead cheap and thought they would be handy to keep aside for him if need be at any time and I tried them on him ( only fronts) to see what he felt like and WOW what a difference my barefoot lazy arse was a jig joggy forward going lad, I honestly think he was overly sore so was lazy but showed me no signs. I hack in boots every time now and have a different horse. Just something to think about.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Hi,

My boy is rather lazy 6 year old.... He would much rather plod along at a snails pace than actually move his backside!! It makes it really difficult for me out competing because it uses up so much of my energy to keep him in front of the leg. Its not a fitness issue for either of us, nor does he have anything preventing him going forwards (had him almost a year and teeth, back, saddle etc all checked/maintained from day one). He loves his jumping and a good gallop with his buddies but apart from that he's quite a lazy a***!

Ive been thinking for a while of adding something to his feed to add a bit of spark, but as he is barefoot I need to be cautious of sugars. He is a good-doer (Welshie!) He currently gets:

1/4 scoop of TopSpec Top Chop Lite
Handful of pony nuts
Handful (or heaped wooden spoon) of SpeediBeet
25ml scoop of linseed

He lives in at night with soaked hay and is turned out 7am-6pm at the least, longer if not ridden. He is ridden 6 days a week and I would says he's in medium-hard work.

Any advice would be great, I would love to event him but I don't think I could physically manage it, no matter how fit I was!

Thanks

You don't say how much exercise he gets, or what size he is, but my definition of hard work is 2-3 hours per day, including walk trot and canter. A good hour's hack in walk trot and canter 5 days a week is only light work. Either way, that is probably not enough grub , I mean it may be enough for a shetland in hard work but not a shire.
I don't like pony nuts as they may have sugars and other stuff, but I think he needs more minerals, and a wee bit salt.

 

[muckypony]

thatsmygirl - he's exactly the same if worked on roads, grass or a school so I don't think its a soreness issue, he's never been shod and his feet are fab, but thank you

MrsD - I don't want to feed him more as I don't want any more weight on him, I just want to be feeding the 'right' thing. If i fed either of my shetlands that they would explode lol! He's 14.2, he gets schooled hard twice a week (mainly trot/canter work) and he works properly from behind so he isn't just trotting around pointlessly if you know what I mean! Other days is hacking which involves a lot of hill work and I usually get him trotting uphill. Weekends he will normally do a 3-4 hour hack either both days, or be out competing on one. I agree that he could do with salt - he used to have a lick but was obsessed with playing with it and made such a mess!

I thought about feeding oats... But I never have before so would have no idea how much to give?

 

[muckypony]

Oh and duh stupid me! That feed I listed is what he gets breakfast and dinner, so twice a day.. He doesn't just get the one feed!

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Oh and duh stupid me! That feed I listed is what he gets breakfast and dinner, so twice a day.. He doesn't just get the one feed!

lol,
OK well try him with a petscoop of oats [shaken off not heaped] , one scoop for first 4 days, then 2 scoops PER DAY. I think you can phase out the pony cubes if feeding oats.
He won't explode [not outwards, anyway , lol]
Try Forageplus or pro earth minerals, they are both balanced and come recommended for barefoot, you will find his coat colour improves. This is most important as you are soaking hay which loses sugars AND minerals. I was astounded to see the difference , keeps thrush at bay and other things. Takes about ten days to come in to effect.

 

[muckypony]

Great thanks - how big is a petscoop? And also is there a certain type of oats I get?

Would the micronised linseed be providing him with any vits/mins?

 

[NZJenny]

I feed mine whole oats, my 14.2 hh part bred Arabian mare gets 250 grams per day, up to 500 grams on hard work days. If you don't want to feed whole oats you can buy them crushed, but they go off quite quickly. Or, you can soak them to soften them. All mine are barefoot, and I have never had any issues feeding oats - in fact quite the opposite. Because oats are just that (well here anyway) you know exactly what you are getting.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

A pet-scoop is found in the pet section in Morissons, and other places, it is smaller than a Stubbs scoop, looks like a small shovel/scoop

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Great thanks - how big is a petscoop? And also is there a certain type of oats I get?

Would the micronised linseed be providing him with any vits/mins?

Micronised linseed is a seed which is high in oil, it looks like small brown oval birdseed. It is unprocessed, when it is pressed "expressed"] the oil is removed and bottled. The whole linseed has some fbre, but most people feed micronised linseed which is lightly steamed and rolled.
The main benefit is omega oil
There will be minerals and vitamins, just as when you eat your peas and chips lol.
But you need to use a balanced mineral and vitamin supplement which is formulated to ensure that your horse gets the correct requirements for a horse, it is important that all the minerals are balanced, so this is why most people buy a supplement made by a good company.
Salt is salt, so you can buy that anywhere, not too much, but more than a teaspoon.............

 

[EPS]

Try giving Thunderbrook equine a call, they have a great understanding of barefoot equines and are really helpful. http://thunderbrook.co.uk

 

[jm2k]

My tb barefoot has: 200g micro linseed, 100g unmol beet, 250g alfa oil chaff. Lysine and CAV each day and 50g grass nuts as a general day BUT i play around with these nuts for extra boost when needing for xc etc up to 500g as he can get a fizz off them. I keep them in the day diet so its not a shock to his system when i increase them for special occasions.
Lots of transitions to keep him off leg and under bum so more energetic.
My arab barefoot gets half of all that diet as he is a porkie but again the extra nuts when we got endurance ride.
Never give any cereals, very low sugars/starch and high fibre diet only.

get a cheap digital scales from argos and use with a bowl for feed guide as you never get the same level scoop weight each time!
Tried the soaked oats and apart from the pain in the bum for soaking sprouting, it didnt do anything for weight gain or energy on any of the horses.

 

[kirstie]

Although you say your horse is a good doer, he really is not getting much in the way of energy for the amount of work he is doing and his diet is not very balanced.

If he were mine (and this is what I do with mine, also on a barefoot diet), I would first of all get him on a good balancer. I use forage plus and feed at the recommended rate. My horse generally comes out with energy but tires quickly, particularly in the summer when she is being worked harder, so I have started feeding her Baileys Alfa A plus oil, which is coated in soya oil. I cannot believe the difference it has made in such a short amount of time, I would highly recommend it. I also feed spillers high fibre cubes which are barefoot friendly and encourage her to eat all of her feed as she can be fussy. Speedi beet and 1 mug of micronised linseed a day.

I feed this per day, split into 2 feeds;

1.5 scoops alfa a with oil
Just over 1 scoop nuts
1.5 scoop speedi beet
1 mug (100g) micronised linseed
Forage plus at recommended daily dose
Suppleaze gold joint supplement

Out overnight on good grazing, 5lbs of good quality hay to pick at in the day.

That is her summer diet, she has more in the winter. My horse is generally a very good doer in the summer and this diet suits her really well. I also supplement with electrolytes when she has worked hard and sweated, I feel this is very important for performance.