Feed vs calmer

[spacefaer]

Hypothetical question
If you have a horse which you're trying to put condition on - he's eating a good quality conditioning feed currently

And he drops condition when worked harder than usual, as he's high energy and an internal stresser

Would you add more hard feed, different hard feed or a calmer to help the existing feed work better?

Assuming good quality ad lib forage and no ulcers ,??

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Assuming the reasons for stress are addressed I think I'd look at the feed first...maybe have some forage analysis done to see if it's lacking in something..??

 

[TPO]

Assuming that he is not in any pain or discomfort and everything possible has been checked in that regard then I'd perhaps look at doing some work to ease his stress.

Some horses are naturally stressy and wired but I think there are things that can be taught to help them relax and build their confidence. Warwick Schiller talks a lot about it and has free (& ones you can pay for!) videos with difference exercises to help anxious horses.

I'd also look at feed because simply there needs to be more calories going in than are being used. I'd perhaps also look (or in my case I'd get a nutritionist to look because I wouldn't really know how to do the sums!) at how much protein horse is getting to build muscle.

My grass has been as good as non existent this year due to the awful weather so perhaps this horse could benefit from forage in the form of hay and haylage even when out on grass.

Short, growing, stressed and cold grass all tends to be high in sugars. Magnesium is often fed to offset that, as such most calmers tend to be magnesium based ergo only work if there is a deficiency. Magnesium is pretty cheap (Intrasite) so might be worth feeding it alongside a good spec vit/min supp and salt.

Perhaps this horse would do better with 3 or 4 smaller feeds throughout the day.

While I try to feed high fibre and low sugar and starch with an aversion to commercial mixed and the like I've had a lot of success feeding Bailey's no.21 ease and Excel mix designed for ulcer horses.

Feeding a scoop of chaff the half hour before riding/while grooming etc as a buffer might help

Without know what the hypothetical horse is currently fed or his routine and management it's hard to say.