feeding a 5 year old advice please!

[RachelMcTimoney]

Just wanted a bit of advice on feeding my youngster she has been in ridden work for a couple of months, weight is ok now she was a bit lean when i had her, very good grazing, ad lib hay at night.

Feed- scoop of hi fi and feed balancer plus sprinkle of mix. twice a day.

She is in light work and is lively but not too fizzy. Do you think she is getting enough feed as she is developing a lot, worried if she not getting enough protein to put on muscle???

thanks!

 

[AmyMay]

Sounds fine to me - especially as you give her adlib hay.

How does she look???

 

[RachelMcTimoney]

her weight is perfect, and she is starting to develop muscle on her hindquarters now, her hips don't stick out so much! thanks amymay!

 

[AmyMay]

It's always a bit tricky with youngsters isn't it - because you obviously need them to have enought to develop and do the work, but don't want them to get stupid.

You may find that you start to need to give more mix as winter sets in - but play it by ear and see how it goes.

Piccys????

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Use a weight tape on her & sort out how heavy she is. As the winter unfolds and there is no goodness in the grass & you will need to increase the feed & hay. It's very much suck it and see. Don't always go by the amount they recommend on the feedbags though....if you did that the horse would be really fat. Additionally as the work rate increases you will need to put more foor into your horse to relace the lost energy. Just keep an eye on it and be flexable.

 

[4whitesocks]

My boy is also 5 and his weight goes up and down (didn't help that his terrible mother moved him to a yard that didn't believe in ad-lib hay!) - he's now in full time work (6 days a week schooling/jumping etc.) and we're just playing it by ear - he has turnout for at least 5 hours a day and then adlib hay & morning and evening feed....his hips aren't quite so sticky out at the mo but we're keeping an eye

 

[RachelMcTimoney]

never worked out how to put piccies on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
can i do when they are saved in my pictures ion computer do you have to have them on one of those photobox things?????

 

[Quarrybank]

I've got a 4yo, who lost weight as he started to work. I think they all do as they are using energy to both work & grow!Again didn't want to feed him to much hard feed, but have started him on blue chip. He's looking much better & has more energy in his work without being silly. Not cheap I know but I'm saving on hard feed. Plus he was on adlib hay & going through loads & loads, but since the blue chip he doesn't seem to need as much. Plus he goes out all day & comes in & is rugged up at night.

 

[Petrie]

If you're not giving him the recommended ration of mix, you just need to make sure he's getting all the vits and mins he needs, which he should do if you're feeding a balancer in the right quantities.

If he drops condition, you could try something like Calm and Condition along with your balancer, which is ideal for young horses as it will help them keep their weight on without getting silly. Nuts are generally higher fibre and less fizz-making than mix.

At the end of the day, if you think he's the right weight, he has enough energy, and his coat and eyes are shiny and bright, you're OK!

 

[SillyMare]

Youngsters are always prone to dramatic weight loss when they come into work.

Think it is because they don't have the underlying muscle development which makes changes really obvious (when they are light they look REALLY light). Also the older ones just don't stress themselves out as much and use as many calories.

All the advice above is good but try not to worry about it too much if he looses weight this winter when he is working - as long as he feels well and looks healthy he will be fine.

 

[GTs]

I would not call a 5 year old - a youngster.

 

[Twinkle Twinkle]

I have a 5 yo and l feed him a high fibre diet, hifi light and spillers slow release cubes and fibre beet and he is doing really well on this.

 

[4whitesocks]

Think people tend to class their horses as to what level of work/training they are at - my boy is was completely unhandled this time last year so even though he's five (as of end July) he hasn't had the level of work that a 5yo that was backed rising 4 would have, so hasn't the same level of muscle development...

and I still call him a youngster

 

[RachelMcTimoney]

I would GTs she has been broken for 2/3 months approx now......can't get more babyish than that................she was a skinny weakling when i had her and looks great now, just been concerned she getting enough from her food as she filling out and developing loads!

 

[GTs]

Her ability or level of skill under saddle does not make her young or a baby - it makes her green.

 

[henryhorn]

I think you have been away from the Uk for too long to recall the terminology, a youngster can be anything up to six as a rule, it means young undeveloped horse, not the level of schooling.

 

[henryhorn]

We have just aquired a big rangy mare who has quite definitely no muscle as yet and is lean.
After worming her we will give her ad lib haylage and a balancer, plus garlic and a non heating mix. We also use speedi beet but not proper sugar beet because of the sugar content.
With youngsters you have to balance the fact they will gain in strength against ensuring they don't get too much feed which makes them daft to train, so haylage, a mineral supplement and not too much feed is ideal.
We are currently hacking this mare and will do that for a while prior to starting schooling, even then it is likely to be ten mins a time after a short hack.
Once she builds up some muscle and stamina from hacking she will commence lunge work in the pessoa, and some long reining to help her steering, luckily at this stage all she needs is to be vaguely steerable and have enough brakes to halt!
I think what you're giving sounds fine, just increase the haylage or hay before increasing anything else.

 

[GTs]

Out here 4 and under is a young one.

 

[RachelMcTimoney]

Thanks HH, and there is so much difference between 4 & 5 years GTs hahaha......

I have done exactly the same as you HH have been hacking her for 2 months now combined with long reining going to start a bit of schooling this weekend.