Feeding a lazy but spooky horse?

[JS65]

My new horse is lovely, but when i have a lesson I need a lot of leg to get him to move forward onto the bit.

When i have fed haylage instead of hay he has become quite spooky, but still not forward.

I am looking for a feed that will give him a bit more umph but still let him concentrate.

As he is a little lean at the moment, he is on;

Alpha A oil
Baileys top line
D&H calm and condition
Plus carrots and add lib good quality hay

Any suggestions please?

 

[Tinkle]

That sounds like quite lot of different conditioning feeds to me even though you say he's lean. Not fed Bailey's Topline but could you try cutting this out and upping your Calm and Condition and see how that works?

x

 

[Walrus]

Such a tricky question. The one I ride is a bit like this - however his owner sorts his feed and I just do as I'm told!

Problem you (and me!) have got is that feeds that tend to make horses fizzy, excitable or exacerbate that type of nature - so could make spookyness worse are those that are higher in starch. Starch is a quick releasing energy source that comes from cereals. So if a horse gets het up easily then they tend to be recommended a feed based on fibre and oil which are slow releasing energy sources.

So this all sounds great - horse needs condition and is a bit spooky so aim for something with calories that come from fibre and oil. But then, horse is also slow and needs some oomph - but this comes from feeding cereals which might make spooking worse - aarrgghh! (Everyone on the yard thinks my boy is a steady eddie, took him in the school the other day and he spooks and bucks!)

What I would suggest is:

you need to feed calories to keep condition, at the moment you're feeding 2 types of conditioning feed for which there isn't really a reason. I'd feed a conditioning feed based on fibre and oil (so look for any that are aimed at fizzier horses etc), feed the recommended amount for your horse's size and you wont need any extra vits and mins. Keep the alpha a oil.

Then work on fitness and schooling to try and get your umph, make sure horse is fit enough for what you want and you're strict in the school about moving off your leg etc (can you tell I had a lesson about the very same thing last week!).

If he is still super slow, even after the spring grass has come through etc. then consider looking for a conditioning or competition feed that has a bit more starch in for oomph - basically a mix. And I would then introduce that gradually so you're still feeding your slow release conditioning feed too, maybe get to half and half and see how you are. If you're still slow, keep going - maybe you'll get to a full ration on a mix. If he tries to kill you (joke!) drop it back and feed more of the slow release version.

My god, I have written you an essay! I'm very sorry, if you managed to get through this well done. Maybe phone a feed company helpline, I'm sure they'll make more sense than me!

 

[JS65]

Thanks Walrus,

Will try that and see how he goes.

it's a nightmare, i have never had to feed for energy before, normally feed Hyper horses and have got that off to a tee !!

jo