Feeding a Welsh

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anastasiyax

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Have a very good doer who goes from fit to fat in seconds but is getting lethargic in summer. Is getting ridden mostly hacked (fileds and forrestry) with a bit of schooling and the odd jump. Don't mind fizz. Fizz is welcome just need something to spice him up. Currently out on grass. He gets forage plus balancer with a bit of chaff (and I mean a very little bit) mostly so he eats the balancer. What feeds would you guys suggest
 
Always a possibility - but the post history suggests someone with limited experience rather than a T.

OP - knowing age, breed and height would help you get more targeted advice. I know you have said welsh - but A,B C or D? They have every different needs! How old, how tall? If you know it how much do they weigh? Is he clipped? Its hot right now - that can make them slow. How often and for how long is he worked? The workload sounds like it could be quite low - is he fully fit? not being fit makes them slugggy too.

Only about 40% of horses respond to oats - so probably not my first port of call without the other information as well. You can stuff an unfit overweight pony with oats and all you'll get is laminitis - not oomph!
 
Auslander said:
Really? Seems like a pretty reasonable question at this time of year!

OP - I use Saracen Superioats for a bit of added oomph. They are naked oats, high in fibre and low in starch, and they add sparkle without weight gain
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Well it would be had I not seen the spam threads this morning with a very similar user name and 10 minutes after the spam posted this was posted
this was the user name
-anakonco24
Seems funny when it is the same as the troll posts 1-25 am this morning
you missed them

thank god admin removed the 5 or 6 of them as they were all drugs as they are still in my search history

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?749031-Valium-and-xanax-available
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?749035-Check-out-valium-and-xanax-available
 
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Those spam posts are completely unrelated to this post. Why would anyone from China wanting to sell fake drugs then rejoin under a different name to ask a legitimate question about a pony naming a very specific supplement?!

How fit is your pony OP? You run the risk of feed just making him fat and sluggish, so I'd try getting him mega fit first and see if that helps.
 
I agree, try and get him fitter.

I am forever trying to whizz horses up, and tbh nothing truely does. Though, I have used Topspec racehorse balancer before and it definitely helped a little.
 
Fitness first

after that from some trial and error I found that my welsh did best being having grass limited and replaced with oats, linseed and hay. He is also much better coming in to have a nap every day, I would always bring him in the night before a day out for that reason. Frankly he was still a much nicer ride in winter but that was the best formula we managed in summer. BUT he was always super fit and I got to the point that I thought was the lethargy was in part because I wasn't giving him what he required to do it (though equally I know plenty that event of grass, but they are all different). I suspect from what you have said yours perhaps isn't doing quite so much? How fast and frequent is your hacking?
 
I also keep my welsh D as fit as I can, I keep her off grass overnight at the moment and I ride her in the mornings before turnout. She is working reasonably hard most days, so I let her have as much hay as she wants overnight (not a lot at the moment) and feed a balancer supplemented with oats according to the work she's doing each day. Mine is sweating a lot at the moment so we also have a good dose of salt daily. This is a cheap and simple diet that seems to tick her boxes.

Fitness really is the key with these types I think though. When they are super fit, it almost doesn't matter what you feed them up to a point as you are just replacing the calories lost. I really find that natives get more sparkle when they are in a lot of work.
 
My Welsh D gets turnout every day but is in at night. Has a tiny amount of Good Doer morning and evening with a bit of milk thistle to assist her liver and a few fibre nuggets sprinkled on top.

Her weight is very constant.
 
My mare gets lethargic if I don't feed her enough salt. It's been hot so I make sure she gets a little more. I agree with the opinion extra food might just lead to fat horse and therefore laziness but make sure you are feeding appropriate to workload.
 
Shay said:
Always a possibility - but the post history suggests someone with limited experience rather than a T.

OP - knowing age, breed and height would help you get more targeted advice. I know you have said welsh - but A,B C or D? They have every different needs! How old, how tall? If you know it how much do they weigh? Is he clipped? Its hot right now - that can make them slow. How often and for how long is he worked? The workload sounds like it could be quite low - is he fully fit? not being fit makes them slugggy too.

Only about 40% of horses respond to oats - so probably not my first port of call without the other information as well. You can stuff an unfit overweight pony with oats and all you'll get is laminitis - not oomph!
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I work night shifts so post when i can. Hes a welsh D but 13.2 so hes a midget. 14 years old. roughly 350/400 kg. Not clipped He was regularly ridden jumped and competed until a few weeks ago when i had exams. He is still in full fitness as only had a bout a week and a bit of light work. But even when competing or riding in the park because hes out all the time and not stabled hes not as hype and requires more leg.
 
ester said:
Fitness first

after that from some trial and error I found that my welsh did best being having grass limited and replaced with oats, linseed and hay. He is also much better coming in to have a nap every day, I would always bring him in the night before a day out for that reason. Frankly he was still a much nicer ride in winter but that was the best formula we managed in summer. BUT he was always super fit and I got to the point that I thought was the lethargy was in part because I wasn't giving him what he required to do it (though equally I know plenty that event of grass, but they are all different). I suspect from what you have said yours perhaps isn't doing quite so much? How fast and frequent is your hacking?
Click to expand...

He is fairly fit as only on smaller work load for a week or so while i had exams. Before that he was hacked 2 hrs 2 days a week to the local forestry and park as well as jump clinics, lessons and shows. In fact he won his last sj show just before my exams took over so he is fairly fit. Just he is now out all day for the summer and because he gets rid of his buzz in the field hes become more lethargic.
 
He gets a salt block and salt in his balancer but will offer him more as it has been very hot lately. Was thinking of trying him on oats, whats the best way to feed those. Any experiences with them? My exams are done now and he will be getting back into more work
 
Auslander said:
Really? Seems like a pretty reasonable question at this time of year!

OP - I use Saracen Superioats for a bit of added oomph. They are naked oats, high in fibre and low in starch, and they add sparkle without weight gain
Click to expand...

Sounds exactly what i need, i was thinking oats. How do you feed them?
 
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Him a few weeks ago
 
You could try power and performance by Allen and page it gave my friends new forest a bit more energy, I know they can be lethargic if not fit but if this is a recent change it may be worth considering cushings it is a symptom and although his not old my mare was positive at 13 so it's not unheard of at that age, quite often horses don't show obvious symptoms in the beginning it's only once the condition is in the late stages the real symptoms start to show. He looks very lovely in the pictures:)
 
Pinkvboots said:
You could try power and performance by Allen and page it gave my friends new forest a bit more energy, I know they can be lethargic if not fit but if this is a recent change it may be worth considering cushings it is a symptom and although his not old my mare was positive at 13 so it's not unheard of at that age, quite often horses don't show obvious symptoms in the beginning it's only once the condition is in the late stages the real symptoms start to show. He looks very lovely in the pictures:)
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It's yearly. As soon as he's out in the field all day he gets more lethargic. Will look into the Allen and page thanks :D
 
Always a comedian ;)

I just add them to usual twice daily feed, in recent years mind has had a stubbs scoop a day split between feeds in summer, and two in winter when hunting (but since he is a bit older he has not held his weight so well in winter the last couple of years). Start with a bit and see how you get on :).
 
Your comment about being out in the field all day, is he full of grass & needing a snooze? Can you stable for a few hours before riding to see if he's less lethargic?
 
Myloubylou said:
Your comment about being out in the field all day, is he full of grass & needing a snooze? Can you stable for a few hours before riding to see if he's less lethargic?
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He comes in for a bit if it's raining so he's dry and doesn't often make a difference also he doesn't lie down much stable or field. I've never seen him down for more than a roll. :)
 
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