Feeding a young cob for a bit of energy - help please

T

those-ears

Active Member
Joined
19 January 2012
Messages
43
Visit site
My cob has just turned 4, she was backed and ridden away last July then in very light hacking work and a bit of basic schooling before being turned away for 4 months, she has been in work since the end of Jan. We are mostly hacking and do a 25 min session schooling in a flat field 1 x per week, she is starting to work on a baby outline, going long and low and getting her really light in the hand, mostly concentrating on going forwards and things like bending correctly on both reins. Most of the small problems we had with bend are being ironed out - all in all going very nicely. Canter is still wobbly and needs alot of work! She is ridden in a NS starter bit (a thinner one as she has a small mouth) and goes very well in it. We have started a bit of pole work and popped a small x pole at the weekend and she seemed to enjoy it. She is ridden 4 - 5 x per week up to 1 hr hacking and up to 25 mins schooling. Planning on a few lessons at the start of April for flat work.
She is fed 1 x per day and has half scoop sugar beet and a few handfuls of chaff, her hay has been cut down as grass is coming through. She is a very good doer.
However she is laid back by nature and can be forward going but she does seem to lack a bit of energy at times, I appreciate she is a baby and although she is very willing I don't want to push her. We have a few small dressage tests coming up and a cob class in April which am working toward. I don't want to pump her full of conditioning feeds as I feel she won't need it, however I am looking to feed something to give her a bit more energy for the work load she is doing (even though light work we do live in a very hilly area so a few steep hills which cannot be avoided!)
She is a LW native type coloured cob and is 15hh - she is perfect weight wise at the moment.
Any suggestions would be good :)
 
You could try adding some Alpha A to her diet. But as you say, she's young and laid back generally - so feeding will probably not change her general demeanor. As she get's stronger, and is able to do more work then she will (should) have more energy - but perhaps not quite yet....
 
You could try giving her a low calorie balancer (such as Bailey's Lo Cal) - this will give her some quality protein and a broad spectrum of vit/mins all concentrated in a small dose, so not too many calories. If you choose to feed alfalfa or oats as suggested above you can feed these alongside the balancer.

However, I suspect you will find that her energy levels will increase when she becomes fitter and more used to her level of work.
 
Never fed oats before - is there a type that work better :p tiger oats?! going the feed store next week so will have a look out for them.
 
Rolled oats will do the job and cheaper than the branded stuff. Remember to introduce slowly and balance work and food.

You may find they do not make a difference, in which case I would try spillers instance response competition mix. On the other hand oats can prove to be sky rocket fuel to some horses. It's a suck it and see situation.
 
My cob certainly gained oomph on small amounts of TopSpec Performance Cubes, they are cereal free & low starch etc. I tried my TB on them but as she doesn't hold weight she needed a larger amount per day & they sent her a bit silly.

I think from memory I was feeding my cob half a stubbs scoop a day which gave her energy without silliness.
 
Please Do not feed oats! Your horse isn't getting a balanced diet at the min. Sugar beet is 80% water and very little nutritional value and a couple of handfuls of chaff is not going to be giving your horse anything. The first thing to do before resulting to high energy feeds is to give a balanced diet first. Is your horse maintaining its weight on its current feed or has it lost weight. I used to work for a feed company so do know what I am talking about!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top