Feeding advice for eventer needed

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Wan2bEventer

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My mare is a 17 hand warmblood currently in medium work. She flatwork/jumping schools for around 40 minutes 4 times a week, has an hours dressage coaching once a week, hacks for approx 2 hrs once a week, and then competes at either dressage (prelim) or SJ (3ft) on the seventh day. Once my pessoa arrives tomorrow, she will also do about 15 to 20 mins lunge work, three mornings a week in addition to this.

She needs to be event fit by April, and in three weeks time - or as daylight starts to allow, I will add two extra hour long hacks to her regime. Also in February we will be swapping one flatwork schooling session for a XC schooling session for about one hour.

Currently I would say she is slightly overweight, or at least looks as if she has a little bit of a tummy. She has good coverage of all her ribs etc, but is lacking some topline muscle. She has only been working in a correct outline for around 5 months now, and I understand this will take time - but how can I allow her diet to maximise her muscle mass?

She currently eats one scoop Alfa A oil with TopSpec feed balancer in the evening, and just the feed balancer and some carrots in the morning. We have lots of good quality grazing which she has access to for around 9 hours, and then good quality haylage at night.

I am happy to change the Alfa A, but I need to keep the feed balancer as it keeps her calm!

Thanks for your help guys.
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Blimey what level are you planning to event at?!

With that lot she will be super-fit and unless you are higher level eventing I can't see that she will need that much work.

I personally also would not change the feed unless she lacks energy - my WBxTB evented at Novice last season on half a scoop of pony nuts a day...so if the diet is working so far don't change it! (He did an awful lot less work than that too....)
 
By the time she needs extra energy the grass will be growing so that will compensate.

I have a firm belief that a horses legs only have so many miles in them so I tend not to overdoe the fittening work. I think you will find even top level racehorses don't get that much intense work.
 
lol ok thanks guys, sounds useful - and easy! I won't change a thing. Perhaps I should ease back on the work plan, I think I am just nervous of her being unfit. We will be doing BE at Intro followed by PN for 2008, but also the MK Equine Affairs unaffiliated 3DE's.

Is it just a matter of time before she builds more topline then?

x
 
That doesn't sound like much food for a big horse that's doing a hell of a lot of work. Is she naturally buzzy (you say the TopSpec keeps her calm)? And does she never get a day off?
 
She is always sharp and full of energy yes, I wouldn't say she needed anything to give her extra energy. Currently she has Monday's off - after she has been out competing. Sometimes she will get another day off later in the week too if the school is flooded!
 
Here is a pic of her from December - she hasn't changed! Isn't the best for showing her condition, so I have included a second image of her from last October just before she was clipped. I wouldn't say she was underweight at all, but many people comment that she needs better top line - hence my post really.

Picture4.jpg


And then in October...

IMG_0369.jpg
 
You could try the topspec conditioning flakes - did you say how old she is? If she is young I think I would ease up on the work, and just be prepared that as a big warmblood she will take longer to mature. You don't want her super-fit for intro, it's 3' not Badminton! Yes she needs to be fit enough, but as a guide my 16.2 WBxTB schooled twice a week, lunged once a week, had a day off and hacked twice for about an hour, mostly in walk, and was plenty fit enough for intro.

I found he did not fill out until after last winter between his first and second season eventing, when I gave him 2 months off and wasn't too hard on him over the winter. he's now rising 8 and the pressure is being upped this winter as he can cope with it, which he could not before.
 
Agree with SpottedCat... I can't actually see much need to change his feed from what you are saying. In hindsight I got my horse far to fit for intro and pre-novice, and all it achieved was unnecessary strain on his legs.

If you are concerned about his weight, why not just swap the AlfaA for Hi-Fi?
 
THanks guys, I will look into Hi-Fi - SpottedCat she is 11 years old, and I know exactly what you mean about warmbloods taking a long time to mature! Interesting as it sounds like I am planning to do too much to get her fit for intro/PN - sounds as if she is probably fit enough now to be honest. Thanks for your advice all, I shall take it all on board! x
 
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