Feeding Advice

[dwi]

I'm wondering if Daisy needs more hard feed as winter comes. She currently has a small handful of happy hoof with an apple to reward her for coming in but her stamina is lacking. She'll trot for hours but finds it hard to maintain a canter and I'm wondering if she needs more hard feed for extra oomph. She can be a little spooky but never fizzy or strong.

I had been thinking of giving her a little Cool Mix or Ride and relax in addition to the Happy Hoof so I emailed the spillers nutritionists and they suggested that I giver her 2kg of Happy Dieter a day and nothing else. This seems excessive for a horse who has good grazing and ad lib hay. I can't imagine that she needs more roughage.

She's the horse in my signature 15.2 middleweight cob, hacked 4 - 5 times a week for 40 mins to 2 hours, I'm gradually building her fitness and hope to start doing local competitions in the spring.

 

[Petrie]

I'm no feeding expert, but it sounds like she has plenty of roughage and also tends to be on the porky side of just right, so I wouldn't have thought you need more bulk, as you said.

If it were me, I'd probably give her a little bit of something with a bit more ooomph in it. I would start with something basic, like Hacking pencils, Pasture Mix or an equivalent, see how you go.

But, as I said, I'm not a nutritionist! Why don't you try ringing round a few of the other brands? See what they say.

I use Allen and Page, and find them very good.

 

[kick_On]

i going to sound really horrible but from you sig you horse looks in fine.
To get stamina you need fitness, feeding hard food doesn't give you fitness.
I would suggest you work on you canter and this will improve you stamina and then once you doing much harder work (than you stated) would i consider up food (of course unless started looking like hat rack)
As you said can be 'a little spooky' , if you up hard feeds without doing more work than you doing you only going to induce more spookness through food, not fitness
Your horse looks a good sort and if you want to give more food, what about extra roughage, carrots and apples

 

[Blizzard]

I tried spillers too, they said my over weight welsh mare who is living out should be getting 2kg of happy dieter, I think not, she woudl pop!

My mare gets half a scoop of hi fi lite, half a scoop of happy hoof, and her supplements/vitamins and has plenty of energy

 

[hannah1982]

I rang spillers too and the girl expliained to me that although 2kg may seem like a lot Happy Dieter is formulated for fat horses and ponies so it has very few calories. And also it is only one scoop for breakfast and one for tea.

It is meant to be much safer to feed than just a token jesture of mix.

After all they are meant to eat fairy consistently and are originally designed to eat just fibre.

My mare has been on it for 8 weeks now and she is definately less fizzy but happy cos she has loads to eat. You should give it a try.

 

[sleepingdragon10]

If she'll "trot for hours",but finds it difficult to maintain her canter it may well be a balance/schooling issue rather than a feed problem.
Feeding a spooky horse more hard feed isn't going to do anything other than make any problems worse.

 

[hannah1982]

I agree, maybe you should try lunging her more until she is fitter and more balanced if you are finding it hard going when you ride?