Feeding Advice ..

[sammys ma]

I'm after some advice and opinions please.

Situation is this:
I have 14.2 Cob. He's not a typical Good-doer Cob , in the sense that if he looks at food, he doesn't get fat, but he doesn't drop weight easily either...but is fairly lean for a Cobby .

However, he has dropped off slightly....not thin by any means, but i have noticed it in the last month or so, but certainly not anything worrying health wise etc...I'm sure it's just down to lack of grass at the time of year.

However, in my lesson at the weekend, he felt more "lethargic" than usual. He still worked well..but din't seem to have as much "go" as normal.
He's not super forward going, but isn't a plod and has been going off the leg fairly well. Instructor got on and also felt he wasn't as forward as he has been.

Now, he could just have been having an "off" day, or was fed up, as he had been schooled about 3 times already in the week. ( he also gets to jump and hack at weekends, so he gets variety).

Anyway, spoke to instructor, and she thinks as he has dropped a bit, and also since his workload has increased a bit, she thinks i should up his feed.
Now i don't have a problem with this atall, and agree it's a good idea.

I also want to build up his top line....which hopefully all the schooling will help with, but any feeds that can encourage it would be good too.

However, I don't want to get anything to fizz him up, as out hacking he has no probs cantering etc...and i don't want to lose his sensible side. I have had major confidence issues in the past, and have been progressing so well with bob, so I don't want to lose any that i have gained!

So here is what he is fed atm:
Daily turn -out - there is grass, but it's getting thin on the ground so will be putting hay out for them soon.

Stabled at night with 3 large slices Hay.

2 feeds per day, each consisting of:
1.5 large scoop Hi-Fi lite
1/2 scoop D&H Pasture nuts
1 Scoop Clop
1 Scoop Garlic
3 -4 large carrots

Instructor has reccomended Top-Spec conditioning flakes? however, have heard that these can be heating in some cases/not all. also looked at their cool conditioning cubes...does anyone have experience of these?

If i used these, or something similar, would i remove the pasture nuts from feed?
Would he still benefit from the Clop?

Also, would a feed balancer in addition be a good idea?

Sorry for the essay!!!!

Any advice greatefully received!!!!

 

[spaniel]

I have cob who is also not the easiest to keep weight on anymore due to his age.

Originally he was on

Dodson and Horrel 16+ mix, hifi lite and sugarbeet.

Some years ago I changed him over and he now has

Pure Grass (like Readigrass), sugarbeet, Topspec condition flakes (which dont heat him up at all), Topspec feed balancer and sugarbeet.

He has held his weight really well on this with ad lib hay and limited good grazing.


I think it would be worth your while trying them. They arent hugely expensive and I know all sorts of different types of horse who use them including a highly strung tb mare who you would expect to go off her head on something like that....she is actually calmer now!!!

The other things to consider are that you have a pain reaction going on somewhere, a worm burden, or possibly some sort of low level virus.

 

[TGM]

If you decide to feed the TopSpec flakes or cubes then yes it would be a good idea to feed the TopSpec balancer with them. I think I am right in saying that neither the cubes or flakes are supplemented with vitamins and minerals, because these feeds are designed to be fed alongside the balancer (which supplies the vits/mins). If you do decide to feed the TopSpec feeds then you would be best to drop the pasture mix and also the Clop (as vit/mins are provided by balancer).

Apparently the TopSpec advice line is meant to be very good, so why not contact them for advice.

 

[Nari]

I don't know about the Top Spec as I've never used it & don't know anyone who has.

Personally I'd start by giving him another slab of hay, maybe two if he'll eat it. I'd also look at changing some or all of his Hi-Fi Lite for Alfa Lite &/or adding some oil to his feed. Any of those should add calories to his diet without fizz (though I've heard of a couple of cobs that have got a bit too bright on alfalfa so you might want to keep an eye on him if you go for that option). You should also be able to safely up the pasture nuts.

I don't use feed balancers though I know some people like them. Personally I tried two different ones for my ID & both sent him absolutely loopy - even the other horses didn't want to be near him! So now I stick to Benevit which is a broad spectrum vit & min supplement.

I'd also make sure he's warm enough & dry as a cold wet horse uses a lot of calories.

 

[sammys ma]

Thanks spaniel for the sound advice......

I don't think there is a pain issue, as he is fine hacking and he generally doesn't seem to be in any discomfort ...but ofcourse I'll keep my eyes out for anything unusual!

We are on a worming programme on the yard, so hopefully that's not an issue....
Agian, a virus could be possible, so will keep a good eye on him, bless him!

 

[sammys ma]

thanks for the advice!

Good to hear people have experience of feeds before trying them out....

I will give TopSec a call and glean any advice from them

 

[Bounty]

Topspec Cool Condition cubes are the only conditioning feed that i can put my gelding on.
They were brilliant, and lived up to their name, unlike the claims by spillers that their mixes are non-heating!
I didn't feed them with the balancer, and have since moved to the soaked oats diet for him.

Hope he's back to his usual self soon. x

 

[sammys ma]

Hi Nari,

I think i'm keen on the Hi-fi, purely due to the worry of Lami...as i've experienced it woth a previous horse, and it was awful. I may be over cautious, but it's something i do worry about, particuarly witha cobbie.

I always make sure he's well rugged up, so he shouldn't suffer from the cold.....but again will keep an eye on it.

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
I think i'm keen on the Hi-fi, purely due to the worry of Lami...

[/ QUOTE ] If you use Alfa A Lite instead of Hi Fi Lite there shouldn't be an increased lami risk, as that version is low sugar just like the Hi Fi Lite, and alfafa is naturally low in sugars too. Lami wise I would be more concerned about feeding a cereal-based feed such as the TS conditioning flakes, as cereals can trigger lami attacks in susceptible horses.

 

[KatB]

Sorry replied in other post too. Dont worry about Lami with him, he used to graze off everyones fields in the summer, so aslong as higher sugar feed and good grass arent combined, wouldnt worry too much. He is a cold horse, but he isnt fully clipped is he? So should be ok...

 

[Theresa_F]

Mine are similar, good doers but can eat plenty of low cal high fibre products without putting on the pounds.

Cairo is 16.3 and he has:

1 large scoop (stubbs) of lucie stalks
1/2 scoop of green gold (alfa a)
1/2 scoop speedibeet
mug of black sunflower seeds
Total eclipse supplement and extra instant linseed (linseed is for his joints)
Garlic
Carrots

He gets this twice a day and about 3/4 bale of hay (grazing is gone). He also has a scoop of highlife nuts in his ball.

He is about perfect weight and since being on the Simple Systems diet has so much more energy - but nothing stupid. His stamina is twice what it was and he really seems to be enjoying being ridden including schooling again which he was going off.

I like this diet, no sugar or starch, they have access to food all the time and both of my cobs are looking (if I say so myself) fantastic on this diet.

 

[sammys ma]

hey Katie,
good to know that he's safe on grass

He only has a trace clip atm ( which has almost grown back already!!), and he's always got his winter woolies on, so shouldn't be cold.....

I think i'm just noticing it more, as he had really beefed up in the summer, so it's fairly natural for him to lose a bit at this time of year.....he's certainly not a hat rack!