Feeding advice!

[PiggyB]

Hello,

I'm having a bit of a dilema with my (TBx) eventer. I have recently turned him out 24-7 which has made him very happy, although he now has absolutely no spark whatsoever and can't be bothered to do anything. I have resigned myself to the fact that he will have to come in at night for a rest, have started doing this already.

I have also been considering changing his feed. He has always done very well on a diet of cool mix and lite chaff. In moderate work through the winter he has maintained good energy levels and has been happy in his work. Since the onset of the good weather he has dropped off competely. I am still giving him a small feed of cool mix with some chaff on an evening after he is worked. He does have a tendancy to put on weight at a rapid rate so I am reluctant to give him anymore. I also tried feeding Spillers Competition Mix in place of cool mix but it sent him round the bend (even on a very small amount).

Bit long winded but wondered if anyone had any advice? Are there any high energy mixes that are suitable for those who gain weight easily and fizz very quickly? He is generally an incredibly laid back, easy horse so I am wondering if there was something in particular in the spillers mix that set him off?

Also considering feeding a balancer. Does anyone have a heads up on ones to try?

 

[Firewell]

My mums TB is exactly the same as your horse! Now he's out he is soooo lazy!! He's also a bit porky so don't want to feed him more.
We are resigned to the fact that he will have to come in for a night or two before comps to give him a good sleep! He feels tired in the day like he just wants to sleep??

He is fairly fit, worked for a good 1-2hrs a day so that isn't it. He's on HIFI lite at the moment and fibre nuts too stop him getting too fat. We tried him on Saracen releve which is a really low starch, slow release competition mix but even though it was lower in starch then the fibre nuts it sent him round the bend!! It just had too much energy even though it was slow release.
Spillers slow release energy cubes are meant to be excellent, I haven't tried them myself but you could give those a whirl?
My TB is relaxed but he isn't so bad and he's out 24/7. I feed him baileys lo cal balancer which keeps him in lovely condition and very happy and healthy. You could try that?
Otherwise you may have to bring him in more for sleeping like we are doing with my mums boy.

 

[PiggyB]

Aaaah, we're not alone then!

I have had a look at the spillers response slow release and think i will give that a bash, maybe with a performance balancer. I dont want him turning into a nutcase, especially when his laid back attitude is one of his greatest strengths, but desperate for him to feel a bit more zippy.

I have found the lite chaff to be brilliant as it seems to trick him into thinking he is having a bigger tea than he really is!

I suppose it's just trial and error isnt it...although i hate messing about with feed too much.

We dont have a great deal of grass in our fields, so he isnt gorging himself and feeling pogged out...good job too. Little porker.

 

[Firewell]

Yes maybe try half the recommended amount of the spillers slow release feed and half of performance balancer. Then you won't be double dosing the vitamins so to speak!
At least you don't have to worry about grass too much, we have tons at our place! My mums horse is looking rather too well at the moment fat lazy thing he is lol.

 

[wench]

Feed a balancer, and then top up with something like outshine - slow release energy, and doesnt require an awful lot feeding to them!

 

[flippa_t]

I'd definately recommend Spillers Slow Release Cubes as they are excellent. They are high fibre and low starch and so slow release energy (a bit like low GI idea for humans). In my experience this makes them perfect for eventers which need endurance and for horses that fizz up easily so need a controlled energy but more than you get from a standard cool mix or cube.

I wouldn't worry about feeding way below the recommended dose either (assuming they don't send your chap loopy) as if you feed the right amount he'll get all the vits/mins he needs and be a lot cheaper than buying a seperate balancer.

I've even used these as a conditioning feed in the winter for horses that find standard conditioning feeds too 'fizzy' due to the starch content, as the slow release energy from fibre seemed to be digested better and put on condition rather than sending them loopy.