Feeding for energy- advice?

redandblue

redandblue

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Hi there. My little gypsy cob (14'2 medium build) has weathered the winter ok and will be coming into the spring (when it arrives) about the right weight. She's not very fit - only been lightly worked during the winter months and is not a spring chicken - somewhere between 17-21 yrs (but thats another story). So my problem is not with weight. I feed her one meal a day and she gets haylage in the field with the rest of the herd. She currently has one smallish scoop of high fibre nuts, speedi-beet and happy hoof, supplement and garlic.
However, I am finding that she has little energy and is lethargic when worked and wondered how I can boost her levels without overloading her on hard feed? I do give her extra when worked and this seems to gibve her a short burst and I understand as she gets fitter her energy levels will increase but it's like the poor thing is running on empty :(
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
 
Ok, I seems that people aren't commenting on feeding queries today, so I've been researching and have found that maybe if I introduce a good lo-cal balancer that might just give her the extras she's not getting from her feed (much less than recommended feed for weight). Surely it cant do any harm and with the lack of any other other suggestions, I'm going to give it a go. :confused:
 
If she is currently in good weight, energy will come from work and not from feed. But yes, if you are not feeding the recommended amount of hard feed, it is a good idea to choose a balancer that fits your area.
 
Thank you SCMSL for responding - I thought I was on my own today:rolleyes:

I think when she first went out into the herd with a good supply of grass, her feed was sufficient to keep her ticking over. Now there is barely a blade of grass and even with a decent amount of haylage shared between the mares, is not enough even for the best of the good-doers, are looking for more. Her energy levels have definitly dropped off, which is tricky with a laid back cob, she's finding it a real struggle.

I know lethargy can be a warning sign of cushings and that does worry me a bit, but she has no other symptons other than a very healthy appetite, so if correcting her food ration doesn't work in conjunction with a get-fit campaign I will need to rule that out too. (I could kick myself for not getting her tested in the autumn when it was free!).
 
Well, if you are worried about cushings, nothing like having the vet come over and draw some blood.

If she is looking a little poor and you are worried about it, I would change her to a higher energy hard feed, which had low starch and sugar. Even if she's clear of cushings, well... better safe then sorry. However, as you said her weight is fine, I wouldn't change anything, just work her harder so she could build some stamina.
 
It's no wonder she's tired. She was on an adequate feed regime of forage and hard feed, maintaining weight and with enough energy for the work she was doing, but then the forage decreased (grass all eaten). That's your problem, she needs more food. I suggest making sure she's in the field when the haylage goes out so she gets her fair share. When you do bring her in to ride, give her a haynet while you groom. Or if you have nowhere to store hay/haylage give her a large bucket of chaff to pick at (the hay replacer chaffs, not the heavily molassed type) before and after riding. A balancer is a good idea and you may need to increase the amount of high fibre cubes you give her. See how you get on with the balancer and the extra haynet/chaff first.
 
Thank you Sugar and Spice for the encouragement. The mares are turned out in 14 acres and they are still starving bless them! They have ad lib haylage and I'm sure Dolly is getting her share (she's pretty low down the pecking order but its more a game of musical hay piles!). I am starting her on a balancer and upping her ration as this just cant go on. I'm fortunate, she hasn't dropped weight so I just need to adjust for her increasing needs and this grotty weather. I will see how she gets on and if shes no different in a week or so maybe investigate other possibilities for her lethargy (and appretite!).
 
Feed only Chaff, Naked Oats, baileys low cal feed balancer and add red cell for a month - you won't look back :) - plus hay/haylege of course.

All the mixes have added stuff that will make them fatter and thus even more lethargic, so avoid mixes like the plague!

Good luck!
 
Hi redandblue, I too have a cob who can lack energy but really doesn't need any extra calories in normal circumstances ( this weather excluded! ). I've had her 12 years and unless she is in very hard work I really struggle with her weight.

I've tried all sorts of things to give her oomph over the years: forage only plus oats, small amounts of competition mix, TopSpec Turbo, racehorse cubes etc etc and I have finally by complete fluke found Blue Chip Original Balancer really gives her great energy without piling weight on. She is very sane but has stamina and great energy for bursts of fast work - its been a miracle for her and is cereal & molasses free.

However.... I have found it gives a bit too much 'sparkle' to my 7/8ths TB and having posted on here it seems it can heat some horses up a bit too much but certainly for my cobby type it's been the best thing I've tried.
 
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