Feeding help

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Ahrena

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Hi, okay basically I have a welsh D mare who is usually rather fizzy and excitable, but its getting rather extreme now. She’s had everything checked, so think she’s either having her teenage phase (6/7) or she might have too much energy.

I can’t canter her out on hacks now as she just takes off as soon as I let her go, which is obviously not safe. She’s also rather hairy in the school, and pulls all the time in canter. (Not really after advice how to deal with that, I have a v. good instructor and we seem to be making progress plus loads of internet opinions usually end up with me confused) Then when I ask her to slow down with my seat she ignores me, and if I use my hands she either stops, rears and spins sort of thing, or starts bucking. There’s nothing physically wrong with her.

The main thing is, we had some different problems over the spring/summer, and after investigating, Spillers Feeds said I wasn’t giving her enough feed (only a handful of chaff), and with poor grass she just didn’t have the energy to do the work I was asking her to do. [Solid hour or 2 hacking or schooling/jumping every day with shows at the weekends] So we started feeding her half a scoop of slow release energy nuts which seemed to solve that problem. Now she’s still exercised 6 times a week, but 2 lunging sessions, 2 30 minuteish schooling sessions and 2 hacks at weekends of about an hour.

My main concern about feeding her less is that another thing she did when she wasn’t getting enough feed was being quite nappy out on hacks (and mainly stopping, and she NEVER stops) which she’s doing now too..

I had all my confidence in myself spoilt by some lovely person who had a massive go at me, and I feel so…inadequate. Now I can’t help but feel I just can’t ride well enough..-sighs- It’s not her fault, I just can’t blimming ride. Still, she’s my equine soul mate and I’m not giving up on her (other than this xD). By the way she’s 7 in Mayish, and I’m turning her away for 2 months whilst I do my GCSEs after Easter (not turning her away now on advice of instructor).

At the moment she’s being fed, twice a day, a big handful of chaff, third of a scoop of slow release energy nuts and a third of a scoop of calm and condition plus vitamins, oil and garlic. Do you think it might be giving her enough energy? Any ideas of how to reduce it but not so that we end up with the other problems as before?
 
Personally, I'd make sure she has plenty of hay, then I would cut out the Calm & Condition which, although it doesn't contain barley or oats DOES contain maize which is very starchy and therefore fizz-producing in the sensitive horse.

If she starts to lose weight or she doesn't seem to have enough energy then up the amound of slow release nuts. Obviously, you need to ensure the horse is getting plenty of turnout too, so she can work off some of the fizz in the field!

You could also consider feeding her a calmer - they seem to work for some horses!
 
I would cut the food down to the bear minimum - and slowly increase it until she has just the right amount of energy.

She sounds as if she getting an awful lot of grub to me......

If I fed my 16.2hh TB X the recommended amount on the bag I'd never be able to sit on him.
 
Cut out the Calm and Condition all together and up the chaff a bit; what sort of chaff is she having by the way? A lot of chaffs these days contain a ridiculous amount of molasses which won't help a fizzy horse!
 
There is always the other option that it has something to do with her being a female and that it's behaviour due to hormones, which can be rectified by having the oestrogen (the Pill!) or a "pebble" in the womb, or similar options. I have heard that these things can work what look like absolute miracles on mares. Unrideable one minute and lovely and easy the next, after sorting with these options.
 
Is it worth thinking about lunging her before getting on?

I'd lunge her fully tacked up to have a look to see if there is anything about tack that's she could be uncomfortable with - horses tend to run away from pain, as you know
smile.gif
 
Ditto, cut her feed right down. My ID mare has enough energy for all the horses in the UK and when worked lives on the bare essentials, usually very small quantities of non molassed hifi, non molassed sugar beet, "cool" cubes and plenty of turn out.

You say that when she wasn't getting very much food she started napping. That doesn't sound as though it is anything to do with food. IMHO working horses usually takes their mind off food, i.e. when I used to ride Rose very early in the morning before brekkie, she would appear mortified that she was being tacked up with no grub, but as soon as we were out she was brill.

Hope you manage to sort it out, and don't get down, I am sure you will get to the bottom of it.
 
Thank you everyone, I will definatly cut out the Calm and Condition and see what happens - looking back, I'm not sure exactly when I started her on C&C but around the time she started being difficult i think. She's already on a calmer (Magic), but I don't mind her the way she "usually" is - thats fun, but at the moment we can't really do anything with her -laughs-

I think I'll also get her tack checked as that's the only thing which hasn't been done for a good few months.

She's on Mollichaff.

Pinkweasel - I know it sounds weird, no one thought of it and I asked on about 5 forums, my vets checked her, back massaged, chiro, physio, teeth, EVERYTHING, and nothing helped until we started feeding her more, and it was like a switch she just changed. Plus she was also stopping, and she NEVER stops (having said that, if you think of it like that, she could have been a bit stale of jumping as we gave her 2 months off it after that to get her enthusiasum back)

Thanks everyone, I think I should of thought of it before really, EVERYTHING fizzes her up.
 
Mollichop has load s of added sugar. TBH Welshies are designed ti survive on welsh mountains, I would give hay and a feed balancer, if you have to feed then use a non mollassed chaff or some non mollasssed sugar beet or alphaha - simple systems do an excellent range and I have heard fibre beet is good too. I have a TB x cob who hypes up on any feeds with mollasses or refined starches, she is much improved since she has been on Simple systems (three years now). Also being fed less hard feed and more forage often satisfies hunger cravings and is better for mental welfare.

Its also very probable that she is going through a teenage phase, natives are much slower to mature than other breeds
 
Lots of advice here already! I always struggle with a fizzy winter horse, combination of less turn-out and cooler weather, I use Spillers horse cubes and Hi-Fi Lite, ie as little starch/sugar as possible. I find Spillers Response,Alpha-A, speedibeet or any mixes at all too heating, its just trial and error I guess until you know your horse. Mine does fine on mostly hay and vit supplement!
 
Mollichaff has an awful lot of sugar in it - try switching the chaff to something simple, such as hi-fi lite, which has a comparable energy level but only very lightly molassed.
 
Thanks..Only I just asked and my mum said she gets happy hoof, which I assume doesn't have much sugar in it as its for laminectics? (not that she is by the way)
 
Hi

I have an old Welsh D who is only 14.2. He is driven and ridden and as long as he is kept fit he is only fed Handful of Sugar beat and Handful of mix in the morning and hay twice a day. He still has the energy to do 15 miles and keep going.

I would also say yours is probably getting fed too much hard feed.

Unfortunately welshies can be a bit bulshy. Would be very interested to know what breeding is as there are certain stallions that seem to through spirited off spring.
 
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