Feeding help?!?!?!

C

CCLPony

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HI i have a lovely pony, she is calm, effectionate, talented and just lovely to be around.
But she is very quite and sometimes to quite as she gets very sluggish at times. I have tried all the riding techniques to help but they havnt made much difference.
Is there a way to 'fizz' a horse up by feeding, i have given her oats and they have made a huge difference but not much.
What about the enerG supplement is it anygood ??
I am a confident rider and can handle fizzy horses infact i love fizy horses :D
 
CCLPony said:
Shes 14'2 connemara and shes in hard work
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How do you define hard work? eg. hours ridden per day and what type of riding.

If her weight is good it is likely to just be her personality. You could try something like fast release cubes (if they are still made) or competition cubes but if you have had her blood checked and she hasn't got any problem there is not much you can do.
 
People tend to over estimate the amount of work a horse is in!

Hard work is generally classed as race horses or advanced eventing.

She need as mush fiber as she wants, this is slow release energy but will stop a horse having a sudden buzz after eating something like oats then the low when the energy is gone.
You want is to be consistent.

What hard feed to giver her depends, on condition, if she is living in or out and work load.
 
People tend to over estimate the amount of work a horse is in!

Hard work is generally classed as race horses or advanced eventing.



^^^^^^
Agree

Most people do this, me included. I used to always think my horses were in hard work but turns out, doing an hour and a half a day and competing at the weekend (showing, jumping etc....) was still classed as light work....

Makes sense when you are riding race horses and see the work they do.
 
Her immune system may be a bit sluggish too perhaps, have you tried a detox supplement like Restore or something? More hard feed won't help your cause - quick release energy is not what she needs. More fibre & forage.
 
She is in hard work doing up to 2 hours a day of work and more than 70% canter,changes, piroutes and collected work etc. on weekends we compete/ hack out ( the bridle way i tend to take her on is 2 hours way on horseback and the bridle way is roungly 5 miles of pure canter/ gallop depending on what we are working on) or we will go hunting.
I am currently feeding her conditioning cubes as advised by my instructor but she has dipped in energy since changing.
thank you all for reply i will definatly look into the fibre
:D
 
CCLPony said:
She is in hard work doing up to 2 hours a day of work and more than 70% canter,changes, piroutes and collected work etc. on weekends we compete/ hack out ( the bridle way i tend to take her on is 2 hours way on horseback and the bridle way is roungly 5 miles of pure canter/ gallop depending on what we are working on) or we will go hunting.
I am currently feeding her conditioning cubes as advised by my instructor but she has dipped in energy since changing.
thank you all for reply i will definatly look into the fibre
:D
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That is a huge amount of work (5 miles canter & gallop, yikes!). NH horses in training won't work that hard, and they get a long holiday each year! Does she have a day off a week, and a break of a couple of weeks a year? Does she hold her weight ok? Does she have ad-lib long fibre? Does she get fed the recommended amount of a feed containing vits and minerals - if not do you feed her a vit and min supplement?
 
Colour me confused; you can do changes and pirouettes, but you don't know if/what feeds fiz up a horse? Agree with amymay - she sounds knackered.
 
Yeah she eats the correct amount and vitamins etc... It doesnt seem to alter her if she has loads of work or none at all and yeah she gets lots of holidays. Could have something to do with boredom? Because at show she has alot more energy?
 
CCLPony said:
She is in hard work doing up to 2 hours a day of work and more than 70% canter,changes, piroutes and collected work etc. on weekends we compete/ hack out ( the bridle way i tend to take her on is 2 hours way on horseback and the bridle way is roungly 5 miles of pure canter/ gallop depending on what we are working on) or we will go hunting.
I am currently feeding her conditioning cubes as advised by my instructor but she has dipped in energy since changing.
thank you all for reply i will definatly look into the fibre
:D
Click to expand...

Surely if the dip has happeded after changing her feed then I would be changing back to what suited her before?

However to the question it depends what kind of fizzyness you are looking for, some fizzyness is just their personality some comes from not enough work or so much feed/to work ratio ect. My horse does alot of work too and I have found with what I feed her I maintain good condition and she has enough energy to proform what I ask of her. The more work I do with her the less "fuzzy" and more settled she is but when I put my leg on her I always get the immediate responce I want be it for a schoolilng movement or to go for canter on a hack.

I would be looking to feed a conditioning fibre such as the spillers one and an endurance mix that will support her throughout her work, if she is doing 5miles of galloping you can't be feeding for short busrts of fizzyness and she needs to sustain all that work you are aking her to do.
 
Hey

Thanks for all your help!!!
We changed her feed back again and moved yards :( (It got closed down)
I have my fizzy pony back again, I think the weather was playing a part to it!

Thanks for all your help
 
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