Feeding the stresshead; help please!!

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blackhorse37

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Hi all, am in need of some help here! I have a 6yo ish who is really prone to fizzy/stressy behavior. Last year i fed Calm and condition (allen and page) as he needed to maintain condition-he drops easily due to getting his knickers in a knot!) and hi-fi original, had to change to hifi lite and speedibeet as he went potty and was almost unrideable, but his weight dropped.He has adlib hay and grass all day and is out for approx 9-10hrs a day. I need to find something to keep his condition and weight without the cranky behavior!! Please help! (he also has pink powder and magnesium supps)

Have decided to only trace clip this winter as hunter clip seemed to make him worse!! Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!

Should add, he has been fully vet/osteo/saddler checked etc...its just the winter that he becomes a pain in the .....!!
 
forestfantasy said:
I feed A&P Sugar & Cereal Intolerance diet to my mare who gets hyped up on any type of mix, she's a good doer though so no sure how good it will be for your lad.

http://www.allenandpage.com/Products/Specialist-Feeds/Sugar-Cereal-Intolerance-Diet.aspx

Try calling A&P?
Click to expand...

I feed this to my WB along with a cup of micronized linseed and a scoop of carob kibble (or locust bean). The carob is sweet but contains no sugar (used in diabetic chocolate) and is high in calcium (good for gut health and bones feet etc) and very palatable. My 17hh WB is out all winter 24/7 rugless on this diet. A scoop of each in the morning and evening and the 1 cup of linseed. Pic below - he does well on it with adlib hay

If he has sugar (via haylage or apples or feed) he becomes a nightmare and complete aggressive stress head :(

IMAG0016.jpg
 
Have you tried feeding Brewers yeast? It has a soothing effect on the tummy and this in turn results in a calmer horse. I use it on my tb and I definitely noticed a difference when I ran out! It's very cheap and you can buy it in 25k bags for about £50 from Chanrwood Milling - feed 2 tablespoons a day, it lasts for montns and months. Get a sample first to make sure he will eat it, introduce slowly.

Just thought - is there a chance he could have ulcers? If he gets worse in winter it could be that having more hay, feed etc is irritating them, whereas the grass in summer is kinder on his tummy.
 
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whizzer said:
Yasandcrystal- where do u get the carob from? Is it good for weight gain?
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Yes it is good for weight gain - a little too much in the case of my ISH mare!! I get it via my local feed merchants - they are happy to buy it in for me. It's around £9 for a 20kg bag.

It is commonly known as either locust bean or carob kibble. I started out buying it via the internet from Valley feeds, but the carriage adds such a lot to the bill, so was happy to get it locally. All of mine love it and it adds a nice crunch to the feed too.
 
I find donson and horrel Just grass great for mine, along with soaked grass pellets (dry grass) its all full of calories for weight gain but free from molasses unwanted sugars. Someone i know with a 23 year old stabled stallion fed him the same and he was a doddle to ride and always looked great. Only thing i must say is it's not a diet suitable for lamis :)
 
I base my TB's feed around high fibre nuts. Simple and can feed lots without any behaviour probs.
I add a combination of oil, unmollassed beet, and some sort of chaff depending on weight, workload, time of year ect.
Because mine is a TB I also add pink powder or a balancer just to raise the profile a bit.
I find this a flexible and safe way to feed my horse. He's so laid-back on it yet he looks lovely :).
 
blackhorse37 said:
Hi all, am in need of some help here! I have a 6yo ish who is really prone to fizzy/stressy behavior. Last year i fed Calm and condition (allen and page) as he needed to maintain condition-he drops easily due to getting his knickers in a knot!) and hi-fi original, had to change to hifi lite and speedibeet as he went potty and was almost unrideable, but his weight dropped.He has adlib hay and grass all day and is out for approx 9-10hrs a day. I need to find something to keep his condition and weight without the cranky behavior!! Please help! (he also has pink powder and magnesium supps)

Have decided to only trace clip this winter as hunter clip seemed to make him worse!! Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!

Should add, he has been fully vet/osteo/saddler checked etc...its just the winter that he becomes a pain in the .....!!
Click to expand...

one of our TB's goes fizzy off calm and condition so we switched to fast fibre from allen and page it took a while but there was definate improvement in his behaviour
 
I use the D&H ones as they are a little higher in calories then the spillers ones and lower starch than the baileys ones and they have high levels of chelated minerals in them.
I'm very very happy with them, have used them for years now :).
 
Forgot to say when we were looking round a racehorse charity for my mums new horse I asked them what they fed as I was interested and the lady said high
fibre nuts and tons of hay! For the same reason I do and all their
horses looked lovely and were very calm :).
 
my tb hots up very very easily so I have to stick to hi-fi and ad lib hay. If he starts to drop condition I feed simple pony nuts but increase his work as even this heats him up.

I would keep it as simple as possible. Mine too loses condition in the winter but like yours, if I start to feed hard feed he loses even more condition but throwing himself round the field all day.
 
i feed mine allen and page fast fibre along with Lexvet coolmix (vitamin & mineral supplement with higher level of magnesium) and Gastrisoothe plus (soother for sensitive stomachs) from Metabolic horse. He is a good doer however. But the Gastrisoothe plus is fantastic stuff, only thing i've found to calm him.
 
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