Is it the feed?? (TopSpec)

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LJW2709

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Wondering if I could have some advise please, I’m not overly knowledgeable on in-depth stuff about feeds, i know the basics and I listen and take advise :)

We purchased a pony 6 months ago for my 12 year old daughter, safe PC schoolmaster type, he’s been an absolute dream! Genuine uncomplicated type, Not speedy and needs a leg on, (but not kick along) We kept him on the same feed TopSpec cool balancer and top chop lite, with added salt.
Had the rep out 2 weeks ago to weigh and she advised he moves on to the comprehensive balancer instead, as he lacks top line over his back and this balancer has added protein to help with this,
Fast forward to today, she had a jumping lesson and he was buzzing! He was sharp, spooking at nothing, shooting forwards and wanting to buck after the fences, Totally out of character! However he jumped lovely, Ears pricked and keen so don’t think it’s pain related, all the usuals are up to date, back, teeth, saddle etc.
I guess my question is how long does it take for a new feed to take effect, he’s been on it 2 weeks, and no change in him until today, I was told the only main difference is protein, would this cause behaviour changes? Has anyone had any experience with these 2 feeds?
And can anyone recommend where I go from here, would you stop it and go back to original feed or persevere for a bit longer, I don’t want to knock my daughters confidence as he was the pony to get it back and he’s been doing a fabulous job at doing it until today!
Thank you if you got this far!! 😊
 
Can you get back in touch with the feed rep to ask for her suggestions - I'm guessing she was from Topspec?

If not perhaps you could try cutting back on the Comprehensive balancer to say half the amount to see if he's then more settled? Or go back to the Cool version that he was on before. The Comprehensive is pretty potent from my experience.

If you go back to the Cool balancer, you could add their Cool Conditioning Cubes to help with his topline. Start with a handful of the cubes and monitor his behaviour closely before increasing them.
 
For my pony it takes less than a week for the feed to make a difference. The yard fed him Horsemeal Performer or something like that last winter and he was uncontrollable within a week (usually he is spooky but manageable). He also built a huge amount of muscle over the winter, and he did look fabulous, but it wasn't fun (and actually dangerous sometimes) to ride him. Something in between like Northern Hare said is probably a good idea and it is nice when they have that manageable buzz and motivation and can build their strength.
 
Both my horse and my friend's pony became very reactive on Top Spec balancer. It was actually just the light one they were on but they both calmed down again as soon as they came off it. Neither are feed reactive in general. I think Top Spec is a bit known for sending some horses loopy.

If you want more protein you could look at some of the balancers from other companies. Spillers, Baileys and D&H all have balancers with similar levels of protein to the Top Spec comprehensive one.

Edited to say: I just looked at the Top Spec balancers and the comprehensive is 25% protein while the Cool is 22%. That shouldn't make that much difference really. I'd just go back to the one the pony was good on I think.
 
ester said:
I'd have guessed the food brand even if it wasn't in the title 😂. and yes it could well be the feed
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me too, didn't take too much guessing :D:D:D

with TS I found the advice they gave was very poor and I tried their product they advised. The horse went completely over the top, I was too scared to ride and got off and then as he spent most of the way home on his back legs I wasn't over keen on leading him either. :D

I would either go back to the old balancer or alternatively take advice from an independent nutritionalist or simply try a different brand.


The current situation is risky if a child is involved.
 
I don't think I would ask for advice on top line and musculature from a feed rep, so if they offered it I would maybe take with a grain of salt 😬
HelenBack said:
Edited to say: I just looked at the Top Spec balancers and the comprehensive is 25% protein while the Cool is 22%. That shouldn't make that much difference really. I'd just go back to the one the pony was good on I think.
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Yeah for the sake of 3% I don't think that's worth it. I've also done a quick google and it looks like the primary difference is the proportion of soya meal and oil. The energy content isn't wildly different either.

Maybe it just doesn't suit him for whatever reason! But I also wouldn't be concerned about not being able to improve the musculature with a "drop" from 25% to 22% protein.

Comprehensive 12.5MJ/kg, 5.5% oil, 25% protein
Soya bean meal (GM), Wheatfeed, High Fibre Oat By-Product, Full Fat Soya (GM), Linseed Expeller, Grass, Molasses, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Vitamin Premix, Soya Oil (GM), Sodium Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Mannan oligosaccharides.

Cool 12MJ/kg, 4% oil, 22% protein
Wheatfeed, Soya bean meal (GM), High Fibre Oat By-Product, Linseed Expeller, Grass, Molasses, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Beet Pulp, Dicalcium Phosphate, Vitamin Premix, Sodium Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Soya Oil (GM).
 
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