Lazy horse, how to make him more energetic..?

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jenniferharland

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Recently found out my 7 year old sports horse has two hock spavins and in order to fuse them, the vet has given him 3 months worth of bute and told me to work him hard..

But it has now became more apparent that he is extremely lazy! He is not very forward going at all and quite reluctant to go up a gait (happy to come back down though!) so just wondered what I could feed him to increase his energy levels, without any weight gain!

I am currently feeding him a quarter scoop of chaff and a quarter a scoop of high fibre cubes (as he is a good doer) and he is living out 24/7.

"iron plus" by equine products has been recommended, but wondered what else there is that may work too? Thanks :)
 
Unfotunately any food you give him will have some calorific value and is therefore likely to make him gain weight. A tonic such as pro-pell plus may help, and if your grazing is good it may help to muzzle him for part of the day. It is also possible that his hocks are causing him some discomfort/pain - it would be interesting to see if he is still lazy once they have fused. Good luck!
 
Remember that the spavins will be giving him some discomfort - which could account for his reluctance to go forward.

I'd personally be inclined to just feed him a smallish amount of soaked oats - rather than the cubes and chaff, and see if that has any affect on his energy.
 
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