Mare grumpy on oats, flat without them, please help!!

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icklemadame

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Hi all,

Looking for some help/suggestions as I'm running out of ideas, I have a rising 6yr old ID mare who I hunt hard 2x a week, she is a typical chestnut mare and tends to be a bit cold backed & tense - I have her back checked fortnightly, saddle checked, teeth done etc. She rides well on a diet of rolled oats (1/3 stubbs scoop), linseed (large handful), fibre beet (1/2 stubbs scoop) & conditioning mix (she was on Saracen show improver - 2/3 stubbs scoop) but with the oats at this level she becomes very grumpy and difficult to handle, really tense and hard work to tack up, mount etc... I cut the oats down she becomes easier almost immediately but she lacks any sparkle when riding her and becomes very 'flat' by half way through the day... I have been trying all kinds of different things (different more competition based mixes, straight barley, more linseed, more fibre beet...) but nothing is giving her that sparkle back, any ideas?? Been trying so many different things that I'm now lost and can't see the woods for the trees!! Thank you xxx
 
I had started to wonder about ulcers - I only bought her in August, she was ok all of autumn hunting and any funny/marish moments I put down to being green/babyish & new to her job. Upped her feed and introduced oats after opening meet as she was going well but needed some more oomph - all fine for the first month but got grumpier, more cold backed etc as we went on, got to xmas and cut out the oats as she was becoming impossible (I wasn't worried about her being fizzy - I prefer my horses that way - but the handling and mounting issue was becoming a problem) I noticed an almost immediate change once the oats were left out - easy to handle and happier - but no fizz...
 
Sounds like you need something with a slower, longer sustained energy release than oats... however I'll leave that to the experts (mine get lo cal balancer and that's it because they do hardly any work ;) )
 
I would suggest that it could be nothing at all to do with the oats, it is probably more to do with something else going on in the horse- whatever is causing the grumpy/cold backed behaviour- saddle/back/lameness/teeth, the oats are just giving her more energy so that she can tell you there is a problem. It would probably be a good idea to have her checked out by the vet. If it is a digestive problem like ulcers, there will have been something that has caused it- and it is usually discomfort or pain (unless of course she is not fed any forage for days at a time and only has hard feed, which is highly unlikely).
 
I agree with serenityjane. There seems to be a problem and you already have quite a few clues. I would consider having someone else to check her back and saddle if there are cold backed and mounting issues but you're being assured it is all "fine". Your mare is telling you otherwise.
 
icklemadame said:
Hi all,

Looking for some help/suggestions as I'm running out of ideas, I have a rising 6yr old ID mare who I hunt hard 2x a week, she is a typical chestnut mare and tends to be a bit cold backed & tense - I have her back checked fortnightly, saddle checked, teeth done etc. She rides well on a diet of rolled oats (1/3 stubbs scoop), linseed (large handful), fibre beet (1/2 stubbs scoop) & conditioning mix (she was on Saracen show improver - 2/3 stubbs scoop) but with the oats at this level she becomes very grumpy and difficult to handle, really tense and hard work to tack up, mount etc... I cut the oats down she becomes easier almost immediately but she lacks any sparkle when riding her and becomes very 'flat' by half way through the day... I have been trying all kinds of different things (different more competition based mixes, straight barley, more linseed, more fibre beet...) but nothing is giving her that sparkle back, any ideas?? Been trying so many different things that I'm now lost and can't see the woods for the trees!! Thank you xxx
Click to expand...
Have you tried tiger oats???http://www.gwfnutrition.com/#!tigeroats-horse/c1i7b
you could try winergy aka phase 3 which is slow released energy or use propell plus or soya oil.

Don't go pumping her with loads of cereals as you risk over dosing her and then laminitis is a risk.

Speak to D&H as they are very good for nutritional advice. Speak to your vet first though
 
I don't think she is getting many oats, our racehorses in canter work, ie full work got a full large scoop of oats, they all did, plus plenty of other stuff, and they did not show these symptoms, I think it is just a co-incidence.
I would have a good physio check her over.
 
I would get a full work up with a vet hospital, I firmly believe there is no such thing as a cold back. the behaviour could well be pain related and the going flat endorphins caused by pain. I hate to say this but have had two horses with cold backs, one was the nails in the shoes hurting his very hard feet, ( he was also virtually impossible to shoe for the same reason). Cold back and bucking disappeared for the rest of his life once the shoes were removed. the had a very wierd shaped back and the third saddler sorted that one , it was back pain. One point we found with another horse that was incredibly lazy we found when in work he needed electrolytes all the time as he tended to sweat slightly all over. he now has a full vitamin and mineral supplement adjusted for his hard feed which is hi fibre nuts and electrolytes, plus speedi beet and now is forward going with loads of energy. Most feeds need to be fed in large quantities to keep the vits and mins up, and add salt too, they use a lot when worked hard, most feeds are seriously deficient. don't double dose if giving elctrolytes. oats cause calcium deficiency in large quantities so are not really the best feed long term.
 
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