More ooomph needed!!

CAH7

CAH7

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All advice gratefully received! My laid-back boy is currently out at night and in by day. He is a rather good doer (!!), and, despite being hacked (up and down hills!), schooled or jumped 6 days a week (plus competing once a month or so), and having hay which has been soaked for 12 hours, he is losing the battle against flab...! He is also lacking energy to work well, so I know I need to feed him something on top of his soaked hay. At the moment he gets literally a handful of hi-fi with a broad spec vit and min supplement each evening. Can anyone pls offer any advice iro what I could feed him to give him some oomph but not pile on the pounds? When I compete (RC level) I keep him in over night, which makes him 'fresher', but I'd like to get the balance right through feeding and exercise rather than keeping him in...I am aiming to get him fit and ready for a BE80 in September, but unless he's kept in he feels quite flat and sluggish...and suggestions pls?
 
If he's overweight, then he will feel sluggish; You can't feed for energy without calories!

If you can, try doing a paddock paradise system, where you make a track with electric fencing around the paddock, this way they tend to walk more.

How long do you work him for?

Long good walks up and down hills is good for fat burning.

I feed my cob oats for energy ( about half a scoop a day) but he isn't overweight and he gets ridden for about 2/3 hours 4/5 times a week.
 
as above, you need to get his weight down before adding more feed.

and also echoeing above (!) once his weight is down, oats are great for extra energy.

can you do any canter work to help perk him up and lose weight?
 
You do need to get his weight down. He can't compete effectively if he is over weight.

But whilst you work on that you could try feeding a supplement like propell or ener-G. Propell is a broad based echniacea based supplement and ener-G is more iron and vit B I think.

I've used both - but ener-G is definitely my preference at the moment. You can feed it only just before a show whereas with propell you have to feed constantly. Plus my lad doesn't like the taste of propell overmuch which makes it a bit wasteful.

IMO feeding for energy is not always effective with the good do-ers. I have tried oats, competition feed, oil etc etc with my cob X but he is too much of a good do-er and tends to store the feed as fat rather than use it for immediate energy. But our previous warmblooded ones do better with feed for energy than supplements which blow thier minds. Its just how some breeds have evolved to use thier resources. I find supplements like these to be more effective for me just now.
 
I know exactly how you feel. I have to admit, once I got my act together and really got my lad loosing weight, it did not happen over night, it did take about 6 months with restricted grazing (sometimes muzzled) and soaked hay etc, being very rigid with his routine, and being worked 6 days a week, but this then left him very flat and deficient.

So he is now on a balancer (which in my opinion is the best thing for good doers) and a hand full of hifi. I dont have to soak the hay anymore as I have now found the right balance with feeding. Through the winter he had red cell as well, which did blow his brain out till I got the dose right :s and he has this ad hoc now, every few weeks when he is in hard work.

I also found that any chaff other than i lite chaff just added to the weight gain.

Good luck, I do think its about finding the right balance and with fatties, we can sometimes unknowly over work and not properly feed them as we are so conscious about them loosing weight.
 
Thanks everyone for great advice! He is getting slimmer, and is no longer huge!

AngieandBen and Millitiger, we do canter work and hillwork twice a week (1.5hr hacks), an hour jump clinic once a week and 3x40 min schooling sessions each week. Shay, I have tried Propell with some success, and I will also give the ener-G a go.

I agree that really he needs to be slimmer and fitter and worked longer, and then I will hopefully be able to actually feed him and not risk piling the pounds on. Vicksey, I will also try changing fro hi-fi to hi-fi lite, and adding a balancer.

The Dengie helpline also suggested feeding naked oats by the handful as and when - apparently it's also known as rocket fuel! Many thanks everyone!
 
Ah its such a common problem!

The Welsh Cob is not over weight (anymore ;)) he is worked 5-6 days a week, hacked up some wicked hills, competed once a month but he always feels like I need something more.

I bought a bag of naked oat last week by accident, they are sitting in my shed as I have a bin full of rolled oats, but I am very tempted to open the bag and start using them as I have always been told (and read) that naked oats are rocket fuel...I'll let you know how it goes :D
 
Thanks trendybraincell. Hmmm...so do you think rolled oats wouldn't work as well as naked oats then? Just wondered whether the whole 'naked' oats thing was a marketing ploy...!
 
Well I've not yet tried the naked oats yet so I can't compare. Naked oats don't have the husks on so (in theory) they should be more effective.

The Welsh Cob has been having rolled oats for quite a while, he has also been stabled due to the field being topped, so you would expect him to be full of it, but he seems no different.

Naked oats have got to be worth a try.
 
Yep, worth a go then!

Lizness, haven't tried Redcell but I am pretty sure Propell was about £10 and lasted 4 weeks...hope that helps!
 
I have been feeding red cell since last sept and only used 2 and a bit bottles. It costs £24.99 per bottles, so about £5 per month. I bought my third bottle 2 weeks ago but with the spring grass, i found my horse has a bit tooo much energy, so no red cell for a while!
 
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