My horse needs more energy!

F

Fly96

New User
Joined
31 March 2013
Messages
6
Visit site
Hi all,

My 16 year old 15.2hh mare needs a bit more oomph. She is stabled overnight with haylage, grass when she's out, and gets a scoop of hi-fi every morning and evening. I am planning on doing xc with her this spring and summer and just feel that she needs a bit more sparkle as she is on the lazy side and I do have to nag her to keep going when we're schooling.

Her exercise routine is this:
Ridden 4-5 times per week. (in the holidays e.g. easter, xmas, summer she's ridden about 6 times per week)
hacked on sat & sun for an hour to an hour and a half.
schooled 3 times/ week, jumping in about 2 of those sessions.

I have been recommended the following:
-a scoop of oats in her evening feed
-add some competition mix to her feed

Does anyone have any recommendations of an energy mix? I have been researching and have seen Spillers instant energy mix and also Spillers competition mix but am unsure.

Thanks for any advice! x
 
While a fibre only diet is good it does lack the extra vitamins and minerals that she will require if working , giving a high energy boost will probably either make her fizzy for a short while or just be stored as fat, neither of which is ideal .

I would look to give either a supplement or balancer to give her the extra needed then use something like speedibeet with oil or linseed for slow release energy which in the long term will be better for her and enable her do the work required, if that is not enough oats may then be a good option to add.
 
Going from forage and hi fi to oats or competition mix is a huge leap. There are plenty of alternatives without going straight from diesel to aviation fuel!
If it was me I would change the hi fi to Alfa A and see how she gets on.
 
I feed topspec turbo for oomph during comp months to my cob :) Works a treat I feed it few days before the comp or outing and then she just gets basics inbetween.

She has been getting oats recently but I havent felt that gives her as much of a kick as the turbo does. I also gave her power and performance last year as a staple (daily feed) she got a cup (dry) soaked into her feed with alfalfa and sugar beet and the turbo added as above :)

Im giving my oldie ERS pellets, hes barefoot so diet is mostly fibre but he needed a little bit extra and he cant have cereal so he gets these mixed with his soaked alfalfa cubes and hes looking well and has the energy to be fittened up :)
 
Sorry posted too soon! If she does not already get a vitamin/mineral supplementthen a balancer would be sensible.
Mine all compete on forage plus Spillers balancer, alfalfa and speedibeet/kwikbeet. I used to use vitamins and coarse mix but changed to the balancer and they are great on it.
 
I had the same problem with my Welshy. He is 'forward' he just lacked the 'oompft' most show jumping ponies had!

I tried the Spillers Instant Energy and it did nothing (normally feeds have an effect on him) so I put him onto Dodson and Horrell Pastuer Mix which has been incredible for him, it really has worked wonders. He's a good doer also, and it's not put weight on but made him look lovely...

One thing I also do is hack, but fast hacks. I made sure he was fit with trotting, now what I do is canter and gallop as much as possible, let the horse go forwards and find its feet. I also pessoa a lot to get them balanced and using himself. After a few weeks of that, he is a different pony. In fact, when jumping in the school I have to ride him in a dutch gag on the bottom hole and its still difficult to stop then! He is only 13.3 - 14hh and popping 1m30 like it's nothing. It's trial and error really! x
 
Mine lacked sparkle (and condition unfortunately) recently, I've started feeding a high spec vit & min supplement (alongside his conditioning feed) which seems to have helped as he felt far fresher today at XC! Makes sure the vit supplement includes B vits as its those I think that can help if they're lacking in iron etc.
 
Like Black Beastie said, topspec turbo is fantastic!! It's got added salt as well so helps support the loss of electrolytes when they sweat in hard work. Kind of pricey but it's worth it IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top