need more energy!

[L&M]

I recently bought a lovely ISH with a 5 star vetting, but am suprised to find he has a very small engine! He has a super jump but appears to get tired easily, although is ridden approx 5 times a week and has regular lessons.
At home he is very forward going to a jump but at competitons he sometimes struggles to finish the course and ofter trots to the last few fences.
I have 2 opinions on this - firstly he can be quite lazy and is not as unfit as he pretends, or secondly I need to address his feeding. (I am assuming there is nothing physically wrong due to recent vetting). I am currently feeding alpha a and Spillers slow release energy mix, but have wondered about supplementing with red cell to give him a little more oomph. He lives out 24/7 at the moment but will be stabled overnight in the winter.
He is due to start hunting at the end of the month so maybe this will provide him with more motivation!?
Any ideas or is this 'just the way he is'?
Thanks

 

[Persephone]

I can't advise I'm afraid, but I am in the same situation with my ISH!

She is in at night with two slices of hay and out for the day on good grazing. She is slightly overweight at the moment, so I can't give her hard feed.

My Instructor has us working on improving our impulsion in canter to make her a more forward going ride, but she is just naturally so laid back. Hubby calls her The Cadburys Caramel Bunny!

If you find anything that works I will be very interested. I was about to post something similar myself!

Jo x

 

[L&M]

Wonder if they are related! I love him to bits but am getting too old too kick like a pony clubber! Am wondering if the situation may improve come winter and the reduction in grass - Jack is not overweight but our grazing is good too which maybe why he is lacking 'get up and go'.
Will let you know if the red cell has any effect!

 

[Persephone]

Cheers! Thinking back, Star was better over the winter when she was getting fed. Difficult when they are a good doer though!

We will have to run concurrent experiments!

Jo x

 

[WoodysMum]

Do you feed the recommended amounts of feed? Any feed intolerances? Any muscle/joint problems that could make him feel tired quicker?

 

[TGM]

It might be worth getting a vet to do some bloods to check there is nothing wrong first before you make other changes. If that shows no irregularities then it is worth trying something like RedCell or Propell Plus - I know it worked well for my lazy IDx!

How long have you had the horse? Is it actually possible that he was not as fit as the vendors made out? Is he forward to the the first fence at a competition, or do you think he is less forward in general when out at a different venue, which might point to lack of confidence rather than lack of fitness?

 

[L&M]

We've had him 4 mnths and he had not done much over last winter and only came back into full work early spring - but we have done a lot of gradual fittening work in the 4 mnths we have had him. He is not 'hunting fit' but finds 2 -3hr fun rides no problem.
He is a very experienced jumper, having done some bsja in the past, but finds more than 2 classes a struggle, unless I bully him around. The jumps themselves are no problem, so don't think confidence is the issue, but finds it hard to maintain a forward canter needed for the bigger heights.
I also may be less accepting of this lack of 'go' as my previous horse was very forward going and carried me into a jump, and would happily jump all day long, so am possibly unfairly comparing them.
With the red cell can you feed it at a maintenance level like propell ie like a daily supplement?