Sorry another feed question! Ex racer ..

G

GypsyGirl

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 December 2009
Messages
737
Visit site
Sorry I know that theres been loads of feed questions but I just thought that id ask..

At the moment my mare is on Allan and Page calm and condition, with Hifi orgional with carrots and garlic. The allan and page suits her really well ive found it really good.
But now im starting to work her I am considering to start introducing some build up mix.

Would it be okay for build up mix in the morning and then the calm and condition at night?
Shes on two feeds a day, Breakfast and dinner. Shes a 5year old tb ex racer and when she came to me a month ago she was very on the skinny side. The calm and condition is helping her loads and she has started putting on weight aswell but not too quickly.

Is there anything else that I could try/what build up mix would you suggest and would it be okay for build up mix in the morning with orgional hifi etc and then C&C for dinner.

I wouldnt give her it straight away id start introducing it to her.

Suggestions please :)
 
Last edited:
What do you think that the Build Up Mix will give you that the Calm and Condition won't? They are both conditioning feeds with a similar calorific value, although the Build Up contains barley which the Calm & Condition doesn't.

Even if you do decide she needs something different, it would make sense to swap to that completely - ie all Calm & Condition OR all Build Up.

But if there is no specific reason to change her feed, and she is doing nicely on what she is getting, then I would leave it like that!
 
You don't say why she hasn't been working up to now - is she recovering from an injury?

If the feed she is on now suits her, I wouldn't change anything at all when you bring her back into work. I would let her settle into the work, and then just adjust the quantities of the food she is used to to suit her energy levels. If she drops condition feed more hay/forage, or perhaps increase her feed and split it into 3 meals a day if that is possible for you.

Once she is in full work again you will be better placed to assess whether the feed she is on is meeting her needs and that is when I would consider a change if I were you. But if it ain't broke don't fix it!
 
My TB ex racer has always been on calm and condition no matter what work he was doing.

It took me so long to find a feed that suited him I didn't want to change it!!

The build up doesn't really do anything that C& C won't it just has slightly different stuff in it.

What makes you think that she'll need something different?

What is her work load like?
 
Aha now I feel like an idiot!! The reason why I was going to put her on build up mix is because thats what she was on before she came to me, but ive only had her a month and she is now starting to be ridden as I didnt want to rush anything while she was settling in, shes still settling in but have started riding now.

We will be hacking about 3/4 times a week with a day of lunging in the field and a day of schooling, or changing it around etc. I don't want to work her too hard as she is still really green and I want to bond with her so at the moment were doing more hacking and lunging then we will schooling, then in a couple of weeks or so we will start schooling, im in no rush and either is she I want to get to know her more.

Its just my field owner suggested putting her on build up mix but shes going to talk to the feed expert in the shop to see what she thinks, I just thought id get suggestions on here before hand and now feel like an idiot now knowing that C&C and build up are the same thing haha.
 
I wouldn't change anything - keep her on the C&C. If you need to help her keep on condition over the winter or as her work load increases then add more fibre not more cereal. Add A&P Fast Fibre and/or sugarbeet and make sure she's getting plenty of hay/haylage.

also, remember to keep her warm with plenty of rugs so she's not wasting energy trying to stay warm.

well done for taking on an ex racehorse!
 
jenhunt said:
I wouldn't change anything - keep her on the C&C. If you need to help her keep on condition over the winter or as her work load increases then add more fibre not more cereal. Add A&P Fast Fibre and/or sugarbeet and make sure she's getting plenty of hay/haylage.

also, remember to keep her warm with plenty of rugs so she's not wasting energy trying to stay warm.

well done for taking on an ex racehorse!
Click to expand...

I have plenty of rugs for her, im too excited as I want to put them on now but its not suitble haha. She has her lightweight on but I was considering putting her medium weight on but thinking I will wait a little while longer as shes really not cold, shes all happy in her L/weight lol.

Very pleased with her!
 
GypsyGirl said:
Its just my field owner suggested putting her on build up mix but shes going to talk to the feed expert in the shop to see what she thinks
Click to expand...

Just be aware that you don't always get the best and most unbiased advice in the feed shop! (Don't get me wrong, there are some really well-informed people working in some feed stores, but equally I have heard some rather dubious advice dished out to owners in others!)
 
TGM said:
Just be aware that you don't always get the best and most unbiased advice in the feed shop! (Don't get me wrong, there are some really well-informed people working in some feed stores, but equally I have heard some rather dubious advice dished out to owners in others!)
Click to expand...

Yeah, the lady that we go to said about putting Maisie on the Calm and Condition. We get our feed from her and shes very good, we have a lami pony, so she knows what type of diet our horses need. But Maisie is on one completely different to the others lol. Field owner explained Maisie and her work load etc and feed lady suggested Calm and Condition and its suited her really well since.

Ill keep her on the Calm and Condition now they do the same thing hahaha.

Very pleased. Thank you :D
 
Last edited:
I've used Calm and Condition on my ex-racer and have found it pretty good. If you are happy with that then I would stick with it as the basis. It may be worth swapping your chaff to Dengie Alfa A Oil as it has more calories (and oil - suprisingly ;) ) and I also add a good splosh of oil in his feed too (I find corn oil best). I also feed a balancer and having tried them all my lad seems to thrive on Baileys Stud Balancer.

Ex-racers - you've gotta love 'em but they're bloody expensive to feed!!!
 
Ex-racers - you've gotta love 'em but they're bloody expensive to feed!!![/QUOTE]

Lol! How right you are!! No such thing as a cheap TB!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top