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Lambkins

Lambkins

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My boy (welshie) is 7 ..he had liver probs 18monyhs ago( biopsy pointed towards hepatitis ) ..but he has been slowly improving .. A month ago is flat work was fab ! Off the leg ..punchy..easy peasy to get a tune out of him ..the last month ..he has been so lazy ..it's kick kick kick ..:( ..I try and mix things up ..hacking ,jumping ..going for a blast ..which he is fine with ..he just feels flat in the school ( not like him) ..my trainer can also see the massive change ..do I blood test him again ? Do I up his feed as he us doing a fair bit of work ? Do I wait and see if the spring grass kicks in ?
I turn him out every day ( in at night)
i feed him healthy hooves (molasses free) speedi beet ..and top spec balancer (2 feeds a day)
he has 6kgs of hayish haylage
he works 6 days a week ..7ish hours hacking per week 2 schooling sessions and a lunge
any ideas ?
 
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When he was at Newmarket ..they gave me a diet to follow ..due to him have trouble breaking sugar ..which went hand in hand with his hepatitis ..they said my native pony should not be fed more than 12kgs per day (pony weighed in a 490kgs) ..so i feed him 6kgs hayish haylage per night ..2kgs of hay ish haylage along with breakfast at 5:30am ..then out in the field for eight ish hours ..then worked ..then treat ball (hay replacer type nuts ) ..then dinner and night hay . I have stuck to this diet for 18 months ..he is not fat ..(well
I don't think so :/ ..but also he is not thin ..I worry like everyone about lami (which touch wood he has been ok so far ) do u think I underfeed him ? ( I will post a photo :) ) thanks
 
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image_zps4e5953f0.jpg

Him
After a ride 6 weeks ago
image_zpsadd6a99d.jpg
 
So Newmarket recommended you feed about 2.5% of bodyweight as fibre per day. This will have been based on dry matter content - haylage has a lower dry matter content than hay (haylage typically 55-65%, hay typically 85%) so you need to feed more haylage to take that into consideration.

But as long as your horse isn't stood around with nothing to eat for more than an hour or so, and he's maintaining a healthy weight, then you're not underfeeding him.

Eta just seen the pics - he's lovely!
 
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Only you know your horse and by the sound of it you have noticed he's not himself - given his history I would get bloods done again to rule out any medical problems. The pictures show a fit looking welshie - I wouldn't feed him anymore than you are already tbh; spring grass coming up and looks like he's been coping well with his work load. I hope you get to the bottom of this flat spot.
 
Thanks ..how do I factor in the grass he is eating ? And shall I up it to 7kgs per night and 3 per morning (plus feeds and treat ball ) :) I do think the work has increased over the 18months but food has not . But he seems to lack the spring luster :(
 
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