What Calmer do you use?

I'm sorry NM, but I'm not sure that Fig is in hard work in the way that I meant it? Hard work used to mean four hours or more a day of slower work, or two hours or more of faster work, or hunting two full days a week and ticking over hacking another three. Is Fig's workload anything like that high?

It can be difficult to keep weight on an ex racer, I know, but just I wonder how many cross bred horses doing Fig's work or less are on hard feed and then have owners looking for calmers. Far too many, I'd hazard a guess.
 
cptrayes said:
I'm sorry NM, but I'm not sure that Fig is in hard work in the way that I meant it? Hard work used to mean four hours or more a day of slower work, or two hours or more of faster work, or hunting two full days a week and ticking over hacking another three. Is Fig's workload anything like that high?
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Tell me, CPT.

A gymnast and a cross country runner.

Which one is fitter?
 
nikkimariet said:
Tell me, CPT.

A gymnast and a cross country runner.

Which one is fitter?
Click to expand...

Whichever one is fitter is fitter :) it's got nothing to do with feeding horses.


A hunter who is hunting twice a week is in hard work. You, or PS, I forget which, described your routine with Fig as hacking one day a week, schooling four, and doing something else like a bit of jumping or lunging one day, and a day off one day.

There is nothing whatsoever wrong with that regime, but assuming you don't school for two hours at a time, it is not what would have been described as hard work twenty five years ago, and not what old timers like me would feed a 'hard work' ration to a cross bred horse for.


And there are people today with cross bred horses thinking that that IS hard work, and feeding what the packet says a horse in hard work should be getting, and then thinking that they need to feed a calmer.

We need people to get back to understanding that most cross bred leisure horses have no need of hard food at all. This does not apply to thoroughbreds, many of whom are difficult to keep weight on in summer, never mind in winter.
 
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I have Gray on Naff Magic calmer more for the fact that it is a pre and pro biotic and he eats better with it in his food. No other reason. He is in no work at all for the winter so is on half the maintenance dose.

The racehorses - who are all in hard work for obvious reasons - have no need of calmers and the likes. They are fed 4-6 scoops of high protein, slow release energy food a day along with 3 loads of haylage anda shovel full of carrots.
 
I have Rio on magnitude... its working at the moment. Usually I don't have him on anything but he is on plain chaff (mol free) and fast fibre and 10 hours turn out but continued to turn himself inside out at every opportunity when he is supposed to be walking only and putting no strain on his legs... wasn't working as he was too busy throwing himself around every day during turn out and when he was supposed to be walking on the lunge.. pain in the back side! Quiet most of the time now.. only a little fresh in the evening!

I think people are very quick to point the finger and say "well if you did this, then this wouldn't happen". Well sorry but if I can keep him calm on an over the counter calmer, then I will. I would rather not have him under sedation constantly if I can help it.
 
I was using v calm on a horse that hadn't been ridden for months. Just because he is super spooky and had lost his hacking buddy and needed something to take the edge off on his first few hacks. He already has 24/7 turnout but was lacking exercise.

With regards to fitness, people are fit for purpose. When I ran 90 odd miles a week I was fit but for the purpose I trained for. Riding a bike I was pretty useless at. Gymnastics I would have been useless at, in the same way a gymnast probably wouldn't have been able to run 15 miles at any sort of decent pace.
 
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