What to feed a 'good doer' eventer?

jenh166

jenh166

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Just wondering really if anyone else has same issues as me...
I have a 15hh 6yo connemara who is just starting BE100 after doing a season of BE90...trouble is he is rather prone to being a bit of a fatty, but at the same time he needs a fair amount of hard feed to give him the energy to event..
I have tried:
-Staypower museli (he got a bit fat as fairly high in oil)
-Competition cubes (got fat - he was fine on this in winter for BD/BSJA but when spring grass came through he ballooned!)
-Allen and Page Power and Performance but i couldnt get enough of it into him for the energy without him putting on weight.
-Lo cal balancer plus oats at present, and just about to start feeding Redcell as have heard it really perks them up!

All above fed with a bit of HiFi Lite.

He's not 'fat' as such at present, just would prefer him slightly leaner (don't know if thats really the right word - I'm not trying to starve him - honest!)

He goes out for ~3hrs a day, goes on the walker a few times a week and is obviously ridden every day - mixture of schooling, hacking, jumping, canter work, lessons. Has about 1 day off every 2 weeks. And he's on dry hay (not adlib!)

So he's fairly fit, but I just can't shift those last few pounds! Yard owner has suggested not turning him out and just putting him on walker each day instead, but am reluctant to do this as he loves his field time! Also as he's native,laminitis is always lurking in the back of my mind.

So what would you guys feed him? Thank you!
 
Put him on the walker everyday with his turnout. Soak the hay for over an hour to get the sugars out of it
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Then feed him whatever feed works best for his energy requirements?
 

i have a 15hh connie x , but we dont compete at that level, lol -

mine is getting lowcal with alfa a at the mo, i find the alfa a really good
 
I'd probably try him on topspec turbo in the smallest quantities that give him the energy he needs and combine that with your hifi lite and the lo-cal
 
My older horse was prone to being a fatty, I used to feed him Hi fi Lite and Tiger oats for pep. Personally I prefer straights as you can fiddle with the ratios of your feeds rather than binning the whole bag when a mix isn't working for you.
I agree with you as to not further restricting the turn out, 3-4 hours a day just keeps them sane, they need the down time. Makes mucking out easier too!
Could you use a muzzle? Maybe try changing your exercise programme too - I used to find a couple of long hacks at a brisk pace (I don't mean hammering the trotting just really striding out for 1.5 - 2 hrs) combined with one or two canter sessions a week help shift the last stubborn bit of tum. Just play about till you find a routine that works for you both.
 
I would say the top-spec cool performance cubes i think its called. I feed my mare topspec super conditioning flakes, used to feed her allan & paige competition country mix which was good aswell
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Interval training to help sweat off the pounds, lots of hill work, oats and a supplement and plenty of turnout in a not-too-grassy field.
Would be a shame to lock him away and starve him. Find a fitness programme that helps reduce fat and feed him with energy and muscle building feed to give him zest. Maybe talk to an endurance rider about how they get their horses fit.
Horses are like people; if they get the right work/feed ratio they become better toned and more energetic.
 
my 8yr old ISH has competed up to novice last year and is currently doing intro this year, she is an exceptionally good doer. She is out 24 hr in the good weather and has happy hoof and lo-cal which she does really well on. The only extras she has is pro pell, electrolites and hay if she is in at night. She is still full of energy stays fit.
 
Queenb - my boy would no way have enough energy on that alone! But good that you can manage to do it that way!

I have tried a muzzle but he hates it (i'm sure he would get used to it in time but i feel soory for him!) - current YO is fairly unhelpful with regards to sectioning off a bit of paddock. Ideally i'd have him out 10hrs a day in fairly resticted grazing but she won't let me do this (apparantly if i do then everyone else will want to and that would make her life 'too difficult!'). Horse is moving in summer and I will have more of a say as to his turnout so will try and get on top of it then!

And I will try some more longer hacks - i often go for a trot for 30-45mins but will try walk/trot longer hacks.

Thanks guys!
 
I would give one of the feed companies a call- they are normally very helpful and the advice is free.

Dodson and Horrell Performance Concentrate is very good, you can combine it with oats too and it doesnt have to be fed in huge quantities
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I have the same problem with my good doer. My instructor told me to put him on saracens speed mix and when I spoke to the saracens feed guy at Badminton he recommended speed mix as well. He said that by feeding slow release food its still producing energy all day even after my event and he s turned out in the field . By feeding smaller quanties of high energy feed he gets some oommph but then burns it off. My gelding is a stocky 15.3 TB X . He gets half a scoop the night before an event and quarter in the morning or if Im doing the event in the evening he gets half a scoop in the morning and quarter in the evening.(3/4 a day) He also recommended one mug full of balancer to give him the vits/mins etc Its def the grass though that makes him fat as i don't have such a problem in winter.
 
Well we are a good doer and event off; S&S, Formula 4 Feet, oil, red cell (a must) and tiger oats to order. just adjust up and down according to work being done. It is good that you are moving. he needs to be out at least 10 hours a day. They get stuffy in all the time, and they exercise them selves in the field. Lots of active walking up hills and Canter intervals are good for fat busting. Don't over do it tho, maybe just for a couple of weeks.
 
Mmmm I would try and turn him out for longer. I would also get him on the walker for 30 mins twice a day - 5 times a week. I would soak his hay as KatB suggested but I would not limit his forage. it won't do him any good to be stood for a while without anything to eat and then be turned out and stuff his face - if he is the greedy type then this may happen and I've seen horses colic with that sort of regime. How about something like Allen & Page Hacking Mix? Despite the rather misleading name it is actually for horses in medium work but is significantly lower in starch that their comp mix or the power and performance. It is the sugars/starch that put the weight on.........
 
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