WHAT TO FEED A GOOD DOER FOR COMPETITION ENERGY WITHOUT THE FIZZ

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dizz4

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What do I feed my daughters 14 hand Welsh Cob mare so that she has more energy on a show day but won't go off bang with my daughter on board... She is very good doer and is on strict rations at home for a previous laminitic condition. We find when we take her to shows she is a bit flat and needs more sparkle but not too much as my 12 year old daughter may find her too much of a handful.... We are not used to feeding hard feed as a rule as ponies generally are too fat in the summer, but at times they do need more energy...

Any suggestions...

thanks....

Dizz4
 
Good quality forage, a broad range balancer/supplement and something like alpha oil for shine would be my suggestion but that it pretty much my suggestion for most feeding issues.
 
The best results I have had are using Dodson and Horrell Performance Concentrate - only need to feed in very small quantities but worked really well when my good doer wb was out competing every weekend (HT/ODE/TC)
 
I would be careful with Alfa A oil, its designed to add condition/weight.

First you need to be brutally honest about work level. We tend to over estimate the level of work our horses are really doing!

Mine is turned out at night on reasonable grazing, in during the day with 12hour soaked hay and then he has:

handful of Alfa A Lite
Topspec Balancer
handful of Alphabeet
1/4 scoop of oats
and some oil
joint supplement and brewers yeast

This is still a very small feed, the alfa is just to bulk of the rest so he doesn't bolt it down. He is ridden 6 times a week, 4 days in the school (working towards advanced medium dressage) 2 days hacking, which consists of good hill work
 
I would be looking at fitness rather than food.

How fit is your cob? I prefer to do more hacking rather than schooling to improve fitness which will then lead to more "sparkle" on competition days.
 
For my daughters 14hh Irish cob we use winergy equilibrium high energy, although there are 3 different energy options. He is also a very good doer - on a diet at the mo but the feed has done the job for his lazy bum for the last year, he's not an idiot on it either xx
 
caterpillar said:
I would be looking at fitness rather than food.

How fit is your cob? I prefer to do more hacking rather than schooling to improve fitness which will then lead to more "sparkle" on competition days.
Click to expand...

Fully agree with this. Fitness is the key!

When did you ever see a fat man eat a bag of sweets and then have the energy to run a marathon. The same rule applies to horses. Fitten him up, and the energy and sparkle will be there. If you give him more calories he will just get heavier and it will be counter productive.
 
Fitness really is the key.
But you could also consider adding something like redcell/propell to some low cal chaff.
 
caterpillar said:
I would be looking at fitness rather than food.

How fit is your cob? I prefer to do more hacking rather than schooling to improve fitness which will then lead to more "sparkle" on competition days.
Click to expand...

Agreed, look at fitness, work and feed accordingly.
If youre really stuck call any of the big feed companies and get free advice from there nutritionists:)
 
agree with what people have said about fitness...
if you said the ponies are too fat in the summer restrict grazing and increase the workload :rolleyes:

when the pony is no longer overweight it'll have much more energy.

you say you don't want it to be a handful for your daughter, do you have it purposefully overweight so that it doesn't become too much..?


ETA: okay just read again she's on strict rations. get the pony fit first before thinking of energy giving foods cause she'll have more energy being fit anyway. you can always ask a nutritionist for advice on the matter once pony is fit and slim. :)
 
Agree with Tiny Fluffy Coblet, my welsh sec D mare who is also prone to laminitis but sometimes needs that extra 'sparkle' is on Alpha A oil, NAF pink powder as a supplement and she comes in daytime with hay (I don't soak mine but you could of course) and is out at night. I have not found that she will put on weight with the Alpha A oil if she is ridden regularly and she gets 3/4 of a scoop daily.
 
i agree with fitness it is important i am just getting my 5 year old fit and hopefully he will have more energy but i spoke to top spec regarding all this and they advised top spec light balancer, alpha a and the key thing is as and when i need a bit more omph without fizz or calories was to add a handfull of top spec turbo give about an hour before i ride and i have just a bit more energy its super
 
Work program for our boy is:
3days a week 60mins flat work/learning of dressage tests
1day week approx 5-6 mile hack (on roads so mostly walk & trot - 1 small field for canter)
1day week 1hour jumping lesson
1day off
1day either competing SJ, dressage, xc or full pc rally day
Occasionally he will compete twice a week.
Fed on 800g high energy mix twice a day
2-3kg soaked hay overnight
Was out in muzzle for approx 6 hours a day until he rubbed his face sore so at minute is unmuzzled.
I would appreciate any helpful advice!!!
 
caterpillar said:
I would be looking at fitness rather than food.

How fit is your cob? I prefer to do more hacking rather than schooling to improve fitness which will then lead to more "sparkle" on competition days.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the pony is not as fit as I would like her to be as we can only get up to the farm on the weekends. We just need a little more energy on show days other than ad lib hay which they have when they are not in the ring.
 
Tazhazzamoose said:
agree with what people have said about fitness...
if you said the ponies are too fat in the summer restrict grazing and increase the workload :rolleyes:

when the pony is no longer overweight it'll have much more energy.

you say you don't want it to be a handful for your daughter, do you have it purposefully overweight so that it doesn't become too much..?


ETA: okay just read again she's on strict rations. get the pony fit first before thinking of energy giving foods cause she'll have more energy being fit anyway. you can always ask a nutritionist for advice on the matter once pony is fit and slim. :)
Click to expand...

Not at all, she is a very good doer and can practically live on fresh air and puts on weight really easily, we can only ride at weekends as we live over an hour from mums farm (could do with extra exercise during week, I don't dispute that but you have to work with what you have). Horse tend to go a bit flat at shows but when ridden at home seem full of beans....!!
 
if your horse has previously suffered from laminitis please dont give it any high energy starch feeds as that can cause another episode. Unfortunatley fitness has a big effect on energy levels and unless your horse is fit feeding it high energy feeds wont do anything apart from make them fatter (more starch) more excitable/fizzy and poss lami. Best thing to do is put it on a diet if over weight, increase fitness and make sure its is gtting vits and mins daily.

Think about it this way, someone who is fat isnt going to get fit by eating a high energy bar and not doing any exercise. Its not going to make them run faster or longer. Just means there eating more calories!
 
tinap555 said:
For my daughters 14hh Irish cob we use winergy equilibrium high energy, although there are 3 different energy options. He is also a very good doer - on a diet at the mo but the feed has done the job for his lazy bum for the last year, he's not an idiot on it either xx
Click to expand...

My friend used to feed this but i think it has oats in it. A no no for horse who have suffered from laminitis.
 
Feed something like Hickstead Leisure Balancer (a lot cheaper than Baileys/Topspec!) which is low starch and sugar, but has oil for her coat and energy, won't put weight on, but will give all the nutrients your mare needs. Fitness really is the key, but you may find her pick up when she is getting everything she needs from the balancer. If still needs more energy, you can add a handful of oats or high energy feed when required to pep her up :)
 
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