What to feed?

[ChestnutMare13]

Hi, I have a rising 6 year old 14.2/3 Connie x mare. She is exercised approx. 5 times a week - a combination of hacking, flatwork, jumping, polework and groundwork. We have regular lessons and have transport so we often travel for clinics too. We are gearing up for our first ODE next month and our mid-long term goal is BE80 so we are incorporating interval and speed training into our regime. She has a decent level of fitness which we are building up.

She’s around 425kg and has good body composition. She is fed one feed of TopSpec’s TopChop Lite and Senior Lite Balancer (for the joint supplement).

My issue is that she is turned out at night over summer and she is quite lethargic during the day and so, if left to her own devices, would spend most of her time sleeping! As a result, training is proving a bit challenging as it’s like she’s got zero energy. She has access to hay / “lite” haylage when she’s in. I can’t change her back onto the “winter” routine (out in the day, in at night) as the whole yard is on the same routine.

Is there anything you would feed to give her a bit more energy? I don’t need weight gain and, with this time of year and the weather, I am always conscious of laminitis / colic etc but would welcome views!

 

[AppyLover1996]

Usually my go to for energy increase is good old fashioned oats - however they can produce some interesting results with some horses not being able to tolerate them at all x

Assuming that you've gone down the usual route of teeth, back, tack and a vet check over, I'd say it might be worth including something such as Hematic Boost by Omega Equine - it apparently helps with energy conversion in the body without weight gain x

 

[ChestnutMare13]

Usually my go to for energy increase is good old fashioned oats - however they can produce some interesting results with some horses not being able to tolerate them at all x

Assuming that you've gone down the usual route of teeth, back, tack and a vet check over, I'd say it might be worth including something such as Hematic Boost by Omega Equine - it apparently helps with energy conversion in the body without weight gain x

Thank you! Yes, she is up-to-date with everything. I’ve experimented with exercising at different times of the day and first thing in the morning and in the evening (around the time she would go back out), she seems to have plenty of energy. However, between around 10am and 2pm seems to be her prime snoozy time which is not good for training at weekends or competitions!

 

[AppyLover1996]

Thank you! Yes, she is up-to-date with everything. I’ve experimented with exercising at different times of the day and first thing in the morning and in the evening (around the time she would go back out), she seems to have plenty of energy. However, between around 10am and 2pm seems to be her prime snoozy time which is not good for training at weekends or competitions!

My 2 year old literally eats breakfast, pulls some haylage out his haynet, and curls up for the day to sleep - and that's from 9am till about 3pm

I would say deffo give the Hematic Boost supplement a try from Omega Equine - a friend of mine uses it for her 18.2 dressage horse who is way more whoa then go and that's without factoring in the different times of the day x

 

[ChestnutMare13]

My 2 year old literally eats breakfast, pulls some haylage out his haynet, and curls up for the day to sleep - and that's from 9am till about 3pm

I would say deffo give the Hematic Boost supplement a try from Omega Equine - a friend of mine uses it for her 18.2 dressage horse who is way more whoa then go and that's without factoring in the different times of the day x

He sounds like he’s living the dream thanks so much for your advice, I’ll give it a go!

 

[Birker2020]

Hi, I have a rising 6 year old 14.2/3 Connie x mare. She is exercised approx. 5 times a week - a combination of hacking, flatwork, jumping, polework and groundwork. We have regular lessons and have transport so we often travel for clinics too. We are gearing up for our first ODE next month and our mid-long term goal is BE80 so we are incorporating interval and speed training into our regime. She has a decent level of fitness which we are building up.

She’s around 425kg and has good body composition. She is fed one feed of TopSpec’s TopChop Lite and Senior Lite Balancer (for the joint supplement).

My issue is that she is turned out at night over summer and she is quite lethargic during the day and so, if left to her own devices, would spend most of her time sleeping! As a result, training is proving a bit challenging as it’s like she’s got zero energy. She has access to hay / “lite” haylage when she’s in. I can’t change her back onto the “winter” routine (out in the day, in at night) as the whole yard is on the same routine.

Is there anything you would feed to give her a bit more energy? I don’t need weight gain and, with this time of year and the weather, I am always conscious of laminitis / colic etc but would welcome views!

I used to have the same issues with Bailey, he'd fall asleep tied to the back of the horse trailer in between Sj classes.

I bought Spillers Instant Response and it gave him a bit of stamina without making him too hot.

"SPILLERS RESPONSE Instant Energy Mix is ideal for laid back horses needing extra presence and sparkle.

Higher in cooked cereals but still contain a good proportion of high digestible fibre compared to most other traditional competition feeds.

The energy sources within these feeds support muscle and digestive system health.

Benefits of SPILLERS RESPONSE mix

The SPILLERS RESPONSE mix is perfectly balanced:

Has levels of high quality protein and similar levels of energy perfectly suited to the demands placed on a competition horse.

Contains the same high specification micronutrient pack including chelated minerals and antioxidant vitamins to support athletic performance."

• Nutrient Analysis​

Digestible Energy (MJ/kg) 11.3

Oil (%) 4
Protein (%) 12
Fibre (%) 10
Starch (%) 28
Vitamin A (iu/kg) 11,000
Vitamin D3 (iu/kg) 1,500
Vitamin E (iu/kg) 300
Copper (mg/kg) 30
Selenium (mg/kg) 0.3

 

[AppyLover1996]

He sounds like he’s living the dream thanks so much for your advice, I’ll give it a go!

Oh yes - and he's a right cuddle bug - I've got tons of piccies of me snuggling him whilst he's lying down

Hoping his chilled nature continues for when I back him next year aha!

That's alright - I'm sure there's plenty of other choices too, but that's the only one I'm aware of x

 

[ChestnutMare13]

I used to have the same issues with Bailey, he'd fall asleep tied to the back of the horse trailer in between Sj classes.

I bought Spillers Instant Response and it gave him a bit of stamina without making him too hot.

"SPILLERS RESPONSE Instant Energy Mix is ideal for laid back horses needing extra presence and sparkle.

Higher in cooked cereals but still contain a good proportion of high digestible fibre compared to most other traditional competition feeds.

The energy sources within these feeds support muscle and digestive system health.

Benefits of SPILLERS RESPONSE mix

The SPILLERS RESPONSE mix is perfectly balanced:

Has levels of high quality protein and similar levels of energy perfectly suited to the demands placed on a competition horse.

Contains the same high specification micronutrient pack including chelated minerals and antioxidant vitamins to support athletic performance."

• Nutrient Analysis​

Digestible Energy (MJ/kg) 11.3

Oil (%) 4
Protein (%) 12
Fibre (%) 10
Starch (%) 28
Vitamin A (iu/kg) 11,000
Vitamin D3 (iu/kg) 1,500
Vitamin E (iu/kg) 300
Copper (mg/kg) 30
Selenium (mg/kg) 0.3

Thank you for this, it looks like Spillers might have changed this to “Instant Energy” which is a supplement: https://www.spillers-feeds.com/prod...MI05qC-93XjQMVGY9QBh02XikwEAAYASAAEgJPx_D_BwE

Is this a similar thing to what you have used?

 

[onemoretime]

I find Spillers Stamina cubes very good on my advanced dressage mare. Gives her enough energy for her work without making her silly or spooky in any way.