What would you feed? (Dressage)

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Winklepoker

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I have a WB 6yo who works in the school x4 pw for 40 - 60 mins mainly trot and canter, Lunge x1 in pessoa for 30 mins and goes out cantering x1 for 30 mins. Usually competing DR twice or 3 times a month.

He tires easily and can get lazy but he can be anxious/spooky when something gets his goat.

Currently on 3/4 Alfalfa (Dengie) 2xMugs of Balancer (Baileys lo cal) and Magic twice a day with a slosh of veg oil, Ad lib Haylage overnight and turned out 6.30am - 5.30pm.

Ignore what I feed, If he was yours - what would he be getting?

A recent pic (2 weeks ago)

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I'm feeding straight rolled oats for more energy and stamina - they really do work! They have made mine a bit sharper but I can live with that for the increased energy.

Is it possible it's not just a feeding thing? Not being judgmental but he seems to be doing an awful lot of school work, esp for such a young horse. I know you say you go out for a canter once a week but is it possible to swap one of those school sessions for a hack? Mine became very lazy in the school earlier in the autumn and I dithered about what to feed. Have since taken him hunting and he's a different horse - he was simply bored. I'm not suggesting you hunt your DR horse but maybe look at doing something a bit different with him. Also, if you can hack more (or even jump), he will get fitter and likely be less lazy. At 6yo, surely he's likely to tire easily too?

I'd also switch the NAF Magic for straight Magnesium Oxide.
 
I feed a base of Fast Fibre and HiFi, plus oil,for your horse I would probably use the FF and Alpha A oil. He would get the slow release energy he needs from the oil and fibre, if it was not enough I would move on to Calm and Condition.
 
He doesnt hack well, doesnt enjoy it and gets very anxious the further we go from home and until recently we havent had the option of company. He jumps too, I loose jump and do grids and take him to clear rounds once a month. I was just trying to sum up the average week really. I plan to increase the hacking now we have others for company and I will be hunting him at the end of the season (aiming for 1/2 a day end of feb/march time to get the road work in)
 
Winklepoker, your doing the same thing that i'm doing with mine whos now7. Ive commented on feed in competition riders, maybe worth looking at a muscle supp, just started mine on it, and trainer says she can see the difference already, im using Optimuscle from feedmark as the horse first version you cant feed everyday! worth a look.
 
Staypower cubes from spillers? More slow release energy but low in stach.
May put on weight though, don't know if you want that.

Power and performance by Allen and Page is good for energy but can make some horses more spooky.

Otherwise he looks really nice, maybe just keep him on what he is on?!
 
My daughter's horse was similar when we first got him (he was 6 then) - he was quite lazy and tired easily. However, as he was my daughter's first horse we didn't want him too sharp and risk frightening the life out of her! We put him on Spiller's Response Slow Release Energy Cubes with some extra oil and this has worked a treat, alongside regular hacking and lots of hunting last winter. Seems to go much better at dressage competitions if he has been hunting the week before!
 
Oh I wasnt suggesting I changed his feed, I was just interested to know what peoples thoughts on it were. I might introduce some Stay Power cubes if he starts dropping off though :) and Ellie - I will look that up thanks :)
 
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