What would you recommend feeding a WB in Medium Work?

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acolvine

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Hello,

After some feeding advice from any experts out there....

I have a 5yr old Belgium wb, he is about 17hh, compact and i would classify him as a good-doer over the summer.

He is currently fed A&P Ride and Relax which i have been really pleased with. He also gets a high oil chaff.

We are really trying to work on stamina and canter fitness at the moment, we are going xc schooling next month (for the first time) and in my opinion there is nothing worse than a horse that looks like it is struggling.

Half way through a training Session 'Eros' (thought it would be bad luck to change his name....) just has no energy and its more me doing the work. Great for my fitness but not really what we are trying to achieve. :-)

Just wondering if you would recommend A&P Power and Performance or something else? Maybe i need to be feeding more than 4kg's?

Im used to TB types who have duracell batteries, something Eros definitely does not have so its a learning curve for both of us.
 
has he achieved a level of fitness before that you are working back towards or are you trying to get him fitter than he has ever been before?

it is notoriously hard to get youngsters really fit the first time- once they have reached a level of fitness it is much easier to decrease the work and then reach that level much quicker next time!

what is his condition scoring like? i would be wary of putting in extra calories to try and increase stamina if he is already carrying a few extra pounds!

i always found D&H staypower museli to be good for my Novice eventer who was a good doer but he was doing much more work than i would comfortably be doing with a 5yro
 
Im trying to get him fitter than he has been before. Last year we just hacked out, introduced him to different venues and did a little bit of dressage and sj. His wee brain couldn't handle any more than that and im in no hurry. Would rather get things right from the start.
Didn't do much over the winter so ive gradually been building up since March and trying to achieve a new level of fitness...

His weight is pretty spot on although i do have to watch as if he stays out 24/7 then he does get a little grass belly. Muscularly his neck is really starting to develop, same with is gluts but we have a long way to go yet.

Ive never had a pure WB before so this is all a bit new to me. Always competed or owned TB/Irish x in the past (with one exception but he was a rule unto himself... lol).

The plan is to get out and enjoy some xc and see how he goes. If all goes well then would like to do Intro 80/90 next year with him, the focus for us is about fun this time! :-)

So really looking for feeding idea's to help build stamina and provide energy.

Thanks
 
Why don't you pick a manufacurer and ring their helpline number and speak to one of their nutrionists. I have a 17h middleweight Belgian WB and he is just fed chaff and a bit of pasture mix for variety. If I was going to be doing a lot of competitions then I would feed competition mix as this is quick release high energy food which is full of nutrients which help to promote stamina during equestrian events. As a rule of thumb sugars provide quick-release energy whilst starches provide slow-release energy.
 
i used to event a 17 h Swedish warmblood until he was retired last year and he was exactly the same. he just felt dead after a little while but i didnt want him silly as soon as i got on. however like you say he was a reasonably good doer in the summer. i fed winergy advanced energy whihc is like a racehorse mix or balanced energy which is less energy but the energy comes from oils with a bit of cereals (lots of cereals will make them fizzy and silly). i also used to put in half to a whole scoop of rolled oats and also in winter some molassed sugar beet pulp and mix all of this with dengie alpha a. make sure you have a good vit and mineral lick as oats my in some cases need to be suplemented with one of the minerals if fed in large quantities. i rang winergy and got them to help.
 
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