Which feed?

[wellsat]

I have a 16.1hh Hannoverian x WB mare who is currently ridden for at least an hour a day six days a week and competes every other weekend. Riding is either a schooling session, jumping or a fast hack so she's probably using quite alot of energy.

For the last week or so she's been looking sleepy when she's been tied up on the yard and takes about half an hour to really wake up when ridden. She'll go into a nice, relaxed contact and is tracking up happily so my instructor is happy she's not in pain.

Our best guess is that with the level of work she's doing and with the colder nights over the last few weeks that she might need a bit more energy from her feed.

She's currently fed half a scoop of happy hoof with her vitamins, oestress and some salt if she gets sweaty.

Any recommendations? She's a lovely weight for her type so don't want to give her a conditioning feed, just wonder if she'd like a bit more energy to help her get her sparkle back.

 

[AngieandBen]

I would still say she's in light work;

I have a 19 year old who gets hacked out for a couple of hours 4 times a week and he's just on Fast Fibre and Low Cal; Has more energy now its getting cooler, the humidity seems to zap some horses of energy.

Salt is important so I would add it every day, you could try adding oil or a balancer instead of the vitamin and mineral supplement

 

[schneeko]

That's not light work, imo

Baileys define it as

AT REST/LIGHT WORK - Quiet hacking 1-3 times a week, light schooling, occasional competitions etc.

MODERATE WORK - Daily hacking 1-2 hours or 30-60 minutes schooling, riding club competitions etc.

HARD WORK - Hard schooling sessions, regular show jumping, endurance, dressage competitions, racing, 3-day eventing etc.

I'd ring a feed company and see what they suggest, they'd know better than me

 

[MrsMozart]

Ditto Schneeko, ring the feed manufacturers. I've always found them very helpful

 

[SmartieBean09]

Adding another feed or increasing your horses feed will increase the calorie intake and therefore increase his weight.

This time of year when the grass changes, a lot of horses lose their sparkle.

I would suggest a good probiotic, something along the lines of Pink Powder (which is also a feed balancer). I use this whenever my horse has any stress to her system such as colic, worming, sudden weight loss, lethargy etc. It is a great pick me up and helps to settle any changing within their digestive tract which may be causing them a little discomfort such as grass changes.