Would give hard feed?

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lucky7

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I have a 6yr old welsh d who isn't a very good doer. He is looking well at the moment - not fat just right. He is ridden 4 - 5 x per week consisting of 2 x schooling sessions 40 mins and 3 x hacking which is mainly road work walking and trotting and outlr route is hilly. We hack anywhere between 40 mins to 90 mins on a good day. He lives out 24 7 with my cob. He will soon be competiting in dressage 3 x per month and hoping to do a 2 sessions of xc throughout the autumn 2 x per month as well as winter dressage.
I normally feed him during the winter as he does lose weight. He also has ad lib haylage and is out 24 7 rugged up well during the winter. I want him to maintain his weight this year plus he will be in full work. Would you give any hard feed? We still have plenty of grass at the moment
 
I don't think I would at the moment. As long as he has the energy to do what is required of him then that's great. You have also got to factor in the autumn flush of grass. You can always increase his food a bit to help him through winter if needed.
 
I probably would give a token feed all year to ensure he does not drop off with the extra work in autumn just as the grass quality goes, it is easier to maintain a level condition that to get it back on once it has dropped, if you give a small feed all year it is easy to give a little extra on days when they have worked a bit harder without risking it causing issues.
I would consider a balancer with a small amount of chaff or something simple like fast fibre or grassnuts which can be given in tiny amounts on a day he does less work and a bit more when he worked hard and can gradually increase as the work does and the grass goes, a general purpose supplement can easily be added to a soaked feed.
 
Nothing at the moment. Normal practise with a poor doer is to start them with feed in August with the objective of getting them with a little extra to tide them over Winter. My big WB is a poor doer and even he is just on alfa a oil and linseed currently and even those feeds are only being at around 2/3 the normal quanity. Come winter, he will be on sugar beet, soft and soak plus the linseed and alfa a oil so you can see what the contract is like.
 
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