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Equi

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Ive noticed a pattern over the few years ive had jed. He is fed 16+ mix, and generally over winter is beautiful to ride and forward. In summer he is quite sluggish and really takes work to make him go. Now, i don't know if this is due to the sugars in the feed or if the glucoasmine and MSM in the food helps..(its quite low amounts really) but frankly i dont want another summer of a riding school plod. He is a good weight, not even at grass yet...so would i be MAD to start putting him back on the 16+?

Im planning on telling my YO i want him on a small paddock with less grass this year if possible..
 
what about putting him on a balancer instead to see if that perks him up....or try something like newmarket joint supplement to see if that loosens him up...
 
Ive tried loads of supplements and never really noticed any difference in his looseness, i think its more the "spark" i miss in summer..hes so easy to ride in winter and i feel we really get a good power...but it could also be the heat..he does not do heat just like me! So maybe it is me as he really does take from his rider lol i just want his winter enthusiasm in summer. But i might try yet another joint thing just in case...im always willing to experiment.
 
SEL said:
Is he on grass in summer? Ever tried taking him off it for a while & seeing if it's making him dopey?
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Hes not on the grass yet, and even now is a bit dopey. I don't know if its the heat or if its the fact he is off the 16+ cause i weaned him off it about a month ago in preparation for going out to grass. Yet a week ago he was so powerful i could not sit to his canter which makes me lean to the heat side...maybe shedding is taking out his energy lol
 
I would keep him on a smaller amount of the feed, if he gets too hot can you clip him to help him stay cooler, being coloured it should be easy to get away with, I have clipped greys in summer and that looks fine, get him as fit as you can before he gains any weight from being on grass, I think some really need a bit of feed and most would be better with less grass than they get but it can be hard to balance it when you are not totally in control.
 
be positive said:
I would keep him on a smaller amount of the feed, if he gets too hot can you clip him to help him stay cooler, being coloured it should be easy to get away with, I have clipped greys in summer and that looks fine, get him as fit as you can before he gains any weight from being on grass, I think some really need a bit of feed and most would be better with less grass than they get but it can be hard to balance it when you are not totally in control.
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Hes got a trace clip already from winter, but im very open to giving him a full clip right now if i need to! I plan to get him really working again too, he was off for a while due to injury but hes back at it all, horrific weather just made things slow a little...now its like bloody africa. Rains to come back but rain doesn't stop me, torrential rain and 5ft puddles in the arena might lol

I might buy a bag of it and see what happens..im deffo giving him smaller nets now so the extra cals from the meal should not do anything to baloon him...its very strange thinkign about all this as when i first got him he was a hat rack i could literally not get enough food into!
 
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