Feeding. A Cautionary Tale. LONG

[Libbyo]

When I got Pinnochio he was a flightly unfit, portly pony who lived on a hay alone diet. He was a bit slow, but perfect for me then.

This summer as I have posted before I got him broken to drive. Its been the best thing ever for both of us.

Hay alone was not enough for him so with YO's help and the feed store we went onto Dobson and Horrel Pasture mix. 3/4 scoop 2X day with 1/2 chaff and fresh fruit/veg 2X day.
He had more energy.

Weeks past and gradually with the increase in work, belly went but energy started to drop.

Back with YO to feed store. He was chganged to Competition mix at CHristmas. Same amounts.

He got even better. We decreased the comp mix about 3 weeks ago to 1/2 scoop twice a day and added cortoflex to the mix to loosed him up.

Great you say.

Until this week. :(

Pinnochio is over oated up!

Friday last

I rode him, eyes every where, silly but not naughty. Spooking at everything.

Sunday Drove him

Great fun but silly and spooky

Tuesday

He was jumped by a young friend of mine. He bronked with her, and buggered off. Well almost went off, she got him back. Back in the stable he bit me.

Wednesday.

Spooky silly drive, he was spooking and messing about at every car and bird.

Yesterday. OH dear.
Grotty day so I said day off for him. Got him out to muck out, he spins on me when tied up trying to kick nearest horse, I escape just, he hicks out to other side. Hes rude and bargy.

I decide he cant stay in so tack up and take him into school to lunge. He hicks and bronks, and gets away. Runs like the wind. I catch him. YO sees me moaning at him! As you do. Tell her, she offeres to lunge him.

As she is realiong him out he kicks out again and only just misses her face.##He bronks round for ages.

We have decided that its his feed.

He was turned out for the night and today we are going on a driving excursion. A long one. We are going to try to tire him out.

He will start a new feeding reisime today as well.

Feedwise. His feeds are done with feed store/ YO and RI advice, so I wasnt being silly. It has all happened so sudenly, it just creaps up on you.

I loves me boy, my bomb proof boy, but as this moment BOMBPROOF hes not!

Wish me luck on the drive today! YO and a RI comming with me. Poor Pinnochio. My guess is he dont really like how hes feeling either.

Libbyo :)

[Bay Mare]

Pasture Mix is the feed of the devil.

Have you never heard me talking about Saffy's 'Pasture Mix Psychosis'?

Pasture Mix is the reason that I (thankfully) discovered the forage based diet.

On Pasture Mix we had to bring Saff in from the field and take her back to the field wearing riding hats. She wasn't 'naughty' but she was SERIOUSLY highly strung and stressed out. At one point she was rearing at you in the field, cantering at you and stopping at the last moment. If she was put in her stable she would sweat up from the tips of her little ears right down to her toes. She dropped weight drastically and was a shaking, sweating mess.

Thankfully I woke up at 2am one morning and said "Pasture Mix", took her off it the very next day and 10 days later had the Saffy that I know and love. A sweet, kind, if rather opinionated bossy mare.

In addition to this she wouldn't be groomed and hated being touched. Once off Pasture Mix she enjoyed it again. She's never going to be a cuddly pone but you can touch her all over now without an issue. On Pasture Mix I couldn't even put my hand on her without her pulling faces at me.

I tried to give my Pasture Mix away but no-one would have it. Even an eventer that I know who events her 3 horses at a fairly high level said "no bloody way, it sends my horses psycho". I eventually found a home for it with someone who has THE most laid back cob ever to have existed.

You're DEFINITELY not being silly. Pasture Mix is known for causing almost psychotic reactions in some horses.

What I did was to cut out hard feeds altogther and initially put her on ad lib hay, grass and a couple of apples, oh and some cleavers (that she self selected) just to detox. She'd started leaving her feeds anyway so SHE obviously knew that it wasn't good for her. Since then she's maintained her weight beautifully on just forage.

Good luck and stop the Pasture Mix NOW!!!

All the best

x


Sorry ... just seen that you went onto competition mix! But probably the same applies. The problem that I found with hard feeds is that they gave energy but it wasn't useable energy. She's got more energy now but it's useable.

[Libbyo]

Competition mix I think is pasture+.

If you hear today of a pony and carriage running wild in West Sussex. Think of us!

We WILL be fine. Hes been out all night with no tea or breakie! Just hay.

Every one all ways says its me being silly when I say hes spooky. No no they say, its your nerves. WELL this week, they know better.

The DEMON Pinnochio showed them all.

Libbyo :)

[amandal]

Someone at our yard's having the same problems with competition mix, I did suggest that the feed might have been the problem weeks ago (I was caring for her horses) and now she's finally realised and taken him off it. Ziz can't do mixes either, forage based diet for her too.

[Libbyo]

How would I know this stuff without this forum.

THANK YOU NEW RIDER

Libbyo :)

[Afellpony]

Falcon has Ride and Relax but just lately, he's seems a bit flighty on it!

[Peanut]

I don't feed any mixes at all. I certainly would never give D&H's Pasture Mix just because of the horror stories (including Baymare's) that I've read on NR!

[Mehitabel]

yep - pasture mix, and most of the mixes, are coated in molasses so poor pinocchio is on a sugar high at the minute.

sugar beet is useful for slow release energy, or try a cubed hard feed rather than mix - they are not coated in molasses, so are often less like rocket fuel.

[NoviceNic]

I was wondering though if the weather has anything to do with the feed regime as well this year. I mean the grass is growing in some areas because it has been so mild this Winter. I cut Captain's token feed out a fortnight ago because of his silly behaviour. It was the same feed he has been on for 2 Winters. Funnily enough he is ok on Pasture Mix...:confused:

[clarejones]

i never use mixes on native ponies all of mine are connemaras we use speedi beet, alf a or dengie light and a good balancer and plenty of hay thats all they need, in summer they only get fed if in work otherwise they are out with no hay or any other feed

[colettybetty]

Good heavens ! What were these 'experts' thinking of ? We're talking about native pony ? I never feed any mixes to my horses who are in light work ( about an hour a day).
I'd recommend, along with hay, grass, chaff and unmolassed sugarbeet along with a general vitamin supplement, and if he still needs more energy, use oil in preference to mixes.
If he lacks energy and its not due to overweight and unfitness check his worm burden with a worm count (even if you worm regularly, he could have a high count), if that's ok, get a blood count done.Far more damage from overfeeding can be done to long term health ,ponies and horses do well on high fibre diets as nature intended, particularly as most today are pleasure horses, not in heavy work.
Good luck :)

[Bronya]

If we ever want to give Sunny (my NF pony) energy, she gets the local horse and pony mix if in LOADS of work (i.e. dropping weight, 2 hours + per day), otherwise all it takes is 1/4 handful of oats and whoohoo, new energised pony!!! 1/2 a handful sends her seriously nuts, yet I can feed two scoops twice a day to my TB mare and she's just her normal self - feed stores sometimes don't just get the difference between native pony and horse!!

Good luck on your drive:) .

[Libbyo]

We couldnt go. My hand was too sore from him pulling away from me. Hes been in the field for a few days on hay alone. Hopefully he will be Ok today to come in. He was better last night. to begin with he was unable to tolerate the other horses, now hes in a field with his friends. Its been grim for him as well as confidence shattering for me.

Never again!

Libbyo :)

[icegirl]

This is interesting because I started a thread on horse becoming silly out hacking and with ground work and I was just feeding a small scoop of Pasture Mix as a reward on the days I had worked him. He was fine last winter on it.
Anyway, on the advice of some of you, I have stopped it and he has started riding out more calmly, so there may well have been a connection there. A horsey friend also said loads of horses have adverse reaction to molasses.

[Libbyo]

Just thought I would update you. We drove in the school tonight. One very backward going slow pony. Everything is gone, hes slow, non responsive and evades me.

Hes in tonight as hes very tired. Just hay.

Hopefully, when the new feeding reigiem is started this week, he will get more forward again.

But its still nice to be working again. I missed him.

Libbyo :)

[SO1]

Interesting thread as I may be subject to vetting buying a very laid back NF pony he is currently fed on D&H pasture mix for horses in light to medium work.

Personally I think he could do with a bit of extra sparkle so was thinking of changing from pasture to competition mix. Obviously pasture mix has a different effect on different ponies!

[Libbyo]

Might as wel update you. Hes been on slow realease mix now for 6 months. Behaviour is fine, manners are his own mix of good and bad.

No more silly outporrings. Today we lunged on a head collar.