Help with Feeding

[chaz&murph]

Im stuck on what I should be giving my 4 year old boy. I think im spoiling him by giving him the wrong food.

He's out 24/7 with stable on the field that he can come and go as he pleases. Currently he has hayledge, cool mix (he was having calm and condition but Ive stopped this over the last couple of days).

He has just been backed but will only be long reined (with tack) a couple of times a week until he goes to a training yard on 28th May for 1 month.

He's got a bit of filling out to do, but he has good coverage (no ribs showing)

He is very sharp at the moment (more so that usual) squeeling and bucking in the field like a lunatic. On our second ride he bucked me off, I think more in an excited way than related to pain, nastiness way.

[gordysgirl]

What breed is he & how big?
The 'type' of horse he is would also affect the types/quantities of feed he would need.
Why have you stopped c&c & replaced with cool mix?

[chaz&murph]

He's 15hh and m/w cobby type, though not filled out completely yet.

He was having calm & condition AND cool mix, but as he is not doing any work at the moment and was very fizzy Ive gradually stopped the c&c to see if it made any difference.

[horsesforever]

Sounds like you're on the right track, I too would be gradually cutting out the hard feed. Just lots of forage and a field lick for vits and mins he should be fine. Or you could always swap to a feed balancer such as Baileys Lo cal or similar which shouldnt fizz him up but makes him think he's still getting a "bucket feed" and also makes sure that he's getting all his vits/mins. Or a handful of chaff/speedibeet with a multi vit supplement in would work.

Definately don't think he needs that hard feed with the amount of work he's doing though :)

[gordysgirl]

Ditto that, now that grass is coming through I would gradually remove all hard feed & just feed fibre & vit supp to make sure he is getting all he needs. Shouldn't need any calories as such now.

[puzzles]

Ditto.

A feed balancer (i.e. Baileys Lo-Cal or Blue Chip Original) or broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement (i.e. NAF Pink Powder or Dengie Optinum) mixed in with 1-1.5kg of alfalfa (i.e. Dengie Hi-Fi or Hi-Fi Lite. Alfalfa, being high in protein and calcium, would suit as he develops) which will aimprove platability.
If he is still fizzy (unlikely as this diet, based on forage and being high in fibre, is low in slow-release energy to reduce his excitability) then you can cut the alfalfa out completely.

[chaz&murph]

Brilliant, thanks for your replies.

I knew it was my fault, but hey I learnt the hard way by hitting the ground with a bump.

[puzzles]

No worries, hope it works out alright!

:-)