feeding advice wanted

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simpson51101

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Apr 23, 2009
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Ok now what do you suggest feeding. I have a 4yo thoroughbred, came out of racing although has never raced. Currently fed on alfa a, nuts and just recently introduced sugar beet!


I want more weight on him and more energy.


Do you think to wait for abit and see what difference the sugar beet makes? OR is there anything else you think to add?

Dont wanna give him too much too soon as a fortnight ago (before he came to me) he was only fed a scoop of nuts?!
 
turnout is ok, grass isnt brilliant at the minute but he is being fed a slab of hay in the field am and pm, and he is out 24/7

i am hacking twice a week, lunging once, and schooling 2/3 times a week including pole work

no stable vices

sooo laid back, i look at him and think ive been fobbed off with a 24 year old, im sure sometimes he looks like he is going to fall over! he is that laid back...
 
also to add, he isnt lazy lazy/lethargic in his work

he is responsive, but doesnt seem to have any go about him. im not nagging him constantly, but i want him more forward and eager! just want that little bit more spark in his work
 
Sounds wonderful! Any pics?

Feeding is such a minefield, and everyone has person preferences! So here's mine...

I would put him on a balancer, such as Blue chip with Alfa A oil chaff. If your budget can't stretch to Blue Chip you could use Pink Powder (by NAF) with the feed you currently give instead.
Hopefully spring grass will do all the rest and should be coming through soon if he can hang on for your field to catch up?
 
simpson51101 said:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/lurvly_leanne/harvey.jpg

theres a pic of the sexy man :)

what does pink powder do? (sorry im abit uneducated on the feeding side of things)
Click to expand...

Oh he is lovely!

Pink powder is a balancer (it's got all the vits and minerals that the horse requires) it comes with a tiny scoop that you add to feed (tells you how much to feed on the tub)

The reason I would put him on a balancer is you know he's getting everything he needs to keep him healthy. He will be able to get the most out of the grass and other feeds if his digestive system is working correctly.

There are loads of balancers either complete feeds such as blue chip, top spec and most companies are now making them, or, the supplements which are just powders/ganuals that you add to feed like NAF -Pink powder, Equimins -complete etc
 
What on earth has he been doing in training up to 4 if he has not raced?

If he is straight out of training he should be lean and fit so feeding won't increase his energy. Having seen your picture however I think he may actually be carrying too much weight and not enough muscle, what has he done recently?

Good grass is the best bet at this time of year together with a balancer and something like alphaoil which has already been recommended.

Are you sure you are not confusing the normal 'just out of racing' lack of education for being lazy. Are you sure he understands what you are asking?
 
He was bought from ascot last October for a large sum of money, with the intention to race him, he would of been 3 then, but apparently wasnt "clicked on" enough to be a racehorse. I bought him in April off a lady who had been re schooling him for his "owner". He knows exactly what to do, he is and has been happily walk/trotting/cantering for a while now, aswell as pole work. Im not mistaking his laziness for greenness or anything like that. I know what a novice/green, unschooled horse rides like, i also know what other racers ride like, he is purely LAZY! apparently always has been.

dont get me wrong he is responsive enough in the fact when i want to walk/trot/canter i can go straight into it without any problems, just the same as i can spend all day in the school with him doing transitions, halt-trot and vice versa, i dont have to get after him into things BUT there is no "go" with him, he doesnt step out in his walk, i just want that little bit of extra energy to get him abit more forward in his work without me having to be constantly kicking him.

He is actually about right fat and muscle wise for a "racer" but he wont be doing this with me, so i would like a little bit more weight on him, and his muscles will obviously change when he gains a topline and a hind end etc.

probably wasnt the best picture of him to show you...
 
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If you've only had him since April I would defo go for a balancer and see what the fresh grass does to him first.
What's he like to hack out? Maybe he's a little bored with schooling? Just a thought, it might freshen him up a bit. Or box him somewhere new for a ride as a treat?
 
eml said:
Good grass is the best bet at this time of year together with a balancer and something like alphaoil which has already been recommended.

Are you sure you are not confusing the normal 'just out of racing' lack of education for being lazy. Are you sure he understands what you are asking?
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I'd agree with eml thoroughly.. especially the bit about the lack of education. W/T/C and a bit of pole an education does not make..
 
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eml said:
Slightly OT..what name was he sold under. I have friends who bought from that sale, lots of lovely horses virtually being given away.
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Sales stats for the Oct sales were very poor .. bargains to be had though..
 
brilliant to hack out, ive been hacking him 2/3 times a week, nothing phases him, but again he still doesnt go forward enough, his walk is extremely slow, almost like he is going to stop if i dont keep squeezing him.

When i bought him i was told he can be lazy when out 24/7, if he is kept in for the day he is better, i know this is true as he was in when i first tried him and was very forward, and when i tried him the second time he was out.
 
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simpson51101 said:
what he was bought for and i what i bought him for are two completely different figures
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Do you know what he was bought for at the sales ?

As he's had 6 months of keep and reschooling before you bought him that would have added some to his original price so I would expect you bought him for more than he sold at the Oct sales for :) He's lovely :)
 
rrr thankyou, i always look at him and think "gawd he is a handsome boy", probably me being biased, i also sometimes think i have been sold a 24yo instead when i see how laid back he is...

i actually bought him for 1/6 of the ascot price...he wasnt doing a job when i bought him, she hardly had time to ride him, owner wanted a quick sale, he would of been a field ornament if not.

bearing in mind all he can do at the minute is walk, trot, canter (both reins on left lead - which im in the process of correcting), has seen and been over poles with a little persuasion and apparently done some tiny fences but i havent tried this as he isnt confident enough over poles i feel to rush into the jumping side of things

everything else with him though i cannot fault, bought him completely upto date with every innoculation and jab you can imagine, farrier commented on how good his feet were for a tb, very clean and sound and is 100% in every way (that i know of at the minute)
 
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