putting on condition

[Brandy Snap]

I was at a show on sunday and the judge in the veteran classes we did said that B needed more condition on him, once he had that we'd do better in the classes.

I'm a little confused as to what she ment tho. I should have asked, but was my first show ever so was a little scatter brained!

Do you increase condition by feeding or excersice or both?

She did say it was possibly his age, as he's 24 (we were competing against 15 and 16 year olds! they need to up the age to qualify as a veteran I think! lol!)

He is out 24/7 over the summer and gets no extra feed. Just a carrot and an apple chopped up in a bucket once a day. In winter he gets happy hoof, spillers maintance mix and speedi beet.

I wonder if I should keep feeding him the happy hoof and speedie beet all year round. He is a lami prone pony so I dont want to be feeding him a mix during srping summer autumn time, and obviously he needs to keep his weight down for that as well.

I'm also considering giving him something for his joints as he can be a little stiff at times, what would be the best thing to give him?

I'll be asking my riding instructor all of this as well, just interested to see what you lot think.

 

[Jessey]

TBH I think 'show ring condition' is all too often just over weight horses/ponies whos owners are just asking for Lami, many people on here show and could probably tell you more specifically what the judge was asking for, mine is just a general observation of many show horses, Though I am glad to add I think all the showing people on here have nice slender show hosses (from the pictures I have seen anyway)

 

[becs]

I'd be cautious of increasing feed if he's known to be prone to laminitis. I recall the lami expert Robert Eustace heavily condemning judges for encouraging fat ponies every summer, who then go on to laminitis. From what Ive seen, this judging business seems a bit of a lottery anyway! What one likes, another doesn't. I'd keep him fit & trim and show elsewhere.

IMHO the best supplement for joints is glucosamine & chondroitin eg Cortaflex / alternatives.

 

[Mehitabel]

:sigh: no, show ring condition is not just about lard. it is muscle, shine and fitness as well as weight. often an older horse will lose muscle tone, sag a bit over back and belly, be a little 'hippy', and perhaps not have as much shine as it used to. these things all contribute to condition.
have you got any recent pics?

 

[Brandy Snap]

here are some pics of him from the show..

and some from in the field.

sleepy day, I think he looks really old in this photo!

 

[Mehitabel]

yes, he could do with being a bit fatter for competing - in that last pic his ribs are fairly clearly visible. he does have the elderly saggy back - more muscle along his neck, back and bum will build that up and make him look more impressive.
for showing, he could do with more arch to his neck as well (again - muscle, not a fatty crest).

of course, you need to balance his health requirements against what you might need to do to do well in the ring. he doesn't look 'thin' although for an oldie i'd want him with a bit more in reserve going into autumn and winter.

sometimes the individual horse's needs will mean that you can't or shouldn't do what is needed for a certain competition - a lean, eventing or racing fit horse will not do well in the show ring, they are shown rounder and more covered.
so a laminitic horse might need to be kept lean, and that should take precedence over the show ring. out show ponies are not blubbery fat things, but they are not lean and whippety either - if the horse needs to be lean for health reasons, then that must of course come first. we 'bulk' ours up a little with lots of forage, so that when they tuck up through excitement or from travelling, they don;t look herring gutted.
we do watch for laminitis, being natives, so we tend to fed ad-lib hay or haylage, and happy hoof. each pony's triggers are differnt, as well - we have one old chap on the school who will get it from the merest sniff of a pony nut, while we have another who has had it from spring grass but can stuff on hard feed all day long.

 

[Brandy Snap]

Thanks for that mehitabel.

He's not as ribby now as he is in that last photo, that was taken at the begining of june, and you can see how much of the grass they have eaten down since then! lol!

How would I build up his top line? He doesn't go in an outline, infact he's the oposit! He has an upside down neck as he was ridden in a martingale for so long, but we have just taken that off and are working without it now, as he doesnt chuck his head about anymore.

I get lessons about once a fortnight, just started getting them. But at the moment we are working on me rather than him as I'm quite a nervous nelly!

 

[Siogfinsceal]

in showing there is a tendency for horses to be fat. This is not healthy - condition is best achieved through muscle building excercise and feeding. For showing I would start feeing some barley and/or some blue chip and beetpulp. When working your horse make sure that he is working from behind at all times - I would tend to do a lot of trotting work making sure that the horse works under me to build up his topline and quarters - lunging in side reins will also help. 'Strapping' with a suede buffer everyday on the neck and quarters muscles will also help to build him up and id advise a supplement for the showing season - 'topline' by equiform is excellent as is 'collovet' however collovet should only be used short term as it is an iron supplement - topline should be used for about 6 weeks to see results. Ive added sunflower oil to our horses feeds at showing season and it gives a lovely sheen to the coat as does feeding dried seaweed/kelp.

 

[Tizer]

What a lovely pony and you do look well suited.

Getting the feeding right is all part of getting to know your pony, so you are doing the right thing by asking for help.

I have an elderly mare who is in med work and I have seen a huge improvement with regard to maintaining condition since using Top Spec feed balancer, they do a supplement for ponies prone to Laminitis.
Nicola Tyler at
Top Spec is very helpful and will give you good advice, it is also easier and cheaper in the long run, than feeding lots of different supplements.

Good Luck

 

[Brandy Snap]

wow! thanks for all the advice everyone! I didnt expect to get such a response!

I'll look into top spec, Tizer... always wondered about feeding a supliment. I called Spillers a few months ago when I thought he could do with something extra, they recomended maintanance mix. Not sure that IU noticed a diffrence, but he was only on it for a couple months before I cut his hard feed for the summer. I'n now considering feeding him all year round with happy hoof and speedie beet and adding the mix in the winter time, as I dont want him to be fed a mix during the grass growning months as it can trigger lami.

 

[Fizz]

i would feed him all year round,he will need the extra vits & mins rather than him just getting what the grass has

 

[Ross]

When Rohan was older I found that he really benefitted from hard feed all year. I must admit, I'd like to see your lad carrying more weight, preferably without the ribs showing, but some older horses do have a problem with it.. And he could do with building up his muscle a bit too.

Ross

 

[Santi]

Top spec

I have a welsh D who looked a bit like your horse in that her spine was visible although she had enough food, her ribs were covered. I have to be careful with her as i suspect she had laminitus before i got her (hooves showed rings)
Top Spec Lami-Light is great. It will make sure your horse gets all the vitamins he needs and has hoof suppliment too. My mare looks really good this year, after the spring i switched her to the ordinary Top Spec balancer and she is great, beautiful shiny coat, everyone comments on and she looks totally round over her back (what people call 'topline') but nice and trim under her belly. It is also low calorie so they don't put on weight on it.

As your guy is a vetran you could call Top Spec i am sure they can help but i reacon after one bag of that you won't want to stop feeding it. If you feed cubes and things in the winter that have vitamins in them you reduce the balancer so you don't overload him.