Feed advice please.

[gypsy]

I bought Danny a sec D gelding in Nov, he was underweight when i asked what they fed him he just got hay as they said food made him loopy!
I started to introduce him to feed the lady at the feed place recommended just starting on chop sugar beet and pony nuts, well within 2 weeks he was a different horse very jumpy, nervous and hard to handle, i couldn't ride him i just didnt feel safe, so after putting him back on just hay we did a lot of trials to see what affected him and it seems to be mollasses, got him settled on happy hoof and hi-fi lite with a bit of speedy beet,
He really needs building up his chest and neck are quite weedy, he is a nervous and jumpy pony anyway, so i am a bit weary now to introduce anything new,
what would you suggest and do you think a calmer would help with his nervousness.
thanks for any help i want to try and sort it now before winter.

[pst]

I think a calmer would help, it's just finding the right one for him. It's very much trial & error you could try magic or top spec calmer. Good luck

[chestnuttymare]

try something with low starch perhaps. i went on to winergy eqilibrium and also used top spec calmer. lots of us use it on here and it really seems to work.

[Alliecat]

I recently went to nutrition seminar, where the advice boiled down to keep it as natural as possible = ad-lib grass/hay/haylage, then make sure the vitamin & mineral balance is right & only[/u] feed anything extra if your horse's lifestyle/workload demands it.

When you consider that the nutritionist in question advises all the major feed companies, I'm prepared to believe that she knew what she was talking about; which was effectively that we feed our horses loads of stuff that they don't really need. Makes very expensive poo!

If Danny's actual weight is o.k, then maybe you should cut out everything else but a vitamin & mineral supplement for a wee while + calmer if you think it would help. You could then work on building up his chest & neck through loads of focussed exercise (maybe side-reins, if he would tolerate them?) & revisit feeding needs as he can do more.

If his weight is still an issue, then I've had great results in the past with Spillers HDF cubes.

ETA Nutritionist also said cubes are better than mix, as they have consistent content from feed to feed. Mixes are consistent from bag to bag, but depending on what ends up in the scoop, breakfast might be very different to dinner. Reckoned mixes sell so well coz we think they look nicer - horses don't care!

[gypsy]

Thanks all for your advice, i am going to try him on a calmer see how he goes, just been looking and there are so many to chose from i suppose it is just try one and see how he goes on it so think i will order some top spec calmer and hope it makes a difference, thanks.

[misstickle]

Top spec also do cool and condition cubes. They have no cereals or mollasses in them.

[honorarylili]

Hi there
I'm new to this board but I also have a Sec D. I have been feeding calmer to my mare for about 2 years now and I can't honestly say I'd ever want to be without it. I started it in the winter as I felt the hard feed (which she needs, she's not the best do-er) was making her a bit nuts. When I bought her I switched her to the lowest protein hard feed (she's on Bailey's No 4 for the past year) and at the moment she's just getting a handful of that plus the TopSpec Lo-cal. She's fed on chaff year round and the only supplements she gets are sequim and calmer (and electrolytes as required). I had started her on the calmer as I mentioned when her hard feed went up in winter -- but now I keep her on it year round. I recently switched from Placid to the Top Spec calmer. It seems to do the business.

How old is your horse? My mare's weight rocketed up just with work and maturity (and yeah, careful feeding too). I should post some before/after pics!

[lisah]

Hi Gypsy

He will need plenty of exercise in addition to feeding to build up his neck and chest rather than feed alone. Whilst feeding can put on the condition it is lots of flat work ratheer than food alone that will build up his muscles honey.

Feed tends not to go onto the neck and chest (well except the crest where fat can build up) so no amount of feeding is going to build up those areas without some work to get the muscles working. You can increase his feed as his work increases and with the addition of a good calmer you should be able to quickly balance out what he needs - I use Top Spec calmer and it is great but you may have to try a few until you find one that suits him.

As with everyone else's suggestions, steer clear of molassed feeds and chop, and try to get cereal free hard feed, again Top Spec do a really good leasure time balancer that will last about 6 weeks per bag (maybe longer for your lad as I don't think he will need as much as a TB) and their condition cubes are cereal free (the condition flakes are not cereal free so make sure you get the cubes !)

All the best with him, I am sure that the right balance of work and feed and you will have a lovely well muscled horse with an even temprament.

LisaH xxxxx