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 Texas Taco
Posts: 7499
   
Location: Bandera, TX | I own the world’s laziest 5 year old. It is awful….
I have noticed however that when we do anything other than loping stupid circles she is better – trail ride, cow things, barrel drills, etc. Unfortunately we don’t do these fun things often, that is just my life…. I did change her feed from Hay Rite cubes and pellets, to Hay Rite cubes plus Omolene 200 plus Red Cell. Technically she should be jumping out of her pen…. She has may be SLIGHTLY more pep in her step, but not much. I sent her off to summer camp where she can chase cows and check fence line. I hope she comes back revived and re-motivated.
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
 
| scwebster - 2018-07-08 11:55 AM
stef73433 - 2018-07-08 8:49 AM
To think you can't give one a little more fire with feed is crazy, you absolutely can.
There a number of ways to do it. One of the most well known ways is adding a blood builder.
You can also do simple things like feeding a hotter grain
Just an example to support your answer. I’ve known Red Cell to be used for this purpose.
you can feed all the hot feed you want and make them jump straight up and down in one spot. I'm saying that more often than not, doing so results in a negative result. They usually have lots of run but you lose control in some form.
When I think of "fire" I think of horse that is working it's hardest and really giving 110%, not just running really fast and won't hold still.
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Expert
Posts: 1694
Location: Willows, CA | This is another interesting topic, that requires a lot more space and time than can be committed here. If you get a chance to see one of my talks, this is a fun topic to cover. It is a simple fact that you can change both energy and focus with feed. There is a delicate balance between total usable digestible energy, blood sugar levels, and starch loads that can change temperament and focus, which in turn, may influence performance. As stated elsewhere, not all energy is good energy, and I personally feel that the jiggy, nose in the air kind of nervous energy seldom, if ever, translates into better performance. The optimum would be a horse that is eager to go, but focused in doing so. That is what translates into consistency and better times. Keeping starch and sugar in the diet at just the proper amount to be broken down fairly high in the small intestine, where it is an energy benefit, is the answer. Excess grain based feed that reaches the hind gut is a disruptor rather than a benefit. With a diet that promotes a fully functioning digestive system, adjusting energy levels is not only possible, but fairly easy. All this being said, a horse can only function to it's personal potential. Supplying enough usable energy without moving into the disruptive kind is the trick.
Edited by winwillows 2018-07-09 4:26 PM
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| This complete feed has a higher fat content. I think all horses could benefit.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dumor-equistages-equine-fe...
Edited by bingo 2018-07-09 4:35 PM
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