This time of year can be tricky when it comes to feeding, as your horses will either be coming out of winter well or needing to be fed up. In recent years and this one for sure there isn't grass always readily available to put these horses onto to gain the needed weight, so that's where people start or continue feeding conditioning feed. That can be fine depending on the horses temperament, how much they are worked, if they are on any grass and how much condition they need.

The fresh spring grass that is coming through is full of sugar, there is less sugar in the grass at night but it's still there (tip if you have a laminitic prone horse that has to come in for some time, put them out at night). If you have a horse that can be easily fizzed up through sugar & starch you will be best putting them on a low starch feed. This can be a fibre based feed with mainly chaff, fibre cubes, or a complete fibre feed. Complete fibre feeds are good as they are typically aimed at laminitic horses meaning they will have low or hardly any sugar, but there are also condition fibre feeds out there such as Dengie Healthy tummy or Spillers conditioning fibre. These 2 I've heard have great results on ex racehorses & the Healthy tummy on ulcer prone horses. I've used both of these for Legacy but as a 'chaff' rather than a complete feed as with the size of her she would be going through the bags too fast.
Cubes are also lower in starch than mixes although they are created with the same high ingredients as the mixes. Cubes also cost less to make which means they cost less to buy off the shelf which is always a handy added bonus. When a feed has high starch the blood sugar levels are always changing which can cause the horse to become fizzy at times but when they are on a high fibre low starch feed the blood sugar levels are maintained, meaning you will have a happy horse.

Some horses can be really sensitive when it comes to feeding sugars & starch while others can have it all and still be laid back (these are rare to come across). 

Here are some ingredients in feeds which your horse may be/or react to:

- Molasses (Pure sugar)

- Barley

- Oats

- Beet (through either Sugar Beet or Speedi Beet) 

Allen & Pages Calm & Condition is good as it's molasses & Barley free but some horses can react to the barley replacer that they use. This is something to keep in mind if you ever use this product. If you are feeding a few of the above list and have a fizzy horse my best suggestion is to try and cut some of them out so you can pin point which one is causing any trouble for you.

Not all horses express their excess energy through being fizzy they can become bargy and boulchy to handle. This is where it's important to sort out their feed as they can learn this behavior if not corrected and if left before changing feed they may carry on like this after the feed has been changed. 

I had a scenario with Legacy the first winter I had her, she was in need of a little extra fat on her so she was on a good amount of conditioning mix and she was behaving as normal as she had since I'd had her and she'd been living out August- December. I then moved yards and be became stabled and had ad lib hay in the field & 2 haynets in the stable at night to get her filled up, along with her usual amount of feed but now in 2 meals instead of one ( can anyone see where this is going? haha) anyway the weight started to come on her and when I was riding her in the school she would like to blot off, and at this point she had not been re-mouthed and hated turned corners in any speed above walk. I just through she needed more schooling and it was the racer part of her that wanted to go in an open space in a straight line, I mean she would go from bolting off in a fast canter to dead stop in seconds she hated the corners so much. In the end it got to the day before new years eve last year and she took off, I tried to stop her and she was having none of it, she was up vertically in the air then down to buck and I think this repeated about 3 times before I flew off in the rear. This was my first fall off her and my first fall ever so atleast it was an eventful one. I had to go to A&E with a bad headache as I could still feel the rim of my hat on my head hours later, and I was completely fine and didn't even end up with a bruise. But I learnt the hard way about feeding too much starch  and feeding mixes to a sensitive horse. She's completely fine with sugars but I have to watch the starch. 

Have you had any experiences like this? Did you find this blog post handy? If you'd like more like this let me know.

Chart taken from the Allen & Page website. 

New Page! Legacy's Feed!

I don't know if anyone's notice but I've just added a new page in the header bar. It's called Legacy's feed, it's a page where I show and write about what she get's in her daily meals from hard feed to supplements. It's just a little breakdown as to why she's on that feed and if she's doing well on it so far. Who knows the page might be changing quite a bit of the time depending on if she's stays well on them or I decide to add anything extra in, keep an eye out. Hopefully sometime soon I will also be posting reviews on the supplements mentioned if I haven't done one already. 

You can either find the page on the header or click here to check it out.

Review : Chia De Garcia Seeds

A while ago I was asked to write a review about Chia De Garcia Seeds, having a ex racer whom I needed to put weight on and improve condition I thought this would be great. 

About the seeds:

Chia facilitates natural well-being and can supplement the horse’s daily feed. Chia seeds contain more omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in an ideal balance than any other plant product. Chia is rich in essential amino acids, minerals, and vitamins (A, B1, B2, B3, E) and has a high protein content. Chia easily gels and forms a protective film in the intestines that slows carbohydrate absorption, balances blood sugar levels and advances the healing of gastric ulcers. Chia is perfect for sensitive horses that suffer from equine metabolic syndrome, are overweight or experience intestinal problems. The absorbing properties of chia help ensure a perfect balance of fluid and electrolytes. Its high level of dietary fibre supports optimal intestinal functioning – Chia can thus be used to clear the bowels from sand. Chia lubricates the horse’s skin, which increases its resistance to allergies, alleviates itching and promotes the growth of strong hooves and shining, healthy horse hair. Chia is rich in antioxidants and magnesium, which helps to calm stress-sensitive horses and balances the mare’s estrous cycle. It is also ideal for pregnant mares and for horses that suffer from damaged joints or connective tissue. Chia is perfect for dogs too.

I found these to be very helpful with gaining condition on Legacy, with it helping to optimize her digestive tract. When I was going through the struggles of trying to find her a permanent home she didn't have the best poos, they weren't cow like but they weren't far off, this would also happen when she became stress or unsure. After finding her somewhere decent and giving her these seeds her poos have now become healthy and definitely more horse like. 
The main difference I seen in her apart from condition from using these seeds would be her coat, skin and hoof condition's. She now has a great shine in her coat, old scars have started to slightly heal and when I first got her she was able to wear just the two front shoes for a time and then the next time the farrier came she would have to have a set of all four, she is now able to just have a front set and the back feet look after themselves pretty much. Her mane and tail are also in much better condition, they aren't frizzing up as much and are growing healthily. 

A 2kg bag lasted just over a month varying portions. For Legacys size of 500kg she was given 50g of seeds at the beginning of adding the seeds into her feed for the first week and then I increased it up to 75g daily after this. It was split into 2 meals, her breakfast and evening tea. 

I found these great as they are so small they were easily eaten and she wouldn't leave them behind. 

Below are the before and after pictures of Legacy, as you can see she's got some added top line (although I know the saddle doesn't help) and her bum has become a lot more rounded on the top. 

These specific Chia seeds are available through Equinutritive and the prices start at £18.50 for a 1KG bag, and range up to £108.50 for a 9KG bag. The seeds are here, you can also contact the company through their Twitter or Facebook. 

*This product was supplied to be for free but all opinions within the review are my own from personal experiences.