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Post by hollyberry86 on Jan 22, 2012 18:02:11 GMT
Hello,
I'm just wondering if anyone else has encountered this before. About 3 months ago I started feeding top spec lite balancer and top chop lite. He has one a half cups of balancer and a small scoop of chop per day. He is out in the day and in at night.
He used to be a very calm pony and before this was just fed a handful of pony nuts in the morning (mainly to stop him banging the door when others were being fed) but was lacking a bit in coat condition so topspec advised me to feed the above as he is a very good do-er.
He's been in work on and off over the past 3 months due to a number of things but the past two weeks whenever I've lunged him he's been very fizzy and spooky. Today after 10 minutes I got him walking calmly but then another horse came in the school and wound him up again and it was back to acrobatics. To handle he is fine but very jumpy and runs to the back of the stable if he hears a bang outside.
He's never been like this before and apart from his food absolutely nothing has changed in over 2 years in his management. I've had him out of work for 6 months before and got on him and he's been fine but seeing him on the lunge I don't dare get back on.
Should I wean him off the food and try something else or can anyone think of anything else it could be.
n.b. his behaviour has got steadily worse as he's been on it for longer but I just put it down to him being a bit fresh to start with.
Any advice would be great
Thanks
Holly
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lfh1
Junior Member
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Post by lfh1 on Jan 22, 2012 18:12:51 GMT
Hiya!
I started feeding this Danny (5yrs -15h cob) before Christmas. He has x2 cups a day and is amazing on it. I must say he has perked up and full of life, but I think its because he was not on anything like this before I took him over 9weeks ago.
may be your pony is feeling well? I know Danny is of this but as my first time using this feed. I have always used Blue Chip before.
Other people may be able to help more. But I would be interesting in finding out the answer to your question also lol x
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Post by icarus on Jan 23, 2012 7:01:38 GMT
I feed Top spec Cool balancer, its new to their range, supposed to be for fizzy horses.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Jan 23, 2012 7:20:05 GMT
Do talk to TS again, their helpline is very good, and explain your problem. It could also be as lfh1 says because he feels really good now if his diet was lacking some essential nutrient before - it sounds from what you say about his coat that this could be the case.
You say nothing has changed but has a batch of hay changed, for example, hay is not all the same! Or he gets less turnout? Balancers in general shouldn't cause this sort of reaction, if TS can say nothing helpful maybe something else is going on and you should ask your vet to check him over.
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Post by sageandonion on Jan 23, 2012 9:46:30 GMT
I feed Top Spec Lite, sadly it doesn't fizz mine up, wish it would.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2012 11:23:34 GMT
I have fed most of the topsec range at some point, never noticed a differenc - fizzy wise! but did notice a difference on baileys balancer! I would speak to the ts team again and explain.
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Tywood
Full Member
"Great ponies are never forgotten, just locked away in our hearts"
Posts: 482
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Post by Tywood on Jan 23, 2012 12:00:35 GMT
I have fed most of the topsec range at some point, never noticed a differenc - fizzy wise! but did notice a difference on baileys balancer! I would speak to the ts team again and explain. Did you mean the Baileys balancer made your ponies 'fizzy'? if so which one, I'v just started mine on 'Low Cal' and could do without a 'hot head'!
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Post by hollyberry86 on Jan 23, 2012 12:54:29 GMT
I've just spoken to Topspec. They think it's unlikely that it is the feed but told me to cut out the balancer for 2 weeks and see if his behaviour changes. I've had a search on the internet and some people have had similar reactions with their horses.
In a way I hope it is the balancer as otherwise not sure what it could be and his behaviour on the lunge and under saddle lately are putting me off riding him which is really sad as he has always been such a sweet pony to ride.
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Post by sageandonion on Jan 23, 2012 21:45:14 GMT
Holly, take him off the balancer as topspec suggested, give it two weeks and if he is the same (and I think he will be), come back to us. Take it one step at a time and don't worry.
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Post by ilovebuckroox on Jan 23, 2012 21:52:26 GMT
Yes it turned my lad 'fizzy'. He was on Baileys Lo-cal balancer beforehand, and had heard good reviews about the TS one so tried it but it turned him hot-headed. Did nothing to the other one however(wish it did though).
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Post by GinaGeo on Jan 23, 2012 21:56:17 GMT
The Spillers Lite Balancer sent my mum's horse fizzy in Summer, but my other two, are fine on it and it does them marvelously. I've re-introduced it to him this winter, with little else, and he's not gone fizzy and is looking very well on it. My horse did "perk" up a bit on it at first, but this wasn't unwelcome and it didn't come out as fizz, but he was just far more enthusiastic about his work, and concentrated better, I think he was probably lacking something before...
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Post by watchbank on Jan 26, 2012 15:42:59 GMT
sometimes ive found that when they arent getting fed anything, or minimul they arent as full of energy as they are when fed. i suppose you could see it like when we dont eat that much through a week, then start eating high calorie food we all feel perkier! hes just feeling happy! my mare wasnt on any feed when we got her, calm as a cucumber until i started feeding allen and pages weight gain and woosh shes full of energy!
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Post by rubydoo on Jan 31, 2012 19:59:28 GMT
is it not just the time of year ? all mine are being idiots at the moment lol , mine have spillers lite balancer x
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Post by hollyberry86 on Feb 1, 2012 12:43:11 GMT
Update: I lunged him at the weekend and he was much much calmer. He wasn't spooking at everything (despite it being very windy) and seemed just about back to his normal self. I don't want to assume too early that it was the balancer that was causing this (he may of been having a good weekend and I'm reading too much in to it ) so I'll reserve judgement for now and see how he is at the weekend. (he's on full livery during the week due to my work so I only see him at weekends.) By then he will have been without the balancer for nearly 2 weeks. I'll assess the situation then and give Topspec another ring to seek further advice. RE: Jamie, It's not the time of year that's affecting him. I've had him 3 years now, broke him in myself and he's always been as good as gold all year round. I'll let you know how he is at the weekend. Thanks for all your posts
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2012 13:18:37 GMT
I have fed most of the topsec range at some point, never noticed a differenc - fizzy wise! but did notice a difference on baileys balancer! I would speak to the ts team again and explain. Did you mean the Baileys balancer made your ponies 'fizzy'? if so which one, I'v just started mine on 'Low Cal' and could do without a 'hot head'! No, it was the baileys balancer that made my Dartmoor stallion a nightmare!!! He is back on topspec now.
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Post by fruity on Feb 1, 2012 14:29:12 GMT
Is that the performance balancer? - I think I might be having the same experience
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Post by hollyberry86 on Feb 1, 2012 15:33:24 GMT
No he's just on the lite balancer (he only has to look at food to gain weight...)
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seve
Junior Member
Posts: 125
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Post by seve on Feb 25, 2012 21:27:22 GMT
Holly can we please have an update of how your pony is now it's off the balancer for 2 wks? I am interested as my mare is more spooky and i am thinking it might be the balancer? I might try taking her off it and see what happens?
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Post by lisadundee on Feb 25, 2012 21:38:22 GMT
I put digga on Top Spec Lite... Never again lol! He was very sharp and silly, he's now on calm and condition
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2012 22:10:49 GMT
I'm having a similar problem.... I've just put my lad on Top Spec Super Conditioning Flakes and has become quite spooky and not himself. He is a 15.1, 7yo, hackney x Irish sports horse, on the lean side therefore the reason why he's on it. He has been on TS a week(1scoop for brekky, just over 1 for tea)...I'm wondering if the TS is making him like this? The time of year? Him just acting like a baby as he's baby minded? Or what... Does anyone have any idea's?
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Feb 26, 2012 9:53:19 GMT
Have you tried talking to Top Spec about this any of you? Or whichever company makes the balancer you don't get on with. The flakes are cereal enm, so they could well hot him up, have you tried the equivalent calm conditioning cubes which are grain-free instead? And I hope you have him on one of their balancers too, their feeds are not fully supplemented as they are designed to be fed with a balancer, enabling you to adjust the calorie level without affecting the micronutrients.
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Post by hollyberry86 on Feb 26, 2012 19:44:49 GMT
Hello everyone, Sorry for the long delay in an update (I've been without internet ) In the first two weeks after removing the balancer I saw an improvement in his behaviour (he was less spooky and "acrobatic" in the school...) But to be sure I have kept him off the balancer ever since and he is now completely back to normal and I've been able to ride him without feeling like he was about to spook sideways every couple of strides. I kept him off it for this long as I wanted to make absolutely sure it wasn't a fluke and he was just having a few "good" days. I'm going to give Top Spec a ring tomorrow to ask their advice and see if they can recommend an alternative. At the moment he isn't having any feed apart from half a scoop of top chop lite (as recommended by topspec). It does seem odd that a lite balancer could cause this and most horses and ponies seem to be fine on it but it did make a big difference to my pony. I hope this helps!
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Post by hs on Feb 26, 2012 21:27:03 GMT
I had a similar experience with my pony but not on top spec but a different balancer. It was my own fault though as I misunderstood the concept of the balancer. Some of the lite or diet type balancers for good doers presume that the good doer is on a very restricted diet with little grass and poor quality or soaked hay. A good doer on decent grazing with good quality hay may be getting more vitamins than the lite balancer is designed to balance and then you get a problem.
I found that cider vinger is very good for a shiny coat.
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Post by hollyberry86 on Feb 28, 2012 17:18:23 GMT
I spoke to Topspec today. They advised me to switch him to their vitamin and mineral supplement rather than the balancer and to feed it at half rations. But as I've got a whole bag of the top spec lite balancer in my feed bin they advised to try feeding him that on half rations to use the rest of the bag and then to switch to the vit and min supplement. Will keep you updated if this works for him
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Post by tillergirl on Mar 3, 2012 9:24:22 GMT
We all try and do our best for our horses and must be sure that each individual has the right kind of diet and feed.
I fed two of my PBA small hacks Top Spec Conditioning Cubes, - quite honestly they looked fantastic -- shiny coats and well topped
However they both became very spooky and really sharp to ride and handle so had to knock them off it and they have come back down to earth
Sure its because it contains a lot of vitamins and stuff, but as my horses are aged 4yrs and 10yrs, now just feeding them a simple straight forward high fibre nuts and add vitamins and oil as necessary they are both fine now and working well
Back to basic Spillers feeds, -- have 3 dfferent horses aged 4yrs, 10yrs and 22yrs and their helpline sent me a diet sheet for each individual horse, -- they are extremely helpful and lets face it Spillers have been going for years and know their stuff
Hope this helps. - works for mine.
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sarahp
Happy to help
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Post by sarahp on Mar 3, 2012 10:37:41 GMT
Three cheers for hollyberry for asking and taking expert advice!
Tillergirl - I think you'll find that the TS Cubes aren't full of vits etc because they are designed to be fed with a balancer. Vits wouldn't make them sharp anyway. What else were you feeding with them? Did you take advice from TS as you did from Spillers? Without having done so you are not justified in comparing the two like that.
I'm glad you have taken proper advice and are happy with the diet recommended, I'm always suggesting that people do that, and there are various good companies out there.
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Post by jessandoscar on Mar 4, 2012 8:48:18 GMT
I had the same experience with my d, he just has to look at feed and he gets fizzy! He used to be on outshine, it piled the weight on and he looked fabulous but far too much energy, so cut all feed out and he was fine (he's naturally very sharp but was no worse than usual) but he lost a lot of condition (it was summer, no grass + the hay was bad) so put him on the balancer and he went mad, just had so much energy.. He even jumped out of his stable when I tried to tack him up and riding was errr... Interesting. I understand this is an extreme reaction.. And I'm not sure what part of any feeds sends him like this.. But on both occasions I cut out the feed and he returne to 'normal' or as normal as oscar can get!!
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sarahp
Happy to help
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Post by sarahp on Mar 4, 2012 9:42:36 GMT
Perhaps try adding things one by one and testing his reaction? And I'm talking individual ingredients wherever possible, not compound feeds. It could have been something in the carrier for the balancer, for example, so you could try a powdered vit/min supplement instead. They do need fibre, so if no grass and bad hay what about other fibre feeds like haylage, grass nuts, unmolassed soaked sugarbeet or alfalfa instead - all as single feeds, no molasses coating or anything like that?
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Post by jessandoscar on Mar 4, 2012 23:40:45 GMT
At the momwnt he has unlimited haylage, and two feeds a day of chaff and baileys no.4, he's in lovely condition considering the time of year but still have to be so careful on what to feed him without too much fizz. How long would I notice a change in behaviour due to feed (ie. How fast would it get in his system) as sometimes I think it may be a bit of coincidence. I fed him a mug full of balancer in his breakfast the one in his tea and the next 3 days he was cantering around the stable, galloping off down the concrete yard as I was getting on him, jumping out of the arena over a 5ft fence with extra 3ft drop onto concrete the other side!!(with me on board argh) you get the idea.... BUT the weather had got a little cooler and didn't know which of the two had set him off (feed or chilliness)?! He's fine on what he's on at the moment but would be useful to know how soon I'd notice a difference in behaviour in the future x
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sarahp
Happy to help
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Post by sarahp on Mar 5, 2012 4:16:26 GMT
To be honest I don't know how long it would take to get into his system, sorry. Must admit he does sound hair raising at times!
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