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Post by mady on Feb 20, 2017 20:18:17 GMT
any recommendations as we are looking to break but don't want a loopy pony in the process Thanks
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Post by gillwales on Feb 21, 2017 4:46:42 GMT
plenty of really good quality hay / hayledge and lots of good clean water to start with. You have not said what type and size the pony is. Then whatever hard feed you choose introduce gradually and increase with work. There are lots of different mixes out there, personally I prefered to use straights as basically any mix or nut is a combination of the straight grains, however if you only have the one then maybe a mix is better. Not evrey feed works the same on every horse or pony; I recall one of mine going loopy when the yard I kept him on changed the brand of nut they fed.. he litally came out of his stable bronking. At 16.1 it was no laughing matter even when he landed in the water tank... that seemed to stop him in his tracks! Remember the golden rules, little and often and feed according to work. The other thing with breaking is to take things slowly, let the pony get used to working, remember he/ she will be using muscles not used before in the way, such as the back muscles. Fittness will increase condition by improving muscle tone.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Feb 21, 2017 7:36:59 GMT
On top of what gillwales says - it is most usually starch and sugar that can send them loopy, so think fibre and fat in your bucket feed rather than anything with cereals or molasses. Read the feed labels for ingredients, not the feed manufacturers blurb but the white labels sewn into the feed bags which have to be there by law. A "mix" or a "nut reefers only to the form in which the feed is presented, and doesn't reflect the ingredients, recipes for these are many and various, often now including exotic and useful fibre based ingredients. In general terms, mixes do tend to contain more molasses to bind the various bits together, unnecessary in a nut. And don't forget your chaff, if you feed it. Again, many contain molasses but the most conditioning is alfalfa/oil, although there are reports of the alfalfa fizzing them up.
If you have a good doing native pony the above is particularly important in trying to avoid insulin resistance later on, leading to laminitis. No animal is better off for being too fat, feeding in relation to amount of work is the key, you are trying to build muscle rather than fat.
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Post by mady on Feb 21, 2017 13:16:49 GMT
She's a cob but had a bad start so rather skinny esp for a cob
She's on AA oil and saracens fibre pencils but worried about upping it due to breaking she has ablib haylage too.
Maybe I should add some fast fibre?
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Post by gillwales on Feb 22, 2017 4:52:34 GMT
I cannot advise you on that as it is a product I have not used. However if very behind is she ready to break? Whatever feed routine you chose, take things very slowly, you will get there faster in the end. Do lots of long reining once you get to that part, both of you will be a lot fitter and it will proberly increase her apetite. Do include strapping in your routine as it will help with muscle tone and get her used to you being up close and personal. A little light, and I do mean light, banging on her back muscles with help those which are the ones that really have the shock, not on the spine though. Before you start increasing or changing her diet see how she goes, you might be surprize how she changes has you progress through the breaking, and unless you understand how she reacts to her present diet, you will not know what effects any changes have. Obviously if she drops off then you will need to find a feed stuff that helps. Re laminitis, look back over her blood lines, there are some that suffer more than others.
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Post by judyh on Feb 22, 2017 6:37:46 GMT
Fast fibre doesn't add weight, it does what it says and adds fibre to the diet. We found Blue Chip very good at putting on weight, it's expensive but good. Also add micronised linseed to the feed, I'm sure someone on here can tell you where to get it, I can't remember but bought it online. Our 2 now are good doers so I don't get it at present.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Feb 22, 2017 8:36:25 GMT
I didn't mention a balancer but should have done - always the first thing in the bucket here if I'm feeding any. But they aren't products designed to put on weight, rather to provide all essential micronutrients including quality protein, which is necessary for muscle building. I've never fed Fast Fibre either, which is why I didn't comment again at that stage. What about talking to a few of the feed company nutritionists for suggestions? They will of course only go through their own ranges, but you should be able to distill their advice into a useful diet. Best to go for one company's products if you are using compound feeds, ie nuts or mixes, as they are then formulated to work together in harmony.
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Post by comanchediva on Feb 22, 2017 10:51:45 GMT
If I was looking to add condition I would feed Calm and Condition rather than Fast Fibre. The latter is suitable for ponies with or at risk of laminitis.
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Post by kateanne0 on Feb 23, 2017 9:32:27 GMT
Try a good balancer and maybe Solution Mash it has linseed init and we've had good results when breaking. Still had calm ponies/horses but getting a bit more weight on slowly.
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