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Post by traffik on Feb 24, 2010 14:08:57 GMT
pink powder and barley rings soaked, are great along with walking out for miles i think its called power walking for humans great to tone up!!
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Post by ckc on Feb 24, 2010 15:02:39 GMT
Put his feed in an over the stable door bucket it makes them arch neck to eat -assuming correct height for him!
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Post by marypom on Feb 24, 2010 20:31:00 GMT
soak ya top line cubes. or they just go straight through... an pink powder in ya feed
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Post by loulou33 on Feb 24, 2010 21:58:24 GMT
Barley rings, soft and soak, then work him 3 times aweek on a pessoa, wonderful item a total must and great for youngsters.
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Post by shortfatanhairy on Feb 25, 2010 9:34:34 GMT
WORK A 2 YEAR OLD 3 TIMES A WEEK ON A PESSOA? ??
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Post by dsmum on Feb 25, 2010 12:59:43 GMT
whats pink powder?
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Post by sageandonion on Feb 25, 2010 18:15:03 GMT
NAF pink powder, sort of a feed balancer with nutrients and good bacteria. Apparently sorts out tummy problems and helps to absorb all the goodness in the food.
I would be really careful about all that high calorific feeding which will give you plenty of fat and all sorts of disorders. There are so many threads on here about fat animals in the show ring, laminitis, etc. It is distressing enough when our animals are poorly without having the guilt that we might have caused it by overfeeding a youngster.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Feb 26, 2010 18:41:53 GMT
Having got one insulin resistant pony - who came to me as a known laminitic - I'm now fanatical about doing all I can to avoid any others getting it in the future - so no starch or sugar fed here, ie nothing with cereal or molasses in it. No cubes or mixes, sugar beet must be unmolassed, but a diet of balancer, fibre feeds and fat/oil if more calories are needed. So I'm with sageandonion!
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Post by network on Feb 26, 2010 20:17:16 GMT
WORK A 2 YEAR OLD 3 TIMES A WEEK ON A PESSOA? ?? I assume you are joking
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Post by shortfatanhairy on Feb 26, 2010 21:28:16 GMT
I was questioning lou lous post, surely no one would work a 2 yr old so hard ??
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Post by brt on Feb 26, 2010 21:40:37 GMT
Having got one insulin resistant pony - who came to me as a known laminitic - I'm now fanatical about doing all I can to avoid any others getting it in the future - so no starch or sugar fed here, ie nothing with cereal or molasses in it. No cubes or mixes, sugar beet must be unmolassed, but a diet of balancer, fibre feeds and fat/oil if more calories are needed. So I'm with sageandonion! So to hijack this post but can you tell me the symptoms of an insulin resistant pony?
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Post by eatmyshorts on Feb 27, 2010 0:53:18 GMT
Echo the shock re working a 2y-o 3 times a week in a pessoa! Sound advice from S&O (have a karma) - i don't agree with overloading youngsters just for the showring , & personally i wouldn't worry too much about topline on a baby. Their longterm health & wellbeing is surely more important than early showring success.
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sarahp
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Post by sarahp on Feb 27, 2010 8:53:16 GMT
IR is similar to diabetes in humans in that it is a problem in metabolising sugar and starch. The main actual symptom seen is recurrent laminitis. Feeding sugar and starch predisposes the animal to developing the condition, and having them too fat doesn't help either.
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fortty
Junior Member
Posts: 102
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Post by fortty on Feb 27, 2010 9:03:38 GMT
road walking is fab for youngsters, but a bit of spring grass should do the trick! .....nothing better that Dr.Green!!
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Post by sageandonion on Feb 27, 2010 12:22:11 GMT
and spring grass is absolutely loaded with sugar! a number of us have losts animals compliments of Dr Green. sarahp has just explained the dangers of feeding too much sugar to youngsters. Have your seen the pics on sarahp's ponies? you would be going some to stand above hers in the ring. I would therefore take notice of her suggestions.
We all of us have to be careful of old fashioned ideas and feeding methods. Yes some of the old fashioned stuff is great (and believe me I am old!). But times have changed and so has grass and the way we keep our animals, we are hopefully more informed.
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Post by qbc on Feb 27, 2010 13:11:24 GMT
If you want him to have a healthy long life, let him grow naturally, do not over feed and be very careful to avoid strain on the joints. Feed a good vit supplement, do not pile on the weight and do not work on the lunge or with any aids.
I did this with mine and accepted that compared to the worked and produced youngsters and the judge, he didn't always win. However, when you got a judge who liked a youngster to look like one, ie not overweight and obviously not worked, he did very well.
I have no plans to sell, he is with me for life so no need to hurry. He is now rising 6 and really filling out and getting plenty of muscle and topline.
I did a little long reining at two and also led him out off the old horse so he had some fitness and muscle and what I want is my little horse to be fit and healthy into his late 20s.
At 3 I did back him as he is a sturdy sort, but we didn't canter or do that much until 3 1/2. At 3 1/2 I started with a pessola on very low and loose and started with 5 minutes twice a week and carefully over 6 months built up to 20 minutes twice a week. I still never use the top strapped in position, just low and long. I also at that age fed him Equilbra 500 which really helped put on muscle but not fat.
Not everyone has the time I have to let them grow so slowly if they want to produce and sell on, but piling them with hard feed and exercise as a two or three year old is just asking for problems and a shorter working life long term.
Judges need to start putting babies that are being left to grow slowly and have a good chance at a long healthy life at the top of the line to stop this practice of having two year olds that look like six year olds stopped. There are yearlings out there that have more muscle and fat on them than mine did as a three year old which is so sad.
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halfpass
Happy to help....a lot
Return of the Dame
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Post by halfpass on Feb 27, 2010 13:46:34 GMT
Again sorry to high-jack this thread but like sarahp no sugars or starches here and I'm well known for banging on about boiling barley and linseed, but I'm in a tad of a dilemma, I have a yearling who is growing like mad, even though he is carrying some condition he is not carry much, I have been given a bag of Calm and Condition, could anyone give me any feed back.
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sarahp
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Post by sarahp on Feb 27, 2010 17:55:02 GMT
I'd suggest you talk to some of the nutritionists at the feed companies, Top Spec always good but sure others are too. Particularly if a big one, they need care if growing quickly as I'm sure you know.
One more small point about spring grass - the modern productive ryegrass species have far more fructans (a plant storage starch and a bad thing for laminitics) in them than old traditional varieties, my grass is managed to discourage them.
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Post by saz88 on Feb 27, 2010 18:30:17 GMT
Are you hoping your youngster will go on under saddle, if so dont rush him, take him out for experience, there are judges out there who appriciate genuine youngsters- it will all come together in the end.
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Post by Jessica on Feb 27, 2010 18:33:03 GMT
echo long reining
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sarahp
Happy to help
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Post by sarahp on Feb 27, 2010 18:49:14 GMT
Thank you for your kind words S&O. And qbc is talking lots of sense - I don't show Ds in hand as youngsters any more now, except the odd outing purely for experience when I know we will come last - because I'm not prepared to get them as fat as Ds seem to be shown now, or shoe them, or gee them right up either if they are going to be riddens. Sec A showing is a bit different.
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Post by horseyll81 on Mar 8, 2010 12:13:53 GMT
I agree with the majority I'm afraid...don't overfeed just to look good in a handful of shows this year. Your horses welfare is so much more important. I took my yearling colt (now 2) out at the end of last summer as I wanted him to travel alone and gain some experience of the show ring. After stopping on the motorway as he'd fallen over in the trailer,we finally got to the showground and our class was in the ring. Five other youngsters(3 of them 3 year olds) were walking round and looked amazing so I turned to my partner and said lets just go home.......he said no, don't. We're here now, I'll go and speak to the judge. A quick run to the ring and a thumbs up across the showground prompted me to get my boy out. He looked awful, had taken hair of his face from the fall, had got completely tucked up from the travelling alone, but I thought to myself, at least he's getting the experience. I ran with him down to the ring, hiding my face under my hat, ashamed of leading this gangly, skinny yearling colt in to the ring. I was just in time to trot up for the judge. My colt went straight in, held his head high and trotted out beautifully. I was amazed to be pulled in 2nd against those amazing looking 3 yr olds (most overweight!!) The judge commented on what a wonderful nature my boy had and what super limbs and movement he has, which is why she put us where she did. A true judge will look at the overall picture of a horse, especially in the youngstock classes, so please don't overfeed your horse just to make a few judges happy this year, it won't be worth it. :-)
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Post by princessstacie22 on Mar 9, 2010 21:48:30 GMT
Again sorry to high-jack this thread but like sarahp no sugars or starches here and I'm well known for banging on about boiling barley and linseed, but I'm in a tad of a dilemma, I have a yearling who is growing like mad, even though he is carrying some condition he is not carry much, I have been given a bag of Calm and Condition, could anyone give me any feed back. what breed HP??? Calm and condition is meant to be great, and also the fast fibre stuff for weight gain. My WB mare has looked poor all winter she has only just turned two. I have just double dosed her on wormer and over night she has picked up straight away. She was probably only a couple of weeks over due but what a difference it has made!!! She is on D&H mare and youngstock mix, fibre cubes and hi fi original. My sec c as a youngster was on the mare and youngstock mix with alfa a and speedy beet and looked fab!!! I know with the wb's you have to be carefull because too much protein and you will make them outgrow the growth plates and they will get deformed joints ect.
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Post by fox111 on Mar 10, 2010 11:52:59 GMT
top spec is fab in my mind and i have had this discussion many times!! worrying about people talking at shows because my yearlings looked like yearlings!! now i dont worry let them talk!
i feed topspec and soaked barley rings small feeds 3 times a day and made my own haybars not a quick fix but has worked strapping also worked but went when i stopped for a week so not a long term fix for my ponies..... not too sure about lots of road work for a 2 yr old i walk mine to the field about half a mile any more i would worry about splints.
but all ponies are different.
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Post by princessstacie22 on Mar 13, 2010 21:21:04 GMT
Put his feed in an over the stable door bucket it makes them arch neck to eat -assuming correct height for him! I always thought that this built muscle in the wrong areas and actually makes it difficult for them to eat etc. I always feed from the floor, it the natural way to do it. Topline with come with age and correct work. He is still a baby, you'll get there in the end but imho i would never rush it.
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Post by sophieandcallum on Mar 14, 2010 16:42:03 GMT
I wouldn't be trying to build topline on a 2yr old at all, and certainly no working in a pessoa Leave him to mature naturally, if he doesn't do so well in the ring who cares you'll have a healthier horse when he is mature with no problems in the joints etc A good judge will be able to judge a good 2 yr old no matter the 'condition' Let your youngster be a youngster, as others have said take him for the experience
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