Re: energy feeds

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

> karen johnson kjohnson@prairieweb.com
> I am looking for some advice on what to provide my "too mellow" KMSH
gelding. He really lags on trail rides, either alone or with others. Other
than that he is sound, in excellent health and the kind of horse I can put
anyone on. Just looking for a bit more energy and wondering if there is
something I can give him. He currently gets brome hay which tested about 20%
protein, and twice a day: Fastrak, Dynamite Plus vit/min, and enough
packhorse pellets (pint)to hold 1/2 cup oil.Thanks for any help. Please
email me privately as I am a "guest" and not a list member.


Well, you can add some grain to his ration for some additional soluble
carbohydrates, although that energy effect is generally short term and is
probably related to insulin resistance to some degree.  He's getting a fair
amount of protein, which has been theorized to cause a 'bottleneck' in
energy production, but that probably wouldn't be my first guess,
either---although you could certainly delete the packhorse pellets if they
too are more than about 10% protein and replace them with a grain mix.  The
lagging is more likely to be behaviorally-based (just not all excited to be
out there) or that's just his way of going.  They're not all fire-breathing
dragons (and a good thing, too.) :-)  I have a little rescue appendix QH
mare that supposedly was bred for sprint racing.  According to her breeders,
her jockey could never even get her above a lope out of the gate---I guess
she figured whatever needed to be done down there by the finish line in such
a dadgum hurry could get done by the rest of the crowd leaving her in the
dust, and she'd be along eventually.  Just not much of a racehorse
mentality. <g>

Susan G