Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Sluggish maren (long reply)

This is one of those situations where you have to look at several different
issues.

First--Is she just naturally a calm mare?  Or does she exhibit more pep when
she's turned out in a pasture?

Sometimes, that's just the best a horse is going to do--they don't feel the
need to be in a hurry, and no amount of fancy supplements and expensive
grain rations and dairy quality alfalfa will change a thing.

If it's a  horse that just acts that way under saddle, though, then there
might be some issues that need to be resolved with a trainer if she isn't
having any luck.

Then of course there's the climate issue--sometimes horses aren't any
happier about going out in uncomfortable weather than we are.

If it IS nutrition, then that is fixable...but before you start looking to
some of these fancy supplements that promise the moon for a small fortune,
you need to look at the base ration.  I notice that you gave her ration in
this fashion:

"She feeds her 1/3 alfalfa and 2/3 barley oat hay.  Select II vitamins and a
supplement of oats (3 scoops)."

As a nutritionist, this doesn't tell me a whole lot about that ration, other
than she's getting a mix of grass and legume hay, and some vitamins and
oats.  How much of each?  Scoops measure by volume,  not weight, but rations
are balanced by weight. A scoop of corn weighs considerably more than an
equivalent volume of oats, for example.  A flake of alfalfa from bale A
doesn't necessarily weigh the same as a flake from bale B, and so on.
Scoops are convenient, but IMO a scale is a required element in a feed room.

It's quite possible that the mare is getting adequate nutrients for
maintenance, and simply isn't getting adequate energy for work (exercise).
The only way to tell what that particular ration is providing is to weigh
the ingredients then calculate the actual amounts of energy, protein, fat,
vitamins, and minerals this ration is providing.  I'm a big advocate of
forage testing--it's worth the effort and small cost to drill the hay bales
(with a hay probe) and send the samples to a local forage lab or the state
ag lab for nutrient analysis.  Besides, it can actually save you money in
the long run if you balance your grain mix to make up for nutrient
deficiencies inherent in the forages.  My recommendation is for your friend
to ask her vet if he/she knows a qualified horse nutritionist in the area,
or she can call her county extension agent for assistance in evaluating her
ration.  If the county agent doesn't have experience with horses, he or she
should refer you to the state horse specialist.  Where are you located?  I
might know someone that can give your friend a hand with this.

Lisa (who's convinced that horses are infinitely smarter than sheep, but
sure that it hurts less when a sheep steps on your foot than when a horse
does)




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=