[RC] Sue and Heidi how much beet pulp the day of the ride? - gwcarman
Heidi, your post is close to what I'm
experiencing right now. My 11 yo gelding has 4 rides (CTR/LD) on
him. The day of the ride he has no interest in hay. He will graze if
grass is available and will eat his beet pulp mashes well. My question to
you and Sue G. is how much of the wet mashes can I feed him to compensate for
the lack of hay? FYI - he does get beet pulp with every feeding, twice a
day at home.
When we arrive at the ride he picks and
usually will eat hay during the night before. But the day of the ride he
just looses interest in hay completely. I've tried bribing him with
alfalfa and friend's hay but after one or two bites he looses interest. I
know it's his way of handling the stress...he keeps it all internal...appearing
quiet and aloof. During conditioning rides he drinks at every creek and
pees almost in every field just to get his treat of a mouthful or two of
grass. Yet, the day of the ride he doesn't drink well and does not
pee until he can't hold it anymore. I know I need to just keep
getting him out so that he becomes comfortable at the rides. I'm more
concerned about the lack of fiber in him the day of the ride.
