> Robbi Pruitt wrote:
> > Bonnie - I have tied up endurance horses with several molasses products
> > and no longer feed anything sweet to my endurance horses.
>
> Interesting! I presently feed sweet feed (10%) and wonder if anyone
> else has linked sweet stuff to tying up.
> Robbi - what sort of grain mixture do you feed, how much, etc.?
I have been feeding sweet feed for years, before, during, and after
competition. I have never had a horse tie up.
Sweet feed is the staple of my concentrat supplementation program, and I
add whatever I consider to be the appropriate amounts of rolled corn (to
increase sugar content), crimped oats (to reduce sugar content), or
crimped barley (to increase carbohydrates). But I start with plain, old
4-way grain.
I have competed in endurance, eventing, dressage, show jumping,
steeplechasing, and polo (although I have not done polo on my own
horses...yet...). In none of these disciplines have I had a problem with
tying up. But then, maybe I am not feeding that much of it. And I use
it for my pregnant mares. The only place where I wouldn't recommend it
is horses that have had experience with laminitis, because of the high
sugar content (I would avoid corn in such a situation as well).
I do feed it the night before, the morning before, the day of, and the
morning after a 50/100/250 mile endurance ride as well. I'll add
electrolytes. I have a fanny pack in which I will carry 5lbs (starting
out) of the stuff, and every time I get off to walk (in front of the
horse) I unzip the fanny pack (zipper on the top) and let him eat out of
it as we are walking along.
I started doing this before I heard that it was something you weren't
supposed to do (Tom, may know more about this, but my experience is that
race horses are fed HUGE quantities of sweet feed), and have never
changed my practice as it has always worked for me (which doesn't mean
that it is right).
kat
Orange County, Calif.