[SeattleSlew_Grandson]

i have a 7yr old tb... and he is SOOOO lazy. he is never hyper for anything. I love those 'firecracker' horses who are so hard to stop and love to run as fast as they can forver. He is the exact oppisite. I know he can run real fast, i just can't get him to do it when i want him to. What can i do to get him 'hyped' up and not so lazy???

<small>[ November 16, 2003, 08:18 PM: Message edited by: Administrator ]</small>

[kotyskillerkolors]

Hi,

WHat kind of feed do you use, maybe he isnt getting enough of something. Otherwise, you might just have a lazy horse!! Maybe we could mix my Tb and yours together, mine never stops!

When i got misty I changed my Feed to soemthing that had a less energy content and more fat. Maybe you could do the opposite.

I hope he gets peppy!

Liz

[SeattleSlew_Grandson]

he gets 3 coffee cans of sweet feed

[Blistering Winds]

Want to add energy? Feed a higher fat diet. Fat can be converted into energy pretty easy. But move your horse to the higher fat over 4 - 6 weeks due to the bile production and not having a gallbladder.

[Dawn]

Shouldn't it be higher protien instead of higher fat?

[titan_buck]

You both are correct...but the truth is that sweet feed is like feeding them candy bars.

switch to whole grain feed like whole oats, whole corn or a mix of the two. Don't give sweet feed or calf mana.

You'd feel crummy too if you ate candy all day.

You only need probably half to 3/4 coffee can of whole corn per feed.

Start out gradually, all feed changes need to be gradual. I'm sure you already know that.

<small>[ November 16, 2003, 07:14 PM: Message edited by: titan_buck ]</small>

[PiratePrincess]

But remember not to get him too hyper, some hyper horses can be dangerous and that isn't what you want.

[QHlover]

GOOD GOD!! Are u feeding him the small coffee cans are the big ones. If ur feeding him the big ones...no wonder he's lazy. He can't move.

All horses are lazy...even the hot tempered ones. Why do u want a horse that u can't stop?!? That's crazy. U obviously have a death wish.

I like a horse that I don't have to keep after to keep going and one that I don't have to hold back and fight all the time. I like one right in the middle.

[Blistering Winds]

Ok, why would you feed straight oats or even corn (which if added in that much quantity to a hrose not use to it, you take a chance foundering a horse)? You throw their calcium level way off and you need to spend tons of money on supplements.

Protein does not "technically" get used for energy. Protein is a building block for amino acids, builds muscles, and hormones. But energy is always "Glycogin". Protein cannot be turned into glycogin. Common myth in both the human and animal world. Starches and other sugars can be turned into glycogen because they already are glycogen.

Any excess protein that dose not get used, gets pee'd out. Notice the high ammonia smell when your horse pee's. That is the excess Nitrogen from the proteins that you are feeding your horse.

Acutal energy is from 3 sources.... Carbohydrates (watch this as you can founder horses if done wrong), Nitrogen Free extracts (soluble sugars also starches), and Crude fiber that gets turned into Volatile fatty acids in the hind gut (your roughages)

Non-structural include corn, wheat, barley, and oats.....the safest to feed as far as laminitis is concern is Oats.

If you feed any "straight grain" and not a bag of "balanced diets", you need to supplement all the other nutrients to get them to balance so your horse stays healthy. Calcium is the BIGGEST concern with these because the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio is so upside down, the phosphorus binds to the calcium, making it unabsorbable. Then, the horse pulls calcium from their own bones, making them eventually brittle. Calcium to Phosphorus should stay above 2:1. All balanced diets have at least this ratio in their feeds.

Now, there are balanced diets that are not "sweet feed". THere is a pelleted one that basically takes all the stuff, and crams it into the little pellets. Yes there is a little bit of molasses, but not much. All molasses is is more Sugar. Which you would rather have than a starch in the mixing since sugars don't upset the hindgut "bugs" and cause laminitis.

As far as wanting "energy", without worrying about laminitis, add veggie oil to their diet. It is strictly fat, which does not ferment in the hindgut and does not cause laminitis issues. But, if you add fat, must do it slowely over 4-6 weeks due to the horse not having a gallbladder to store any bile, so most of the fat will flush out the hindgut if you douse him with it without taking the time of doing capfulls and adding more every other day for 4-6 weeks.

Also, keep the fat down below 20% of the diet. Then you start running into some serious non-digestion issues. (make sure you look at your feeds fat intake as well)

You can also move to a "performance" horse feed, which has the fat already in it. just take the same time to switch the horse over.

Now, if it isn't a feed issue, and your horse is truely lazy, that just takes more and more work and finding something THEY enjoy doing with you. Try not burning them out on whatever you have been doing too. Horses work well with variety of things.

Ok...I' have taxed my brain and probably ya'lls/

[Dawn]

Protein can be changed to glycogen. Only a very, very small portion of the protein you eat is reserved for muscle use. It provides 4 calories per gram same as carbs.