How can i hype up spirit?!

[nic]

Hello,
I am a confident rider and i love a challenge, i hate having a horse that never has any enthusiasm to move on and canter etc like i want to, and unfortunatly at the mo, spirit is v v v v laid back and mayb too good and well behaved for me, and def lazy sometimes.
Basically, when he is in a hyper kind of mood we get on brill, otherwise i feel like he really needs to get some energy!
Has anyone got any tips or any ideas of what i could feed him to spice him up a bit and make him more enthusiastic than just wanting to plod everywhere?

[jay]

Jay's been VERY lethargic for the past few weeks. He's a very laid back chap anyway but normally has that bit of oomph when asked, but not recently! For the past week he's been on Spillers Instant Responce competition mix (the one for laid back cometition horses) with some hifi and a splash of soya oil. I built it up very slowly, because he doesn't really need vast quantities of feed at the moment, but we had a show yesterday so I wanted to be able to get something out of him! He was great yesterday morning, with plenty of energy for his working hunter class. He did chill down in the afternoon but it was VERY hot so it was probably just the heat.

I was a bit worried the competition mix might give him a bit too much energy but I've been pleased with the results. The soya oil has really increased the shine on his coat too, even after just a week.

I hope you find something that works for him

[harleydales]

Get your soya oil from Tesco - cheaper than D&H!!
D&H Staypower Muesli is another good feed for oomph without fizz

[shaklana]

Increased fittness and keeping them slim is the answer. If he's not thin, he doesn't need feeding for more "energy", if you feed more and he increases in weight the problem will get worse. Overfeeding starches so some overflow into the hind gut causes "sillyness" but is this really what you're looking for? A huge glucose hit might also cause extra activity for a short while, but this might be at a time you don't want a bouncing pony e.g. when you're saddling or loading and the wizzy effect can waer off quite quickly.
Many horses are lethargic in this heat, particularly those who've enjoyed the spring grass a little too much or have slight foot pain from the constantly rock-hard ground. More controlled exercise is almost always the answer to improving a sluggish ride. Who can run up the mountain easiest - the fit, scrawny athlete or the person who eats 6 Kendal Mint Cakes first !?!

[nic]

thanks everyone! well he is def fit, he is ridden 5 times a week, has nothing more than grass which is restricted, so thats def not the problem.
I will try what you said Jay's owner, thanks for that, Its good to hear that Jay is just as lazy as spirit! I know the hea is not helping but the thing is he has always not been as go go go as id like, i think im a arab style person, naturally loopy ones r my cuppa tea! nevermind, im sure il find something to hype him up!

[lisa]

Hi Nic,

I am a bit more of a 'loopy pony' lover (not that i don't love dales' to bits mind, just when i ride Dancer i have to use sooooo much leg), i like a bit of get up and go as apposed to got up & went the other day!!! My ned, being an ex racer, has more then enough energy & despite my best efforts I have NEVER been able to tire her out yet. Sometimes she is just so full of beans that she just needs to let off the steam so i find a rather large stubble every so often & take her for a run round & round & round & round, she is happy for a good few weeks again then. My goal was to try & get to a point where I needed to use a tiny bit of leg to keep her going. I had to stop before she did as i just couldn't go any more, my friend got on & she also stopped before Lea did, I got back on as i'd had a bit of a rest & still had to stop again before Lea, all I did was drop my contact slightly & she just still motored off. I've come to the conclusion she is unbreakable in the stubbles, so you can imagine we need NO more energy then we already have & i have to be careful what i feed her so she int too wizzy but i don't feed her any calmer.

At one point she had a blood test done a few years ago & was found to be slightly anaemic, i was advised to try her on blood liquid www.tallyhofarm.co.uk/shop/blood-liquid-p-90.html & put it this way, after a few days she was back off it, she was just about bouncing off the walls, & had the effect I think you're after, but obviously I got double as she already had more than enough to start with!!!

You say your boy is ridden 5 times a week, which is quite a bit of work & reading the info about it, it may be something that he might benefit from.

Lisa xxx

[nic]

Well Lisa it looks like ive met my match with u! I ride a arab and he is 18 yrs old, but he knows when i am on his back, hits bits i let him go on and is off with no leg at all, thats what i like, wen a horse has enthusiasm to move like i want them to move!!! its jus so nice!
I think, altho i love spirit to bits, being a new forest and obv v native he has that more laid back personailty and i wud hate to sell him but if he stays how he is he may have to go one day I also have a yearling filly who is apolosa cross cob and is more fine, and i think will be more of a go type horse! So unfortunatly one will be sold on as she is just my project and spirits field buddy rather than a definate one im going to keep, but if she outshines spirit with urm...spirit lol, then i think il end up doing that, makes me v v v sad cos spirit is the nicest natured pony ever!
but I am v v v glad to hear you have a ex racer who is full of go and you enjoy it! its just so much fun!i just hope one day spirit will understand i like to go go go and decide to be a bit more enthusiastic, thats jumping wise as well.
Thanks for the link, i will check it out!

[The Moo]

I think you also have to appreciate that natives would feel the heat more, thicker skin, lower set tail, rounder in body shape, more body hair etc etc than arabs and tb's so maybe that even being fit, Spirit is feeling the heat.
Tbs are reported to have more haemglobin than other breeds making it easier to send oxygen to the muscles to help them work, maybe a Red Cell type supplement would help or maybe Spirit is just a chilled out guy - many peoples dream pony.

Oh shaklana - the person who had eaten 6 kendal mintcakes would never get to the top of the hill as they would still be at the bottom being sick! LOL

[harleydales]

Harley is a Dales, as very dark (not as black this year) and very heavily built.
I very rarely have to use a lot of leg to keep him going, he is active and forward going and enjoys being out and about. Sometimes I have more trouble stopping him than starting him!!

It all depends on the individual pony.

[nic]

yeah, he is def def more lazy in this heat so i totally understand that, but this is a general thing with him, he has been like it since i got him, he really is most people's chilled out, kid perfect pony, he is doing absolutly no wrong what so ever it just so happens that i am the kind who wants a bouncy one, how typical?! i have the perfect horse that most would love but i want the kind that people compalin bout hehe. well im not giving up hope yet, he may just need to mature as he is only 4, and in the meantime ihave ebony my apolosa x so il just see what happens with them both in a few years!
and yeh, sorry harleydales, i am being a bit specific to natives there, not all of them at all are like spirit, some r a lot more whizzy! lucky u, spirit is the type who needs constant leg etc! def down to the individual pony!

[Debbie]

I think from what you've written about yourself and Spirit, that you really need to consider selling him on. It sounds like he's pretty much completed his training with you, and you may find that your different personalities may grate over time. In other words, the longer you try to 'perk him up' the more each of you may grow to resent this.

I think your appaloosa/cob cross is more your cup of tea. Even if she doesn't stay with you permanently, that's fine too. But it sounds like temperment wise, you two are a better match.

[julie]

Depends what you do five times a week. Try an endurance type fittening regime for extra energy. Most of my friends ride three times a week but they are much less fit than my hoirse would be if she was in full work with me again

[nic]

Hi southener, what do u mean an endurance type fitness? I usually hack him 3 or 4 times a week and school him ocne a week.
Debbue - i think eventually u will be right, i am keeping him next year while my filly will b 2 and then selling him hwen I back my filly if she is the right temprement!

[harleydales]

What sort of hacking do you do? When I'm training Harley for endurance, I ride 10 miles twice a week, trotting 8 miles (built up over several weeks) with LOTS of hill work. NO cantering, because trotting and walking up and down hills is much harder for them and fittens them better. I also do a fast blast once a week, flat out for a cardio-vascular workout. The other days I do schooling or shorter hacks but still including lots of trot. Driving is mainly in trot.
Fit horses should be supple and pliant too, it's no good simply being able to trot miles and miles, a schooled horse will cope much better with the distances than an unschooled one.
I ride every other day and both days at the weekend.
I push him so his heart rate goes up to over 100 when flat out, and hard uphill trotting up to 80 or 90 bpm. It should get harder to get the heart rate up as they get fitter. Obviously you need a heart monitor to do it properly, but you can do it roughly by liustening to their breathing.
You know they are fit when the heart rate is back to resting (Harley's resting is 44 so 80 isn't all that pushed) within 30 minutes during which time you can cool them by sponging, scraping and walking repeated over and over again.

At the beginning of this year H was nearly 600 kg and not that keen to work, though he did as he was asked. Now he is 30 mile fit and wants to be out and moving. He has also lost a good 70 kg!!!! Now he is that fit, I don't need to push him so hard, just maintain the fitness. He looks and feels gorgeous.

Keep the feed down too. 30 mile fit is NOT classed as heavy work for a fit horse and they mostly don't need the high powered feed. Harley is working at this level on leisure mix, soya oil and safe & sound chop and a bit of sugar beet.
When he gets up to 40's he will go onto staypower muesli. This is a goal for next year!

Hope this helps a bit!

Edited to say, given the option, Harley would happily turn into a plump plod, but by maintaining his fitness, he has interest in life and it's better for him.

[kermie]

I agree about the fitness being the key to having a more forward going pony. Most of us over-estimate how much work we do - we think we have ponies in medium work when we hack out for an hour or two most days of the week, but that's actually only light work.

I find grassnuts useful to adding a bit of extra oomph without too much condition. Simple Systems do 2 types of grassnuts but I just buy mine from my local feed merchant.