Should I grain my horse heavy the day before a show? And after heavily riding my horse?

Question

I need some guidance on graining my horse. I have a 16.2 hand 14 yr. old Thoroughbred and he's not to hard a keeper. i feed him 3/4 filled coffee cans AM and PM. I Am going to pre-fair this weekend and I rode my horse kinda hard tonight, he was pretty sweaty. About a half hour after later I gave him a little extra grain about a half can of dry livestock blend and 2 1/2 cups high fat rice bran. Is that a good time to wait? Or should I have just not fed him grain tonight, could he ever colic? And should I feed him extra grain before showing?

Answer 1

You shouldnt feed him too much because he will colic...it was alright  that you fed him a little bit more last night, but if you're going to need some more energy i would suggest regular feed in the morning, then a energy gel supplement before the show (they come in tubes like dewormer). But if your worried he worked to hard last night horses, espicially thoroughbreds regain there stamina and energy very fast, by resting and sleeping. Good Luck at the Fair!!! and hope this was helpfull!

Answer 2

i don't show, but I don't see why you would need to feed him more before a show unless its like 3 or more days long....

Answer 3

If I expect them to be difficult to handle, I'll often reduce the grain prior to a show. Then others that need an extra kick, I give them a little extra the night before. Also in the morning I'd ensure they got some hay on the way to the event, and I give them an early feed of grain. That way they seem to hold their energy for the day.

A friend recently told me that she would give a boost supplement (we can get them from the vets and some saddlery's) during the middle of a show prior to Championship classes. They travelled long distances and found this kept the horses going.

Good luck at the show. Oh as far as waiting after exercise, I understand you need to wait until they have cooled down. If I was giving a hard workout prior to show, I'd do the exercise part prior to grooming - then by the time I'd finished 'turnout preparation' my horse would be cool enough for their feed.

Answer 4

Put simply: No.

The only reason to add grain to your horse's diet is if he is underweight.

Never feed him when he's hot, as that is most defintely a colic risk.

Horses thrive on regular, steady feeding habits. Don't alter them unless you need to, and when you do, do so gradually. Remember that their digestive systems are very different --and much more sensitive--than ours.

Answer 5

What you are doing is very risky, especially if your horse is being fed while he's still hot from work. Giving a horse a heavy meal right before competition is NOT A GOOD IDEA, because the horse CAN, and most likely WILL, colic- and some horses can founder from this. Have you asked your vet to recommend a feeding program which is suited to your horse and his particular needs, Jilly?? That's what I would do. It never hurts to get the opinion of an expert, when it comes to designing a feeding program for your horse. I am also concerned about this "livestock blend" you are feeding. Horses should not be fed cattle feed- it can make them very ill, very quickly, because cattle feed has things in it which a horse's system is not designed to handle, such as antibiotics and growth hormones, for example. Some cattle feeds also contain things like blood meal from other animals, including rendered cows, and this can also make horses very ill. Lastly, cattle feed is formulated for COWS, and has levels of nutrients which are vastly different from what a horse requires, particularly one in heavy training, like your horse is.

Rice bran is an excellent source of fat and energy, and it is useful in keeping weight on a hard keeper, like your TB would tend to be. But doing what you did is rather risky, because when horses work hard, their digestive system slows way down, just as is true for people. Have you ever noticed how, when it's hot out, or you are working hard or exercising hard, that you don't want to eat anything ? Many people I know complain of the same thing happening to them- it's like their gut just shuts down for awhile when it's hot out. Well, this same thing happens to horses- and if you feed them a lot of high fat, high protein, concentrated food after heavy work, you are asking for trouble, Jilly. I know you mean well, but you have put your horse at risk for colic by doing this.

Likewise, feeding your horse a large meal right before you compete is a practice you need to avoid, if you can, for the same reason you don't want to feed the horse a big meal after you're done for the day. Horses evolved as grazers, Jilly, on the plains and steppes of Asia. This means that their systems are designed to follow the "little and often" routine when it comes to food, not the "3 huge meals a day" that we as people put them through. In the wild, most horses spend the great majority of their time grazing and searching for food- and the incidence of colic in wild horses is ZERO, as is the incidence of diseases such as founder. When we as people tamed and domesticated the horse, and insisted that they live in what for them is a totally unnatural and artificial environment, we put them in a position where diseases like colic and founder could strike. Feeding horses 2 or 3 big meals a day, with long breaks where the horse has nothing to eat in between, is a routine which can lead to colic, because of the way the horse's system was designed to work.

What does this mean for you? It means that you need to make an effort to make sure that your horse is kept on a regular feeding program, and is fed a complete feed ( there are numerous kinds on the market, formulated for horses at all ages and stages of life) and has access to as much quality hay or pasture as he can eat. I live on a farm, in central DE, and we have 11 horses. Our horses live outside 24/7, and only come in to eat or to work. We feed grain once a day, and there are a couple of horses which get an evening meal which primarily made from wet beet pulp. Otherwise, the horses get all the hay they can eat, or they get turned out on our pasture. This keeps everyone healthy, and in the case of the polo horses ( my sister is a rated player who owns 4 polo horses) it keeps them in shape for the game throughout the whole summer, and helps them hold their weight in the winter. We use Legends grain- it's a complete feed- and also feed alfalfa pellets, and of course, the beet pulp. Other than this, the only supplement our horses get is a salt/mineral mix which is top dressed on the grain.  ( One of our boarder's horses has a tendency to treat salt blocks like they were candy, and eat them, so we started feeding the mineral mix as a way of preventing this- and the diarrhea this horse used to give himself all the time. Sounds silly, I know, but that's just the way this horse is.)

This is the way our feeding program is designed, but this may not work for you. That's why you really need to ask your vet for some help in designing your own program which works best for your horse. Good luck to you, Jilly.

Answer 6

i think that you should just keep feeding your horse the same you feed him every other day right before a show. if you change the amount of food he is getting, he could act different or he wouldn;t be used to that amount and your horse could react differently. im not sure about after a show though. usually after a show, we put linament on their legs after a hard day. we also give them a little bute, but don't give your horse any bute unless you have a vet or a trainer give you the correct amount.

hope i helped!!!!!

Answer 7

As long as your horse was cooled down properly before you fed him, feeding after a heavy workout is fine - in fact, if hes expecting dinner & you don't give it to him, he might get rather stressed.  I wouldn't feed him extra though, especially when showing. Give him more hay instead - it will keep him busy and the roughage is good for his digestive system. Horse shows are upsetting enough to horses - we often give ours a 1/4 tube of Gastroguard each day plus electrolytes to help keep their tummys happy and keep their water consumption up.

Answer 8

Extra hay if you want to add extra to his food, NOT grain.